What Happens If You Buy in Costa Rica's Maritime Zone (Concession Land)

If you buy beachfront in Costa Rica's maritime zone, you are almost never buying titled land. You are buying a concession, which is a time limited right to use government owned coastal land, and as a foreigner you cannot legally hold the majority of that concession on your own. This single fact catches more foreign buyers in Costa Rica than any other, because the listing often looks like a normal property sale until the structure underneath it falls apart. Here is what actually happens.

What is Costa Rica's maritime zone?

The maritime zone is the strip of land 200 meters wide measured inland from the average high tide line along most of Costa Rica's coast. It is defined and regulated by the Maritime Terrestrial Zone Law, Ley sobre la Zona Maritimo Terrestre, Law No. 6043 of 1977. The land in this zone is public property of the state, not ordinary private land, which is why it cannot be bought and sold with a normal title.

What is the difference between the public zone and the restricted zone?

The first 50 meters inland from the high tide line is the public zone (zona publica) and cannot be owned, fenced, built on, or sold by anyone. The next 150 meters is the restricted zone (zona restringida), which can be used only under a concession granted by the local municipality. So when an agent says beachfront, what they usually mean is a concession in that 150 meter restricted band, not freehold title.

What is a concession and how is it different from owning land?

A concession is a lease style right to use restricted zone land for a set period, not ownership of the land itself. Concessions are typically granted for terms of around 5 to 20 years and are renewable, and they are recorded in a separate concession registry rather than the ordinary property register. You own the right to use the land and whatever you build on it, but the state remains the owner of the land.

Can a foreigner hold a maritime zone concession in Costa Rica?

A foreigner cannot be the majority holder of a maritime zone concession on their own. Law No. 6043 requires that a concessionaire either be a legal resident of Costa Rica for at least five years, or hold the concession through a Costa Rican company in which Costa Rican citizens own at least 51 percent. A foreigner who has lived in Costa Rica for less than five years and tries to take a concession in their own name, or through a foreign majority company, does not meet the legal requirement.

What happens if you buy a concession you are not allowed to hold?

If you take a concession that breaches the foreigner ownership rule, the concession is vulnerable to being challenged, denied at renewal, or cancelled by the municipality. Buyers sometimes try to get around the 51 percent rule using a Costa Rican nominee shareholder who holds the majority on paper, but this leaves the foreign buyer's real interest legally exposed if the nominee relationship is questioned or the nominee turns hostile. The structure can look fine for years and then unravel exactly when you try to sell or renew.

What approvals does a valid concession need?

A valid concession needs an approved coastal zoning plan and sign off from the national tourism institute. The land must be covered by an approved Plan Regulador Costero (coastal regulating plan), and the concession must be approved by the municipality and, in many cases, by the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (Instituto Costarricense de Turismo, ICT). If there is no approved Plan Regulador for that stretch of coast, the municipality often cannot legally grant or renew concessions at all, which freezes the property.