The Foreign Buyer's Guide to Costa Rica Property
The single question we hear most: "Can I even own here?" Short answer, yes, with one coastal exception. Here is exactly what you can own, how to hold it, and where people get caught.
This is a legal-topic page. Before publish it must be reviewed by a licensed Costa Rica attorney, and the reviewer's role + date will appear in the byline. Statutory figures below are labelled "confirm current." This page is educational and is not legal advice.
Can foreigners own property in Costa Rica?
Yes. On titled (fee-simple) land, a foreigner has the same ownership rights as a Costa Rican citizen, you can buy, sell, rent, mortgage and pass on property in your own name. No residency, no citizenship, and no local partner is required. The one real exception is the coastal maritime zone, covered below.
This surprises people, because it is more open than most countries. Costa Rica's constitution protects private property for everyone, and the property registry (Registro Nacional) records foreign owners exactly the way it records nationals. What matters is not your passport, it is whether the land is titled or sits inside a restricted zone.
This is the first thing that decides what you can own. Folio reads the official cadastre and maritime-zone boundary for any Costa Rica property and tells you which one you're looking at, free.
Titled land: equal rights, full ownership
Most property away from the immediate beach is titled land, propiedad titulada. It has a registered title in the Registro Nacional, identified by a número de finca (property number) and a folio real, plus a surveyed plano catastrado (cadastral map) filed with the National Cadastre.
As a foreign owner of titled land you can:
- Hold 100% ownership in your own name or through a Costa Rican company;
- Sell, gift, or leave it in a will;
- Rent it out or build on it (subject to normal permits, see Building Permits);
- Register a mortgage against it.
Example. A buyer from Canada purchasing a titled lot in the hills above Santa Teresa gets the same registered title an Costa Rican would, recorded under their name (or their sociedad) with the finca number and folio real. What still matters is verifying that title is clean: no liens, the boundaries on the plano match the ground, and no one is occupying it. That verification, not your nationality, is where deals actually go wrong. See the Due-Diligence Checklist.
The exception: the maritime zone and the concession rule
The first 200 metres inland from the high-tide line is the Zona Marítimo Terrestre (ZMT), the maritime terrestrial zone. It is public land. You do not buy titled ownership here; access is by concession from the local municipality.
Inside that 200-metre band:
- First 50 metres (zona pública): fully public. No one, national or foreign, can own it, fence it, or build permanent structures on it.
- Next 150 metres (zona restringida): can be used under a concesión (a long-term, renewable right to use, granted and recorded by the municipality), not a title.
Here is the part that catches foreign buyers: concessions have foreign-participation limits. Under Costa Rica's maritime-zone law (Ley 6043, Art. 47, confirm current), a concession generally cannot be granted to a foreigner who has not resided in the country for the required period, and a company holding a concession may not be majority foreign-owned. In practice this means a foreign buyer typically must structure a concession with a qualifying Costa Rican partner and hold a minority position.
A property advertised as "beachfront" is frequently ZMT concession, not title. That is not automatically bad, plenty of legitimate hotels and homes operate on sound concessions, but it is a completely different legal animal from titled land, with different risks (concession status, up-to-date municipal canon payments, an approved plan regulador for the beach). Folio's Maritime Zone page covers it in depth, and the free check flags whether a property touches the ZMT.
Do you need residency to buy?
No. You can buy, own and sell titled property on a tourist entry. Residency is an immigration status, useful for living here, for local financing, and (importantly) for qualifying to hold a maritime-zone concession, but it is not a requirement to own titled land. If residency is on your radar for other reasons, that's a separate track from the purchase itself.
How foreign buyers usually hold title
There are two legitimate ways to hold titled property, and the "right" one depends on your estate plan and your home-country taxes, not on a one-size rule.
In your own name (personal)
- Simplest and cheapest to set up
- No annual corporate obligations
- Direct, clearly personal ownership
- Succession runs through Costa Rica probate
Through a CR company (S.A. / SRL)
- Shares transfer on death, easier succession
- Some privacy and liability separation
- Common for multiple owners or partners
- Annual corporate tax, legal books, a resident agent
Neither is "the foreigner option", Costa Ricans use both too. The corporate route (an S.A. or the lighter SRL) is popular with foreign buyers mainly for succession and for holding property with a partner. Weigh it with a CR attorney and your own tax advisor. See Ownership Structures.
Paying from abroad: escrow and transfers
You do not hand a seller a wire and hope. Costa Rica purchases normally run through escrow: your funds go into an account held by a SUGEF-registered escrow agent and are released to the seller only when the transfer deed (escritura) is signed before a notary and the title change is submitted to the Registro Nacional.
Wire the purchase price into a regulated escrow account. Expect anti-money-laundering source-of-funds paperwork, this is normal and a good sign.
A Costa Rica notary (who is also an attorney) drafts and authorises the transfer deed. Only a CR notary can register a property transfer.
The transfer is filed at the registry; once recorded, escrow releases the funds. You are now the registered owner.
More on this in Escrow in Costa Rica and The Closing Process.
Ownership rights are the easy part. Whether this specific property is clean (title, liens, boundaries, occupancy, maritime zone, water) is what a Folio report checks against official records before you wire a dollar.
Frequently asked questions
Can foreigners own property in Costa Rica?
Yes. On titled land, foreigners have the same rights as citizens, you can own 100% in your own name, with no residency or local partner required. The only major exception is the maritime zone within 200 m of the shoreline, which is held by concession.
Is beachfront property a bad idea for foreigners?
Not necessarily, but "beachfront" is often maritime-zone concession, not title, and concessions cap foreign participation. Confirm whether a property is titled or concession before you get attached. Folio's free check flags maritime-zone contact.
Do I need a Costa Rican partner to buy?
Not for titled land, you can own alone. A qualifying Costa Rican partner is typically needed only to hold a maritime-zone concession, because of the foreign-participation limits under Ley 6043.
Should I buy in my name or set up a company?
Both are legal and common. A corporation (S.A. or SRL) can simplify succession and partner ownership but carries annual costs. Decide with a CR attorney and your home-country tax advisor.
How do I get my money into the country safely?
Through a SUGEF-registered escrow agent. Funds are released to the seller only after the transfer is signed before a notary and filed with the registry. Prepare source-of-funds documentation for anti-money-laundering compliance.
Can I get a mortgage as a foreigner?
It's possible but harder and slower than paying cash, and local bank financing usually favours residents. Many foreign buyers purchase with cash or home-country financing. This is a separate topic from the right to own, which you have regardless.