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A condominium is shared property with its own rules

Under Costa Rica's condominium law, Ley 7933, each owner holds a finca filial, a lot or unit for independent use, and a share of the common areas: the internal roads, the wells and tanks, the water treatment plant and the green areas. Those common areas cannot be divided and are paid for by the owners, whether they use them or not ¹.

That is the main difference with an urbanization, where the streets and parks are handed over to public use ¹¹. In a condominium the roads, the green areas and the wastewater plant stay private and are kept up with the owners' fees ^1,2.

Whoever buys is bound by the condominium's rules, the reglamento de condominio y administración, and is deemed to know the monthly fee ^1,2. Since 19 January 2026 the law's regulation is Decreto 45214, which replaced the 2005 decree that many guides still quote ².

What the rules control

The law lets each condominium decide whether owners may change facades, forms or colours away from the whole ¹. The condominium's approved plans fix, lot by lot, the maximum coverage, the height in storeys and the buildable area ². Setbacks are the stricter of two: the cantonal plan regulador or the national construction rules, or the condominium's own, if it asks for more ². Near rivers and springs the forestry law's protection strips apply as well ⁹.

Developments add their design guidelines. Two published ones, side by side:

Most guidelines also cover landscape (native plants from an approved list), walls and gates, pools, noise from equipment, construction fences and contractor rules ^7,8.

Two approvals: the condominium's and the State's

1. (01)

   Read before you buy

   The reglamento, the design guidelines and the condominium's approved plans with the area table for your lot. They bind you from the day you buy ^1,2.

2. (02)

   Concept review

   Most committees start with a meeting and a concept or schematic review. In Península Papagayo a schematic approval lasts one year ⁷.

3. (03)

   Final design approval

   Península Papagayo requires it before the ICT, the CFIA platform and the municipal permit ⁷; Nativa stamps the plans before they go to any institution ⁸.

4. (04)

   CFIA and institutional review

   The drawings are filed in the CFIA's APC platform, where the national institutions review them ³.

5. (05)

   Municipal permit

   No national rule requires a letter from the condominium ^1,2,3,4, but some municipalities do: Escazú asks for the written authorization of the condominium's administration or board ⁵, and Heredia for its approval of the project ⁶.

6. (06)

   Building under the condominium's rules

   Deposits, approved contractors, inspections at set stages and working hours ^7,8.

7. (07)

   Completion

   The committee inspects and issues its own certificate of completion; in Península Papagayo, the Certificate of Completion and Occupancy ⁷.

What it costs beyond the house

The monthly fee is approved by the owners' assembly ². Unpaid fees become a lien on the lot that ranks just behind property tax, and the seller must hand the notary a certificate that fees are paid; otherwise the buyer becomes liable for them ¹.

Review fees and deposits vary by development. Península Papagayo publishes its own: US$2,000 for the schematic review and US$2,000 for the final review, a compliance deposit of US$20,000 to US$50,000 depending on the size of the house, and a US$25,000 utility connection fee, plus tax ⁷.

Five checks before buying a lot

• Ask whether the lot is titled or held under a concession. Lots in the maritime zone and in the Golfo de Papagayo tourism pole are concessions, and the ICT adds a layer of approvals ².
• Get water availability in writing: from AyA, the local ASADA or a well concession. Without it there is no building permit ⁴. In 2026 a condominium in Nosara was reported with homes built without permits or proof of water ¹⁰.
• Find out who maintains the roads, the green areas and the treatment plant, and how much of the fee goes to them ^1,2.
• Check the setbacks on your lot against the plan regulador, the national rules, the condominium's rules and any river or spring nearby, and design to the strictest ^2,9.
• Note how long each approval lasts and how long the condominium gives you to build: Nativa allows 18 months from groundbreaking ⁸.

Rules can change: changing the reglamento takes two thirds of the owners by value under the 2022 reform of the law, although another article still speaks of unanimity, so ask a lawyer before counting on a change ¹.