Brazil's Minha Casa Minha Vida buyers eligible to recover illegal construction interest fees

Thousands of families participating in Brazil's Minha Casa Minha Vida housing program continue to pay construction‑phase interest (juros de obra) even after the legal delivery deadline has passed. Under the contract, buyers pay these inter‑stage interests while the property is being built and financing is not yet fully released by Caixa Econômica Federal.

Brazilian law allows a tolerance period of up to 180 days beyond the agreed delivery date. Once this period expires without handover, the builder is solely responsible for the delay, and the legal basis for charging construction interest ends. Consumer‑rights lawyer Dr. Lucca Palhares argues that maintaining such charges after the tolerance period constitutes an abusive clause prohibited by article 51 of the Consumer Defense Code.

The Superior Tribunal of Justice (STJ) has affirmed this view. In its repetitive‑resource ruling on Tema 996, the court declared that any contractual clause imposing interest charges on the consumer for a delay caused exclusively by the builder is null and void. Consumers may therefore suspend future interest payments and seek double restitution of amounts wrongly collected, based on article 42, paragraph single of the Consumer Defense Code.