Are the contract, the deed and the property record the same thing?
No. They are three different documents, with different roles, and most buyers confuse all three. The purchase and sale contract is the agreement you sign with the seller or the developer — it creates the obligation, but it doesn't make you the owner. The public deed is the formalization of that agreement at the notary's office (cartório de notas). And the property record (matrícula) is the property's "birth certificate" at the Real Estate Registry Office (Cartório de Registro de Imóveis) — the only document that proves who the owner actually is. Signing the contract, and even the deed, does not transfer the property: what transfers it is registration on the property record.
| Purchase and sale contract | Public deed | Property record | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Agreement between the parties | Formalization of intent | The property's official record |
| Where it lives | With you and the seller | Notary's office (cartório de notas) | Real Estate Registry Office |
| What it does | Creates the obligation to sell/buy | Gives legal form to the agreement | Proves ownership |
| Does it prove the home is yours? | No | No | Yes |
The purchase and sale contract: what you signed (and what it doesn't do)
The contract — whether a "purchase commitment" (compromisso de compra e venda) or a private contract with the developer — is where everything begins. It records who sells, who buys, for how much and under what terms, and it binds both parties to see the deal through. It's a serious and necessary document. But it has a limit almost no one sees when signing: the contract creates the obligation to transfer the property; it does not transfer the property.
In practice, this means that until the deal goes onto the property record, you hold a right against the seller — the right to demand that they complete the sale — but you are not yet the owner in the eyes of the law. If the seller refuses to grant the deed, or disappears, or dies, there is a path (so-called adjudicação compulsória, in which the courts supply the signature of whoever refuses). But it's an extra path, with time and cost, precisely because the contract alone did not close the transfer. Buying and stopping at the contract is the classic drawer contract (contrato de gaveta) — you paid, you live there, but to the State, the bank and the registry the owner is still someone else.
The public deed: the formalization at the notary's office
The next step, in a cash purchase, is the public deed, drawn up by a notary at the notary's office. The Civil Code requires it for real estate deals "worth more than thirty times the highest minimum wage in force in the country" (art. 108); below that value, or in cases such as financing with a fiduciary lien (alienação fiduciária), the law accepts a private instrument with the same force — a topic we cover in when the public deed is required.
Here comes the second confusion. The deed looks like the finish line, but it isn't. As real estate attorney Marcelo Tapai puts it, the deed "is really a kind of 'contract,' clothed with legal formalities, that indicates the sale of the property took place." In other words: it proves you agreed and formalized the purchase — but it remains a title, not a transfer. It still has to be taken to the Real Estate Registry. Until that happens, the seller legally remains the owner. (If your question is about the difference between the deed, the ITBI and registration — and the order in which each one comes in — that's what we explain in deed, registration and ITBI: what's the difference?.)
The property record: the property's "birth certificate"
The property record is the star of this story — and the one fewest people know. Created by the Public Registries Law (Law No. 6,015/1973), it is the single file for each property at the Real Estate Registry Office for its area. Every property has one, and it is where the whole life of the asset is recorded: who owned it, who owns it now, and everything that weighs on it — mortgages, fiduciary liens, judicial liens, unavailability orders, lawsuits.
It's the property record that the Civil Code chooses as proof of ownership. Art. 1,245 leaves no room: "Ownership is transferred between living parties through the registration of the transfer title at the Real Estate Registry." And it adds: "as long as the transfer title is not registered, the seller continues to be regarded as the owner of the property." Put simply: you only become the owner when the purchase is registered on the property record. Before that, with the contract signed and the deed in hand, you are not. That's why the property record is the document that matters — and the one Conecta pursues to the end, because it's what truly closes the purchase. To see the effect on the ground, read also I bought a property and didn't register it: is it mine?.
How to read the property record before buying
If there's one practical thing to take from this article, it's this: ask for the up-to-date property record before paying anything. It is issued by the Real Estate Registry Office itself (today, in most states, digitally as well) and shows, in order, everything that has happened to the property. What to look at:
- Who the current owner is — the last transfer registration. Check that it's exactly who is selling to you. A mismatch here is the number-one warning sign against fraud.
- The chain of title — the sequence of previous owners. A "broken" chain, or one with odd entries, can taint the purchase, even a good-faith one.
- Encumbrances and liens — mortgages, a fiduciary lien to a bank, usufruct, inalienability clauses. If the property is collateral for a debt, it shows up here.
- Judicial liens, unavailability orders and lawsuits — if the property answers for the owner's court debt, the entry will be on the property record. A property that looks "clean" in the sale may be blocked on the record.
Reading the property record is what separates buying a home from buying a problem. No handsome contract and no deed replace that look.
What this means for you — and for the developer
For the buyer, the lesson is a single one: keep the contract and the deed, but don't stop there. What protects your assets is an up-to-date property record, in your name, clean. A property that never reached the record can't be used as collateral for a loan, can't be sold safely and can be dragged down by the seller's debts.
For the developer, the message is about experience and cash flow. A sale is only truly complete when the deal goes onto the property record of each unit. Every signed contract that doesn't become a registration is a half-finished sale: it holds up the keys, delays the payment release and turns into an after-sales complaint.
Where Conecta comes in
Conecta is the digital concierge and real estate despachante that carries this journey from the contract to the property record. We handle financing, the deed, the ITBI and registration over WhatsApp, making sure the deal doesn't stall at the contract or the deed and actually reaches registration on the property record — which is what makes the property the buyer's. For the developer, it's a sale closed with the documentation in order; for the buyer, it's the certainty of being, on paper and in law, the owner.
Want to simplify the after-sales of your developments? Talk to Conecta.
Frequently asked questions
I signed the purchase and sale contract. Am I the owner already?
Not yet. The contract creates the obligation to transfer the property, but what transfers ownership is registration on the property record, at the Real Estate Registry Office (art. 1,245 of the Civil Code). Until then, you have the right to demand the sale be completed, but the legal owner is still the seller.
Are the purchase and sale contract and the deed the same thing?
No. The contract is the private agreement between the parties. The public deed is the formalization of that agreement at the notary's office, with public faith. And neither one transfers the property on its own: only registration on the property record does that.
What is the property record (matrícula)?
It's the single file for each property at the Real Estate Registry Office — a kind of "birth certificate" for the asset. It records the owners (current and previous) and everything that weighs on the property: mortgages, fiduciary liens, judicial liens, unavailability orders. It's the document that proves who the owner is.
How do I get the up-to-date property record?
You request the property-record certificate from the Real Estate Registry Office for the property's area — today, in most states, through a digital channel too. Always ask for the up-to-date version and read it before paying any amount: that's where the real owner and any debts or blocks appear.
I bought with only a drawer contract (contrato de gaveta). How do I regularize it?
The path depends on the case (consensual regularization with the seller, adverse possession, or adjudicação compulsória). We explain the options in our article on the drawer contract.