The Public Prosecutor acknowledges that the rents are undue and must not be charged to the tenants; startup claims to offer an exclusive service
a cause will decide on the future of the reservation costs of services and properties charged by QuintoAndar tenants or interested parties. A provision had prohibited the collection and determined the return of the sums to those who paid, but a more recent injunction overturned the provision and returned them with the fees.
The public civil action was filed by the Prosecutor of Rio de Janeiro (MPRJ), who understood what the allegations are undue and requests that the courts compel real estate start-ups to do so return the sums paid by the tenants.
A booking fee is a service offered by QuintoAndar which makes the property exclusive during the negotiation and approval of the lease documents — this amount is deducted from the first rent if the contract is signed. When someone uses this service, the property stops receiving visits, is no longer listed as available on the platform, and all rental procedures for other users are suspended.
The value of this fee is not communicated before the user requests payment. According to the startup, the price can vary based on a few factors, including the profile of the potential tenant and the value of the property. In action, the MPRJ says it is equivalent to 10% of the rental amount.
A cost of servicealso targeted in action, is equivalent to 2.2% of the rental amount and is charged each month during the lease. QuintoAndar claims to operate within the legality, as it believes that its platform offers benefits to tenants, therefore it could not include these costs in the rates for the landlord. A similar fee is also charged to the owner.
The rate, however, it is not included in the real estate lease through the platform. When the tenant asks the startup about the rent, he is informed that it is a optional feebeing able to cancel the charge at any time of the lease.
first decision
In the first decision, 5th Commercial Court of Rio de Janeiro published on March 21, the judge Elisabete Franco Longobardi understood that the accusations violate article 22, paragraph VII, of the law 8.245/91, which establishes that the expenses are due to the landlord and not to the tenant.
If QuintoAndar violated the determination, he could be fined BRL 1,000 for each infraction.
preliminary decision
MPRJ’s victory, however, lasted only a few days. QuintoAndar filed an appeal and, last Thursday 30, Judge Adriano Celso Guimarães, of the TJRJ, decided to definitively overturn the previous decision while the trial is ongoing, since the suspension of fees can cause serious damage to the startup.
This does not mean that the fight is over, but that justice will analyze the case better before deciding.
The Justice is still analyzing other MPRJ requests in the same action. Among these are the condemnation of the startup for moral damages, the restitution of double the taxes paid and collective material damages in the amount of R $ 1 million. In the event of non-compliance with the first two points, the MPRJ proposes a daily fine of R$ 10,000.
QuintoAndar celebrates the decision
The company celebrated the decision with a statement.
“We celebrate the decision of the TJ-RJ, as it allows QuintoAndar to continue to offer services that make life easier for our tenants and opens the space for relevant discussions on economic freedom and technological entrepreneurship in Brazil. QuintoAndar fully complies with Brazilian legislation and always adopts practices with absolute transparency with its consumers. We want to continue contributing to the debate on this issue”, says the document.
*With information from Estadão Content.
Source: Terra
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