Furnishing a seasonal rental apartment in Praia Grande: what guests use and what the law requires

By Lucy Home. Published 14/11/2026, updated 14/11/2026.

Off-white two-module sofa with cushions, next to a low wood cabinet and a tall plant, in the Lucy Home showroom

Praia Grande has 107,402 occasional-use homes, 41.7% of all homes in the city, according to IBGE’s 2022 Census. Some of them are the family’s own summer home; others, more and more from what I see at the store, are apartments that host paying guests on weekends and in summer. Furnishing that apartment is different from furnishing your own home: the furniture will be used by people who did not choose it, with sand on their feet and sunscreen on their arms, and it has to be described in a contract. This guide brings together what Brazil’s Tenancy Law requires, what a hosting platform lists as essential and what I check in furniture before recommending it for seasonal rentals.

Detail of a wood slat panel with an LED strip lit behind it, lighting the TV unit, in the Lucy Home showroom

Slat panel with LED in the Lucy Home showroom: in a seasonal rental, the TV unit holds the TV and the guest’s first impression.

How many seasonal rental apartments Praia Grande has

IBGE does not count “seasonal rental apartments”; it counts occasional-use homes: those that are nobody’s main residence and serve as housing only occasionally. In SIDRA table 9866, Praia Grande shows 257,388 homes, of which 107,402 are in occasional use (41.7%) and 83,798 are apartments. For comparison, Santos has 9.5% in occasional use, Guarujá 30.8%, Mongaguá 56.3% and São Vicente 6.3%. By the numbers, Praia Grande is one of the most “seasonal” cities on the Baixada Santista, and anyone buying an apartment here to rent out enters a large market. The guide Praia Grande neighborhoods for living or summering shows in which neighborhoods occasional use passes 60%.

What the law requires of the furniture

Law 8.245/1991, Brazil’s Tenancy Law, covers seasonal leases in articles 48 to 50. Article 48 defines it: a lease intended for the tenant’s temporary residence, for leisure, courses, medical treatment, renovation of their own home and other situations arising only from a given period of time, for a term of no more than ninety days, whether or not the property is furnished. The sole paragraph is what matters to anyone furnishing: for a furnished property, the contract must include a description of the furniture and household items in it, as well as the condition they are in.

Two more articles help. Article 22 requires the landlord to deliver the property in a condition fit for its intended use and to provide a detailed description of the property’s condition, with express reference to any existing defects. Article 23 requires the tenant to treat it with the same care as if it were their own, to return it in the condition received, except for wear from normal use, and to repair damage caused by themselves, their dependents, family, visitors or agents. I am not a lawyer and this text does not replace reading the contract with one; what I take from it for my work is simple: every piece of furniture needs its name, measurements, photo and condition recorded on the day it enters the apartment.

The guest’s list: what they actually use

Airbnb publishes the list of essentials it expects in any listing: toilet paper, soap, one towel per guest, one pillow per guest and linens for each guest bed, with the recommendation to provide more for larger groups and longer stays. Beds, mattresses and linens are not my subject, and I will not pretend they are.

What is my subject is where the guest spends the time they are not at the beach: the sofa for the evening series, the table for breakfast and the card game, the chairs that go out to the balcony and come back, the TV unit that holds the TV and hides the router. That set is what shows up in the listing photos and in the reviews, and it is where the wrong saving costs the most, as I explain in furniture that lasts at the beach.

A sofa for seasonal rentals: modules, washable fabric and foam with a spec sheet

Three criteria, in this order:

Modules. Most Lucy Home sofas are delivered in modules. In a seasonal rental that is a safety net: if one module stains or suffers from humidity, you replace or refurbish one, not the whole sofa, and the listing does not go offline because of the upholstery. The Diamond sofa runs from 2.10 to 3.90 m by adding modules.
Fabric with a cleaning code. Manufacturers such as Ashley Furniture publish the code on the label: W takes water-based cleaners, WS or SW take water and solvent, S solvent only, X vacuum only. For guests, I only recommend W or WS. The guide how to care for a leather or fabric sofa explains each one.
Declared density. The PFA explains that, in general, the higher the density, the better the foam keeps its original properties over use. A rental sofa gets new people every week; ask for the density on the spec sheet, like the D28 and D29 of the Diamond.

