Eviction
I received an eviction lawsuit: what do I do?
Read the summons, note the date and see the Public Defender that same day. There are usually 15 days to pay the debt and stay, or to defend yourself.
bairogonzalez.com team, drawing on Bairo's story · Published
The court officer knocked on the door, or the letter arrived. Your heart races and the paper seems written in another language. Stay calm: this document is the beginning of a process, not the end of it, and it has deadlines that work in your favor if you act quickly.
What to do now
- Write down the date you received the summons. Deadlines run from it. Keep the whole document, without tearing or marking it.
- Identify the reason for the lawsuit. Most lawsuits are for nonpayment, but there are others (end of the lease, owner's own use, breach of contract). The reason changes what you can do.
- If it is for nonpayment, know you can settle the arrears. The Tenancy Law (Law 8,245/1991, art. 62) allows the tenant to avoid termination by depositing in court the full updated debt, with charges, within 15 days of the summons. This option is not available if you already used it in the 24 months before the lawsuit (art. 62, sole paragraph). The public defender or lawyer is the one who calculates the amount and makes the right request.
- Know that injunctions exist. In some situations, such as a lease with no guarantee at all (no guarantor, deposit or insurance), the judge can order you to vacate within 15 days before the case ends, provided the landlord posts a bond of three months' rent (art. 59, §1, IX). Even then, depositing the full debt within those 15 days overturns the injunction (art. 59, §3). That is why you shouldn't wait: the response needs to be fast.
- Go to the Public Defender's Office that same day. Bring the summons, the lease, receipts and proof of income. If you can't afford a lawyer, the Public Defender is your path. Law schools' legal aid clinics also help.
- Even without money, don't ignore it. Whoever doesn't respond loses the chance to defend themselves, negotiate time or reach an agreement. A court-approved agreement can give you time to leave with dignity.
- If the decision is that you must leave, know the deadline. The general rule is 30 days to vacate voluntarily, but the period drops to 15 days when the eviction is for nonpayment or breach of contract, or when more than four months passed between the summons and the judgment (Law 8,245/1991, art. 63). In practice, for an eviction over late rent, count on 15 days. Use that time to organize the move with your support network and the CRAS (social assistance reference center).
The rules above are general; what applies to you is what the public defender or lawyer says after reading your case.
When it happened to Bairo
Bairo does not tell of an eviction lawsuit in his own story. He does tell, however, of what comes with it: the fear of losing your footing and the need to act with a cool head.
He says that, when he found himself without documents in hand in a country that was not yet entirely his, the natural reaction would have been to hide. It took time, but he went after it. Later, in the falls of his businesses, he learned something else: whatever you don't face on paper ends up facing you.
The path
A lawsuit is frightening because it seems bigger than we are. But it is made of deadlines, papers and people, and each of those can be faced one at a time. Bairo says every no is the ground of a yes. Sometimes the possible yes is a fair agreement, a little more time, an exit without humiliation. That is a victory too.