By Eduardo Cramer Ono
On April 1, 2026, Ordinance No. 333/2026 of the Ministry of Cities was published in the Official Gazette of the Union, through which significant updates were made to the gross family income limits for the eligibility of beneficiaries in the Minha Casa, Minha Vida program.
Under the new regulation, the income brackets applicable to families residing in urban areas are as follows:
- Bracket 1 – gross monthly family income of up to R$ 3,200.00;
- Bracket 2 – gross monthly family income from R$ 3,200.01 to R$ 5,000.00;
- Bracket 3 – gross monthly family income from R$ 5,000.01 to R$ 9,600.00; and
- General ceiling – gross monthly family income of up to R$ 13,000.00.
For families residing in rural areas, the limits were also updated:
- Bracket 1 – gross annual family income of up to R$ 50,000.00;
- Bracket 2 – gross annual family income from R$ 50,000.01 to R$ 70,900.00; and
- Bracket 3 – gross annual family income from R$ 70,900.01 to R$ 134,000.00;
- General ceiling – gross annual family income of up to R$ 162,500.00.
Additionally, the FGTS Board of Trustees approved raising the maximum property values eligible under the upper program brackets, increasing them from R$ 350,000 to R$ 400,000 (Bracket 3) and from R$ 500,000 to R$ 600,000 (Bracket 4).
The regulatory changes significantly expand the universe of families eligible for the program, while also allowing beneficiaries to migrate between brackets, with direct effects on financing conditions, especially regarding lower interest rates and increased credit capacity.
From the perspective of the construction and real estate sectors, the measure is expected to produce significant structural impacts. The expansion of income brackets and eligibility ceilings contributes to increased solvent demand, while also enabling the repositioning of products previously outside the program limits. Raising the maximum property values also affects developers’ pricing capacity, combining volume gains with margin improvement.
In this context, the new parameters—applicable to contracts signed from April 2026 onwards—are likely to boost the volume of launches and the speed of sales, but they require an increase in the total capital financed by the program to ensure that the volume of financing is not reduced.
In summary, the update promoted by Ordinance No. 333/2026 consolidates Minha Casa, Minha Vida as a central instrument of Brazilian housing policy, while also inaugurating a new cycle of opportunities—and challenges—for players in the real estate sector.
