LAND REGISTRY PUBLICITY OF CONTAMINATED LAND: ENVIRONMENTAL NOTICE, RECORDING AND PROTECTION OF THE ACQUIRER

Abstract

This article examines the transition from notice of contaminated land to the Land Registry and its recording in the land register. Current federal law requires the environmental authority to notify the registry when land is classified as contaminated or rehabilitated, but it lacks uniform rules on the recordable instrument, standing, content and updating of the entry. The research adopts a legal-dogmatic approach, combining documentary analysis with a functional comparison of Brazilian, United States and British regimes. Environmental obligations run with the land and reach the current owner regardless of knowledge or registration, according to Theme 1,204 of the Brazilian Superior Court of Justice. Recording therefore performs an informational function: it increases knowledge of the liability, reduces search costs and supports its consideration in pricing and contracts. The regimes of Sao Paulo and Parana provide distinct state solutions, while the pending revision of CONAMA Resolution 420/2009 shows that the federal framework remains under development. The article proposes national rules that convert environmental notice into a standardized land register entry without giving registration a constitutive effect on the duty to remediate.