Real Estate Fund Seeks to Evict Casas Bahia From Two Properties Over R$4.3 Million in Unpaid Rent
The lawsuit targets warehouses in Contagem and São José dos Pinhais as Casas Bahia restructures its business and shrinks its store network.
Brazilian real estate investment fund HSI Logística (HSLG11) has filed an eviction lawsuit against Casas Bahia for nonpayment of rent at two logistics properties leased by the retailer: one in Contagem, in the Belo Horizonte metropolitan area, and the other in São José dos Pinhais, in the Curitiba metropolitan area. According to a material disclosure issued on October 9, the retailer had failed to pay R$4.3 million in September rent.
According to SiiLA’s Market Analytics, the two industrial properties have a combined area of 166,200 square meters: 92,000 square meters in Contagem and 74,200 square meters in São José dos Pinhais. Together, they account for 14.8% of the 1,124,763 square meters occupied by Grupo Casas Bahia in standalone industrial and logistics parks across Brazil’s Class A+, A, B and C properties.
Rent on the HSLG11 properties was due on October 7, and the lawsuit was filed the following day. In the disclosure, Apex Group, the fund’s administrator, and HSI, its investment manager, said they may pursue additional legal and out-of-court measures. The document does not report an eviction order or indicate that the company has vacated either property, both of which are in locations suited to last-mile distribution.
The fund’s management classifies the unpaid rent as a post-petition claim outside the scope of the retailer’s court-supervised restructuring because the obligation arose after Casas Bahia filed for protection. That classification forms the basis for the fund’s collection approach. Rental rates at the properties were R$18.20 per square meter in São José dos Pinhais and R$30 per square meter in Contagem.
The dispute adds pressure to Casas Bahia’s relationships with its landlords as the company reorganizes its operations. In August, the retailer filed for court-supervised restructuring in Brazil, seeking to restructure approximately R$17.3 billion in debt after facing liquidity challenges and tighter credit conditions.
The reduction in its logistics footprint, however, had already begun. An August REsource article reported that the group had relinquished approximately 32,000 square meters in Itajaí, Santa Catarina, and Fortaleza, Ceará, in 2025. During the same period, it took up roughly 17,900 square meters in Pernambuco, resulting in a net reduction of approximately 14,000 square meters within the properties tracked.
These moves reflect a geographic realignment of the company’s operations, with space being vacated in some markets and leased in others. In March 2024, the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo reported that the company had closed four distribution centers as part of its restructuring.
Restructuring
The retailer’s store network underwent a more substantial adjustment in August 2026, with the closure of 298 locations. The move coincided with the disclosure of a R$10.1 billion second-quarter net loss, of which R$9.1 billion was attributed to nonrecurring accounting charges with no immediate cash impact.
Information released in early October indicated that key decisions in the court proceedings remained pending. In August, the retailer had already obtained interim relief granting it 180 days of protection from creditors.
A preliminary court-ordered assessment provided further evidence of an operational slowdown, identifying lower inventory levels and unused space at some distribution centers. The company attributed these conditions to financial difficulties that limited its ability to replenish inventory.
In a clarification to the market, Casas Bahia emphasized that the report was preliminary and informational, and that its conclusions did not represent the company’s position. It also said the company had not yet had an opportunity to formally challenge the findings and that the court had not yet reviewed them.
Maintaining a steady supply of merchandise remains one of the challenges facing the restructuring. In an analysis released in August, XP warned that suppliers could tighten their commercial terms, putting pressure on product availability ahead of the fourth quarter.
Impact on Commercial Real Estate
For the real estate market, the outlook also depends on how readily vacated space can attract new tenants. In a recent interview with Forbes, SiiLA CEO Giancarlo Nicastro said demand for industrial properties supported the prospects for re-leasing logistics, while vacancies at street-front stores could prove more difficult to fill.
For HSLG11’s two properties, the latest development is the legal action over unpaid September rent. Whether the retailer ultimately vacates the properties—and how that would affect vacancy—will depend on subsequent developments in the lawsuit and negotiations between Casas Bahia and the fund.
Casas Bahia had not responded to REsource’s request for comment by publication time. This article will be updated if the company provides a response.
