How to face an eviction?

The threat of losing your home shakes the most basic ground of life: where the family will sleep. The fear is legitimate. But fear makes bad decisions, and you need to decide well in the coming days.

What to do now

1. Know the main thing: eviction is a judge's decision. In Brazil, a landlord cannot remove you from the property on their own. Changing the lock, removing your furniture or cutting off water and electricity to force you out is not allowed; it may amount to the crime of taking the law into one's own hands (Penal Code, art. 345). If it happens, call the police at 190 and file a police report. The legal route is an eviction lawsuit, provided for in the Tenancy Law (Law 8,245/1991, art. 5). A notice is not an eviction order. A letter from the landlord or the agency giving you a deadline to leave starts a period, but, if you don't leave, they still have to file the lawsuit. Only a court officer, with a warrant, carries out an eviction (art. 65). Don't rush out because of a letter: take it to the Public Defender's Office.
2. Talk before it becomes a lawsuit. Many landlords prefer an agreement to a long court case. Propose a realistic plan for the arrears, in writing, or an agreed move-out date if staying is not possible.
3. Organize your papers. Lease, receipts, proof of payment, messages exchanged with the landlord or the agency. Keep everything, preferably in more than one place.
4. Get free legal help. Your state's Public Defender's Office serves those who can't afford a lawyer. Law schools' legal aid clinics also help. Go soon; eviction deadlines are short.
5. Reach out to the social assistance network. Your city's CRAS (social assistance reference center) gives guidance on benefits and housing programs; many municipalities offer social rent assistance for vulnerable situations, with local rules.
6. Protect the most vulnerable. If there are children, elderly people or people with disabilities, tell the Public Defender and social services. It can change the way the case is handled.
7. Take care of your mind. If despair tightens its grip, call CVV at 188, free and 24 hours a day.

Nothing on this page replaces the guidance of a public defender or lawyer who looks at your case.

When it happened to Bairo

Bairo Leandro Gonzalez Martinez does not tell of an eviction in his own story. He tells of another way of losing the ground beneath you.

He says he arrived in Brazil in 2002, brought by an education company, and that, when he decided to follow his own path, he found himself without documents in hand, far from home and afraid. Hard years followed, with no direction and no safety net, as for so many immigrants. He sums up that time in a sentence that became his own: the sun is for everyone, but shade, in the heat, is for the few.

Later, he says, he went broke more than once. In each fall, what remained was the same: starting over from the only place left, zero, beginning with the person standing beside him.

The path

Losing your home is losing a place, not losing who you are. A roof can be rebuilt; what you carry from one home to the next is your family, your courage and what you have learned. Face the eviction with information, papers in hand and help by your side. Anyone who has been in the shade knows: it doesn't last forever.

While everything is being resolved, keep the conversation with the landlord firm and polite, in writing whenever possible. Fights, threats and impulsive messages tend to make things worse and can be used in the lawsuit. Likewise, if the landlord acts outside the law, record everything with date and time and take it to the Public Defender. Calm, paper and deadlines are the three tools of anyone facing an eviction.

Read also

• Capoeira was the bridge
• I received an eviction lawsuit: what do I do?
• I was evicted: where do I go and how do I start over?