Legal basis for investing and owning

Costa Rica treats foreign (resident) and domestic investors equally. Foreigners who are not residents are restricted to a maximum of 49 percent ownership of leased beach properties. The remaining 51 percent must belong to a Costa Rican national or resident, or a Costa Rican corporation.

There are no restrictions on Costa Rica real estate and no controls on capital flows, but reporting requirements are mandatory for some transactions. Both residents and non-residents can hold foreign exchange accounts.  Accounts are readily transferable and available at market clearing rates.

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Types of property ownership

Costa Rica real estate can be held as freehold (fee simple) title or as a concession. Rights of possession title also exist in certain areas.  Coastal properties are governed by specific regulations: The first 200 meters above high tide mark is defined as the Maritime Zone. The first 50 meters of this are owned by the public, overseen by the government, and are inalienable.  The remaining 150 meters of land is known as concessions property, and can be leased from the corresponding Municipality.

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Purchasing and registering property

Costa Rica real estate transactions require the services of an attorney and notary. (In Costa Rica an attorney can also be a notary.)   Once the price and terms have been negotiated a conditional sales contract is signed allowing time for due diligence before a full commitment to buy is established. 

This is followed by a legal due diligence process where the buyer’s attorney reviews the property documents, obtains a literal certification from the National Registry, a catastral plan from the Catastral office and a tax clearance certificate from the Municipality.  If a technical due diligence is required, this runs as a parallel process. 

When all conditions for the sale have been met, the attorney drafts the sales agreement as a public deed which is signed by both parties and notarized. The Costa Rica real estate deed is then registered at the National Registry.

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Closing costs and property taxes

The costs assocated with Costa Rica real estate purchases include transfer tax, registration tax and fee, legal fees, realtor commissions and annual property taxes.

• Transfer tax - 1.5% of the registered value of the property.


• Registration (or recording) fee - 0.5% of the registered value of the property.  An administrative fee commonly applies.


• Legal fees (title search, closing and registration) - 1.5 % of the purchase price.


• Realtors commission - Between 5-8% of purchase price.


• Property taxes - From 0.25-1.5% of the declared value of the property.

The Doing business project by The World Bank Group calculated the official costs for registering a property in Costa Rica in 2008 as 3.4% of purchase price, based on a business to business purchase.  The time taken to register Costa Rica real estate was found to be 21 days.

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Title insurance

International Title Insurance, designed to provide title coverages for citizens of one country purchasing or lending on real estate in another country, is available in Costa Rica.  There are three main companies offering title insurance for Costa Rica real estate: Stuart (NYSE-STC), First American Title Insurance Company (NYSE-FAF), and LandAmerica (NYSE-LFG). Title insurance policies are paid for in the United States and any claims are made to the company in the United States and defended in a court of law in the jurisdiction of the property.

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