Maritime Zone Concessions and Beachfront Property
A significant portion of what is marketed as beachfront property in Costa Rica cannot be owned. It can, at most, be held under concession — and concessions carry restrictions that surprise most foreign buyers when they finally read them.
How the zone is structured
The first fifty metres measured from the high tide line are public. They cannot be owned, occupied or built upon by private parties. The following one hundred and fifty metres constitute the restricted zone, where rights are granted by the municipality as concessions, not as fee simple title, for defined terms and subject to conditions — including limits on the participation foreigners may hold.
What to verify
Whether the property lies wholly or partly within the zone. Whether a valid concession exists, its term and its remaining life. Whether the municipality has an approved regulatory plan. Whether the concession permits the intended use. And whether the holding structure complies with the participation restrictions — because a structure designed to circumvent them is a structure that can be undone.
These are questions to resolve before an offer, not after.
Who can hold a concession
The Maritime Zone Law does not allow concessions to be granted to foreign individuals who have not resided in Costa Rica for at least five years, to companies with bearer shares, to entities domiciled abroad, to entities formed in Costa Rica by foreigners, or to entities in which more than half of the capital belongs to foreigners (article 47 of Law 6043). Arrangements that place a Costa Rican nominee in front of a foreign investor are common in the market. They are also the arrangements most exposed to challenge, and they leave the investor depending on the goodwill of the nominee.
Concession and title are different rights
- Term. A concession is granted for a term of between five and twenty years and must be renewed. Renewal is not automatic: it depends on compliance with the concession contract and on the municipality.
- Annual fee. The holder pays a yearly canon to the municipality, calculated on an appraisal that is updated periodically.
- Transfers and mortgages. Assigning or encumbering a concession requires prior approval from the municipality and the corresponding national authority. A private sale without that approval does not transfer the right.
- Registration. Concessions are recorded in their own registry, separate from titled property.
- Use. The concession is granted for a specific use under the regulatory plan. Building something else puts the concession at risk.
Frequently asked questions
Is every beachfront property a concession?
No. Some coastal land was titled before the law came into force or falls under specific exceptions, and it is held in full ownership. That status has to be proved from the registry record, not from the listing.
What if the area has no regulatory plan?
Without an approved regulatory plan the municipality cannot grant concessions. What exists in those areas are occupancy or use permits, which are precarious, can be revoked and do not authorize permanent construction. They should be priced accordingly.
Is a concession a safe purchase?
It can be a sound investment when the concession is valid, registered, current in its payments, compatible with the intended use and held through a structure that complies with the law. Each of those points has to be verified in the municipal file and in the concessions registry.
Can I build right up to the beach?
No. The first fifty metres are public, and nothing private may be built or fenced there regardless of what the neighbours have done.
Munduss Legal — José David Garro Castro, Attorney at Law and Notary Public. Office in Tamarindo, Guanacaste. Request a consultation.
