CR Cell Phone 011 506 363 2875
Skype Phone 1 561 459 4858
goodlife@puraosa.com
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CR Cell Phone 011 506 363 2875 Skype Phone 1 561 459 4858 goodlife@puraosa.com |
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Zoning
and Consessions |
The Plan Regulador and Concession The 1976 law for land regulation called for the government to zone the maritime land along the costs. This involves geological, ecological, topographical and economic studies. It also requires analysis of beneficial uses in order to produce a zoning map. The government has not had the resources to fulfill its obligation under this law. This has forced the government to rely almost exclusively on individual owners to do their own regulation plan and zoning with private funding. The process is expensive, time consuming and very tedious. Consequently, very little beach front property has actually been zoned in Costa Rica. A lot of expensive, beautiful homes and developments have been built on the maritime land without the safety of an approved Plan Regulador. The level of controversy over this problem has accelerated from almost a non-issue to a fairly hot topic. So far, no one has been forced to tear down or evacuate their homes and everyone anticipates that the Costa Rican officials and the violators will ultimately find a workable compromise. This has always been the Costa Rican way. Over time, individual sections of shoreline property will be declared as having "touristic aptitude", thus qualifying that section of land for traditional style zoning which is implemented through a zoning proposal or Regulatory Plan called a Plan Regulador. Once the Regulatory Plan is elaborated and approved through the corresponding institutions: ICT, INVU and the Municipality, the legal occupants inside the newly zoned area can now "activate" their Solicitude de Concession and transform their Permiso de Uso into a Concesion, a permanent and more specific form of ownership outlined in the ZMT Law. A Concesion is as close to a title as you can get even though the land technically is still owned by the state. Concessions for residential and tourist projects are automatically renewable every 20 years for eternity assuming terms of the Concession Contract are met by the Concession Holder. New taxes are assessed for each Concession and are substantially higher than the previous occupation tax.
The "purchase" of rights to beach property is essentially a private agreement between the buyer and seller. Technically, the law does not allow "buying and selling" of state domain. That is why a registered value appears in the public transfer documents which is much less than the actual purchase price. Costa Ricans or foreigners having 5 years of residency can register beach property in their own name. All other foreign citizens must register the rights to their beach parcel through a Costa Rican corporation formed by an attorney, a simple process that takes about 45 days and costs around $600. The corporate board of directors may be formed by foreign residents but the corporation must have at least fifty percent of it's shares held by a Costa Rican resident. You will see the initials S.A after many corporation names. This stands for Sociadad Anonima or Anonymous Society which is the most common type of corporation used because shareholders have anonymity. Normally, a prearranged agreement is made so at the time of closing the property sale, the Costa Rican shareholder endorses their shares over to the foreign shareholder so they end up holding 100% of the shares. These are "bearer shares" and are registered in a private registry (the corporate books). This procedure has been common practice around the country however some lawyers have devised other methods by holding the shares in a "legal trust" as opposed to endorsing shares at closing. Most lawyers will set it up however you ask them but be sure to understand how it works before you decide. Refuge - Alternative to the Maritime Lease In 1992, The Ministry of Environment and Energy or MINAE created a new law called The Law for Conservation of Wildlife No. 7317. This decree by the central government offers a program for landowners allowing them to declare their land as a "protected zone" while maintaining ownership rights and allowing certain development and or other activities. This program also encompasses the beach lands or Maritime Zone. In this case, administration of the permiso de uso essentially changes from the local municipality to the national government. Usage rights are similar to those described in the Maritime Law except in some ways are less restrictive. Traditional zoning or a Plan Regulador is not required. Declaration and rights are solicited through a simpler instrument called a Plan de Manejo or management plan. The Plan de Manejo describes the project and land usage, be it a residence, tourist project, agriculture or other uses of public and social interest. The specified land or protected zone is declared a wildlife refuge or refugio. Basic guidelines for environmental impact and sustainable development are spelled out in the new law, however, large projects are required to present a more detailed study. The purpose of these refugios is to place more lands in state protection while still allowing low impact development. For refugios in the Maritime Zone, concessions are not awarded. Instead, usage contracts are registered with 10 year permisos de uso. Contracts are renewable each term by soliciting the ministry every 9th year. A fixed occupation tax or canon is paid yearly to MINAE but refugios are exempt from the bienes imuebles tax (improvements like constructions). This has become a popular alternative for maritime property owners around the country. Refugio rights can be 100% foreign owned. This option may or may not apply or make sense in all cases. It is important to compare the benefits for each case. > |