Titled property (also known as “fee simple,” in English-language real estate parlance) means that you have absolute ownership and recognized rights of possession. Titled property holds the greatest and most ownership rights, when it comes to Costa Rica real estate. Notably, titled oceanfront or beachfront property is very rare in Costa Rica, due to a law that makes all beaches (and 200 meters inland) public or concession land.
Concession property is essentially the right to use and enjoy, for a specific time period (usually, 20 years), any property located within the public Maritime Zone. Essentially, concession property is a lease. As mentioned above, Costa Rican law dictates that all oceanfront (50 meters inland, as measured from high tide) is public land; land from 50 to 150 meters inland (200 meters, in total), as measured from high tide, is concession property.
There are some exceptions – and, yes, titled beachfront property occasionally becomes available – but they’re too many to get into here. So, we’ll finish by saying that foreigners have full and equal ownership rights to titled property and most concession property. The only caveat is for concession property held in a corporation: Foreigners may not own more than 50% of the shares in that corporation.
This is a big (and important) topic, we know. So, if you have additional questions about titled or concession property, please get in touch.