As far as the right to compulsory rent renewal is concerned, it is known that lease renewal lawsuits must be filed within the first six months of the last year of the term of the agreement. Therefore, it is important to highlight that even if judicial procedural deadlines have recently been suspended, the above-mentioned deadline to apply for compulsory renewal has not been extended, since it is a preclusive term.
Therefore, it is extremely important to pay attention to the renewal deadline and other essential requirements for the contractual renewal to occur in accordance with the law. It is also recommended to file the lawsuit even if negotiations between the parties are in progress.
It should also be noted that the current pandemic does not entail mandatory renegotiation of contractual clauses, nor any unilateral suspension of payment. In the event of an Act of God or force majeure, it is essential that the party demonstrate the effective and material impact on the impossibility of complying with the contractual provision.
Further, with the objective of reducing interpersonal contact, National Justice Council – CNJ Ordinance No. 91 was published, which provides for the suspension or reduction of customer facing services, as well as the suspension of the operation of extrajudicial services under the responsibility of notaries, registrars and interim officials, as preventive measures to reduce the risks of contamination with the new COVID-19, and regulates the suspension of deadlines for the drawing up of notarial and registration instruments.
Customer facing services may be replaced by remote services by telephone, by multiplatform instant messaging application and voice message or other available electronic means.
Urgent requests filed with civil and natural person registrars for example, for birth and death certificates, are exempted from the suspension of customer facing services.