A sliding seat? Only if the room has clear floor in front. The Bali sofa has a sliding seat that opens 60 cm; add that to the sofa’s depth and check that the coffee table and the walkway survive. The guide sofa bed or sliding-seat sofa for guests explains why a sliding seat is not a bed.

Table and chairs: count by the listing’s capacity

If the listing says “sleeps six”, the table has to seat six. The reference I use, from a UK design guide, is about 60 cm of table edge per person, with at least 90 cm clear to pull out a chair; it is detailed in round or rectangular dining table. The long tables in the catalog, the Âncora rectangular from 1.80 to 2.70 m and the Enjoy from 2.00 to 2.70 m, cover six to ten seats by the 60 cm count; the round Cone, from 1.00 to 1.40 m, serves the smaller apartment. Chairs for rentals: a seat that wipes clean and a frame that can be dragged out to the balcony. The guide chairs for the dining table helps.

TV unit, buffet and what I leave out

A rental TV unit needs three things: width for the TV, a closed compartment for the router and remotes, and feet or a base that will not scratch the floor when someone pushes it. The guide TV unit for the living room has the reference measurements. A buffet or sideboard only if there is wall to spare; in a small apartment I prefer to free up circulation.

What I leave out of a seasonal rental: very light leather, X-code fabric (vacuum only), glass on a low coffee table when children are in the house, and any piece of furniture a guest would need a manual to use.

The inventory: name, measurements, photo and condition

It is what article 48 requires and what protects both sides. For each piece of furniture, I record:

name and model, as on the invoice;
measurements, for the next listing and the next guest;
photos from the front, the side and of details that already show wear;
the fabric cleaning code, for cleaning between guests;
date of arrival.

That inventory goes as an attachment to the contract and is kept with the photos. When the guest leaves, the same list serves for the check. Anyone who lives in São Paulo and manages the apartment from a distance will find in how to buy furniture for the beach apartment while living in São Paulo the buying routine without being here, and in the beach house: what to do when you arrive and when you leave the routine between one stay and the next.

Come set up the rental apartment with us

Lucy Home is at Av. Presidente Kennedy, 3870, Aviação, Praia Grande. Bring the floor plan or the measurements and the number of guests in the listing; the team puts together the modular sofa, table, chairs and TV unit with you, and room planning is at no cost. Delivery and assembly are included, and anyone living in São Paulo or on the Baixada schedules the date, which helps match the delivery to your visit to the apartment. If you prefer, message us on WhatsApp. See also the sofas page and the tables page.

Frequently asked questions

What is a seasonal rental?

Under Brazilian Law 8.245/1991, article 48, it is a lease intended for the tenant's temporary residence, for leisure, courses, medical treatment, renovation of their own home and similar situations, for a term of no more than ninety days, with the property furnished or not.

Does a seasonal rental contract have to list the furniture?

Yes. The sole paragraph of article 48 of Law 8.245/1991 says that, for a furnished property, the contract must include a description of the furniture and household items in it, as well as the condition they are in. That is why I recommend photographing each piece on the day it arrives.

What are the essential items for a guest?

The essentials list published by Airbnb includes toilet paper, soap, one towel per guest, one pillow per guest and linens for each guest bed, and suggests more for larger groups and longer stays. Furniture is not on that list, but it is where guests spend the time they are not at the beach.

Which sofa is best for a seasonal rental apartment?

I found no source pointing to a model, so I will not point to one. What I check is whether the sofa comes in modules, so one can be replaced when needed; whether the fabric has a W or WS cleaning code, which takes water-based cleaners; and whether the spec sheet states the foam density. A sliding seat only if the room has clear floor in front: the Bali, for example, opens 60 cm.