This is land located outside of the maritime/beach zone. In Costa Rica, foreigners can own titled property in their own name and share the same rights as a Costa Rican citizen. There are two documents which describe titled or fee simple property.

The title itself or escritura is the most important. Titles are registered in the national registry or Registro Nacional, and show ownership along with any leans, mortgages, or judgments. The second document is the registered survey map or plano catastrado. The plano serves the purpose of recording measurements, size and location along with other useful information like whether the land falls inside restricted areas such as IDA Land (co-op owned lands with the government) or inside protected areas like national parks and reserves. The escritura and the plano may be different from each other and yet refer to the same property. The plano is NOT the ownership document and may even be written with the previous owners name. Ownership of the land is recorded in a separate department of the national registry. Both parts must be checked to verify that ownership and mapping coincide with the same piece of land.

The first time a property is inscribed with title, there is a three-year period of time where third parties can make a claim. However, any new claims must carry a fair amount of proof before a title can be challenged. After three years, a claim can still be filed but calls for extraordinary circumstances. There is a ten-year statue of limitations for such claims.

Most of the land in Costa Rica falls in this category. Although many lands are untitled, it does not mean that they do not qualify for title. Some meet the requirements and others don't. In a possession scenario, it is the recording of the legal transaction that establishes possession or ownership rights...not a title. The reason for this is that for many years, farmers and settlers (for any number of reasons) never applied for their title but possessed them in a "legal manner", established boundaries and transferred rights through private documentation. When properly recorded, these rights are completely legal, fully transferable and can qualify for inscription in the national registry as fee simple title. Legitimate possession rights can be demonstrated by researching the history of ownership recorded through private documentation. This is done through a properly recorded bill of sale in a lawyers protocol book. The bill of sale or carta de venta shows transfer of ownership and describes the property in words relating to the surrounding properties and well defined landmarks. Pages from the lawyer’s protocol book are then registered in the national registry.

Also known as the Maritime Zone, these lands are dealt with differently. The Maritime Zone (ZMT) is defined as the 200 meter strip of land along the shoreline, calculated from the "average high tide". It is owned by the state and jointly administered by the local Municipality and the federal institution of ICT (Costa Rican Tourist Institute). The ZMT is described in two parts...the first 50 meters is public domain or "public zone" and cannot be developed or claimed by private persons. The next 150 meters or "restricted zone" can be legally claimed and occupied by private citizens by soliciting the Municipality for the rights through a "concession application" called a Solicitude de Concesion.

Until the concession is completed, the legal instrument that constitutes the right of occupation is called a Permiso de Uso, essentially a lease, which is registered with the Municipality by submitting a Solicitude de Concesion. The Municipality of the Osa is in Golfito. According to the law as it is written, the lease holder has the right to occupy the land and build a temporary structure.

Legally registered occupants can transfer their rights by way of a Cession de Derechos, where the registered occupant "gives up his rights and passes them on to another person". Transferring rights is a simple process but there is a very specific format that must be followed. The transfer or traspaso MUST be ratified by the Municipal Board or Consejo. Even though the law does not require an attorney to process lease transfers and concessions, the vast majority of people who buy land inside the ZMT, logically, go through an attorney. However you must follow up with your lawyer to make sure he is keeping the pressure on the municipality to finish the work.