Rent Adjustment 2026: IGPM or IPCA — Which Index Should You Use in Your Lease?

The adjustment index is not a contract detail — it is the variable that defines how much your rental income will be worth in two years. A property owner who chooses the wrong index, or fails to apply it correctly, loses real return every year without realizing it.

The Tenant Law (Law 8.245/1991) does not specify which index to use — it only requires that the adjustment be stated in the contract and applied on the contract anniversary. The choice is up to the parties.

What is IGPM

IGPM — General Market Price Index — is calculated by FGV. It measures price variations in the wholesale, producer, and consumer sectors, with the greatest weight on the wholesale segment.

Because it includes a significant international component (commodities, exchange rates), IGPM is more volatile than IPCAIPCAVer tudo →. In 2020 and 2021, IGPM accumulated changes above 20% per year — which resulted in rental adjustments far above the inflation actually felt by tenants, creating conflict and triggering vacancies.

In years with strong currency appreciation and falling commodities, IGPM can turn negative — which hurts the property owner.

Summary: IGPM is more volatile and can be highly favorable or highly unfavorable depending on the economic cycle.

What is IPCA

IPCA — Broad National Consumer Price Index — is calculated by IBGE. It measures Brazil’s official inflation, based on the cost of living for families earning 1 to 40 minimum wages.

IPCA is more stable, more predictable, and more directly linked to the real cost of living experienced by tenants. For this reason, tenants accept lease contracts indexed to IPCA more readily — which can ease negotiation and reduce resistance to annual adjustments.

Summary: IPCA is more predictable, more widely accepted in the rental market, and tends to generate less conflict at adjustment time.

Which index should you choose in 2026?

There is no single answer — it depends on the property owner’s strategy and market expectations.

In 2026, with official inflation (IPCA) projected between 4.5% and 5.5% for the year, IPCA represents a real and predictable adjustment. IGPM depends on currency and commodity behavior — less predictable.

The rental market in Florianópolis shifted significantly to IPCA following the IGPM turbulence of 2020–2021. New contracts indexed to IPCA encounter less resistance at renewal.

What if the contract does not specify the index?

If the contract does not define an adjustment index, the property owner has no legal basis to apply any annual increase. The adjustment stops being a contractual right and becomes negotiation — unfavorable to the owner, especially after several years.

If the index was not applied in previous years, it is very difficult to recover retroactively. The property owner loses real return silently.

When and how is the adjustment applied

The adjustment is applied on the contract anniversary — the date defined as the start of the lease relationship, not the signature date. If the lease began in May, the adjustment occurs in May each year.

The application is straightforward: the rent is multiplied by the index accumulated over the 12 months prior to the anniversary. If IPCA accumulated during that period was 5.2%, the rent increases by 5.2%.

With professional management, this calculation is done automatically, on the correct date, without the owner needing to track it or negotiate. Without professional management, the owner must remember the date, calculate the correct index, and discuss the increase with the tenant — who often questions or requests a discount.

To understand how professional management works day-to-day — including adjustment control — the guide on rental property management details the process.

Talk to Regente Imóveis about managing your property →

Sources: Law 8.245/1991 — Tenant Law (Planalto.gov.br); FGV — IGPM (portalibre.fgv.br); IBGE — IPCA (ibge.gov.br).