Land Ownership Rules for Foreign Buyers on Isla Verde

The three kinds of title

Every plot on the island falls into one of three legal positions, and the position decides what a foreign buyer can sign. The registry reports 1,840 inland freehold transfers and 310 coastal leases in 2025, so most transactions are the simple kind.

Position	Who can hold it	Term	Registered at
Inland freehold	anyone, including foreigners	perpetual	Land Registry
Coastal lease, 50 to 200 metres	anyone, as lessee	30 years, renewable	Land Registry
Public strip, 0 to 50 metres	nobody	not transferable	not applicable
Condominium unit	anyone, including foreigners	perpetual	Condominium Register

How the coastal strip is measured

The 50 metre line runs from the mean high tide mark as surveyed by the land office, not from the current beach. On an eroding shore the line can move inland between two surveys, which has left a handful of villas in Playa Sur with their pool inside the public strip. The Playa Sur district page lists the plots the 2024 survey affected.

A buyer should ask for the survey plan with the two lines drawn on it, dated within the last five years. A plan older than that is a plan the seller has not updated for a reason. The buildings that sit safely outside the zone, such as Playa Sur Gardens, say so on their data cards with the survey plan listed as a source.

What a lease gives you and what it does not

A registered 30 year lease gives the right to occupy, build within the permitted use, sublet and sell the remaining term. It does not give the right to change the use from residential to commercial, and it does not survive if the annual ground rent goes unpaid for two consecutive years.

The renewal right is real but not automatic. The lessee must apply in the final year, and the land office sets the renewal fee at the time, which in 2026 ran at 2 percent of the assessed land value. On a plot assessed at 400,000 CRC that is 8,000 CRC, paid once for the next 30 years.

Pros and cons of a coastal lease against an inland freehold

The lease buys the view and the rental demand that comes with it. Short-let bookings on the island concentrate within 300 metres of the beach, and a leased villa on the sand books at a premium that an inland freehold never sees.

The cons are the ones the brochure leaves out. The lease term is depreciating from the day you sign, a buyer in year 20 is buying ten years and a renewal application, and the bank will not lend against a lease with fewer than 15 years left. An inland freehold is worth less per square metre and holds its value without a calendar.

Risks and what to check

Two checks matter more than the rest. First, the lease must appear in the registry extract in the seller’s name, with the registration date within 30 days of the signing date printed on the lease itself. A gap of months means the lease was registered late and may have been challenged.

Second, the permitted use on the lease must match the building on the plot. A villa built on a lease that permits agricultural use is a villa the land office can order removed, and it has done so twice since 2022.

Who this is for: scenarios

The buyer who wants a house to live in for twenty years should look inland, where a freehold plot in Cerro Alto costs a third of the coastal price and needs no renewal.

The buyer who wants a rental villa on the sand should take the lease with open eyes, price the renewal into the return and read the condo buying guide as well, because a coastal condo delivers most of the same bookings on a perpetual title.

The buyer who is offered a coastal freehold should walk away. There is no such thing on Isla Verde, and a seller who offers one is offering a document the registry will not accept.

Frequently asked questions

Can a foreigner own land outright on Isla Verde?

Inland, yes, in the buyer's own name. Inside the 200 metre coastal zone, no: the first 50 metres cannot be sold to anyone and the next 150 metres are leased, not sold.

Is a 30 year lease renewable?

The lease carries a renewal right that the lessor must honour if the lessee has paid on time and kept the land in the permitted use. The renewal fee is set by the land office each year.

Does the lease survive a sale of the land?

Only if it was registered at the land registry within 30 days of signing. An unregistered lease binds the original lessor and nobody else.