Taxes and Prices

There are 3 components of which the rental price will be comprised of:

  • cost of rental
  • condominium – fee for services associated with maintenance of the complex (swimming pool, cleaning staff, security, etc.); the average condominium amounts to between 300 and 1000 B$
  • IPTU – tax on land ownership and territorial urban; between 80 and 200 B$ / month, depending on the size of the apartment / estate

Agents often understate the rental price by not including the condominium fee or the IPTU tax!

The prices we cite are conclusive.

Registration fee

A one-time registration tax amounting (on average) to 30% of first rent is to be added to each rental price.

Electricity bills

The client usually pays for the electricity bills in a bank or through cash machines. Electricity prices in Sao Paulo are rather low (0.27 B$ / kWh); in the case of an apartment rented by 2 people one will pay an average of 30 B$.

Water bills

Water bills are usually included in the rental price.

Transport

Sao Paulo offers bus and underground transport.

  • underground: ~ 2.80 B$
  • bus: ~ 2.70 B$

It is possible to purchase a special ”Bilhete Unico” card which considerably lowers the costs of travelling. For example, for 2.70 B$ one is permitted to travel by 4 bus lines for 3 hours.

Food

In Sao Paulo it is easy to find both very expensive restaurants and eateries offering good dinners for 10 B$. We recommend the ”per kilo” restaurants – they offer meals in a buffet style; the costs are between 12 and 30 B$ per kilogram of food.

Telecommunication

Unfortunately, the telephone charges in Sao Paulo are among the world's highest. It is possible to purchase a pre-paid card, but a special CPF number is often required – a number which only permanent residents own.