The 3 documents without which a unit's sale can't close
For a developer, the sale of a unit is not completed at the signing of the contract — it is completed at registration, and registration depends on three documents: the occupancy permit (habite-se), the unit's individualized property record, and the municipal registration. Without all three, the buyer cannot register the property in their name, the bank does not release the financing (which is only paid after registration), and the sale stays pent up. Worse: the law holds the developer liable for delay in individualizing the units. Understanding this chain is what separates the project that converts quickly from the one that piles up sales stuck in paperwork.
| Document | Who issues it | What it unlocks | Without it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Occupancy permit | City hall | The recording of the construction on the property record | The units cannot be individualized |
| Individualized property record | Real Estate Registry | The deed and registration in the buyer's name | The apartment has no record of its own to sell or finance |
| Municipal registration | City hall | The IPTU assessment and the ITBI filing | The transfer tax cannot be paid, nor the transfer registered |
Why these three documents are the developer's responsibility
The journey only begins when the developer delivers this foundation. It is the developer who must have the occupancy permit issued and recorded, the individualized property records per unit, and the municipal registration of each apartment. Without these three, nothing moves: without the occupancy permit there is no individual record; without an individual record there is no deed or registration in the buyer's name; without municipal registration there is no way to file the transfer tax (ITBI). It is a chain — and it stalls entirely if the first link is missing.
It is not just an operational matter. The law places the obligation squarely on the developer: under art. 44 of Law 4.591/1964, "after the occupancy permit is granted by the administrative authority, the developer must request the recording of the construction of the buildings, for the purpose of individualization and discrimination of the units, being liable to the purchasers for the losses and damages resulting from delay in fulfilling this obligation." In other words: delay in individualizing is not just a conversion bottleneck — it is a legal and financial risk to the developer.
The occupancy permit: without it, the record does not advance
The occupancy permit (habite-se, or certificate of completion) is the document that city hall issues, after inspection, certifying that the construction was completed according to the approved project and is fit for occupation. It is the trigger for everything that follows at the registry: without the occupancy permit, the Real Estate Registry does not record the construction on the property record — and, in a real estate development, recording the construction without the permit is prohibited. Until it is issued (or recorded), the property record still describes only the land, as if the building did not exist for the registry.
From the parent record to the unit's record: individualization
With the occupancy permit in hand, the developer records the construction on the parent record — which stops describing only the land and starts registering the building. Next comes individualization: a record of its own is opened for each apartment, with its ideal fraction, together with the registration of the institution and specification of the condominium. As the registrar Moacyr Petrocelli de Ávila Ribeiro puts it (Migalhas Notariais e Registrais column, Aug. 18, 2022), "simultaneously with the recording of the construction, the registration of the institution and specification of the condominium must be done."
It is the individualized record that gives the apartment a "document of its own": only from it can the buyer draw up the deed and register the property in their name, and only with it does the bank constitute the guarantee (fiduciary lien) and release the financing — a path we detail in Does a fiduciary lien require a public deed?. Until the unit has a record, it exists physically but not in a form the registry recognizes for a sale.
Municipal registration: without it, the transfer tax cannot be filed
The third link is the municipal registration (cadastral registration) of each unit — the number city hall uses to assess the apartment's IPTU (property tax). It seems bureaucratic, but it stalls the sale for a practical reason: without municipal registration there is no way to calculate and file the ITBI, the transfer tax city hall charges, which is a condition for registering the transfer. (We explain the differences among these documents and their costs in Deed, registration and transfer tax: what is the difference?.) So, even with the occupancy permit recorded and the record individualized, the sale still jams if the unit lacks its registration.
What stalls when one of the three is missing — and what it costs the developer
When any of the three documents is missing, the effect is the same: the sale does not reach registration. And, for the developer, a sale that does not register is cash that does not come in. The bank rebate — the compensation for originating the credit — is only paid after registration, because it is registration that formalizes the fiduciary lien. Until the paperwork closes, no one is paid: not the developer, not the correspondent, and the buyer does not become the owner — because, as we explain in I bought a property and didn't register it. Is it mine?, it is registration that transfers ownership. Add to that the pent-up demand (a buyer who hesitates before a project with a pending issue), the risk of a rescission, and the art. 44 liability for delay. Speed of registration, for the developer, is not customer experience — it is revenue.
Where Conecta comes in
Conecta works precisely on this chain: as a digital concierge and real estate expediter, we organize each unit's documentation and carry the sale through to registration — the only point at which the deal closes, the buyer becomes the owner, and the credit is released. For the developer, this means less sales pent up in paperwork, a faster path between signing and registration, and revenue that only comes in when the record is updated. It does not replace the developer's obligations (occupancy permit, individualization, municipal registration), but it clears the classic snags that appear along the way — from an undischarged construction mortgage to an expired certificate — before they stop the sale.
Want to unlock your project's sales at the documentation stage? Talk to Conecta.
Frequently asked questions
Why can the sale of a new unit stall even with a signed contract?
Because the sale only closes at registration, and registration depends on three documents that are the developer's responsibility: the occupancy permit, the unit's individualized property record, and the municipal registration. Without them, the buyer cannot register the property in their name and the bank does not release the financing.
What is the individualization of a property record?
It is the opening of a record of its own for each apartment, out of the land's parent record. It happens after the developer obtains the occupancy permit and records the construction, together with the registration of the condominium's institution. Only with the individualized record can the apartment be sold, deeded and financed.
Can the developer be held liable for delay in individualizing the units?
Yes. Art. 44 of Law 4.591/1964 provides that, after the occupancy permit, the developer must request the recording of the construction to individualize the units, "being liable to the purchasers for the losses and damages resulting from delay in fulfilling this obligation."
What is the municipal registration for in a sale?
The municipal registration (cadastral registration) is the number city hall uses to assess each unit's IPTU (property tax). Without it, there is no way to calculate and file the ITBI, the transfer tax that is a condition for registering the sale. That is why it is part of the trio of documents that unlocks the transfer.
Why does the bank only release financing after registration?
Because mortgage financing usually uses the property itself as a guarantee (fiduciary lien), and that guarantee only takes effect upon registration on the property record. Without the individualized record registered, the bank does not formalize the guarantee or release the money — and the operation's compensation is also only paid after registration.