Possessory Information
Lic. Rodrigo José Pastor Peralta
Attorney /Abogado
rpastorp@abogados.or.cr

Most property in Costa Rica is registered in Costa Rica’s Public Registry, helping to avoid fraud and headaches in real estate transactions all registered land is titled land. There are, however certain remote areas of the country where you can still find untitled land that has not been registered. The problem with unregistered, untitled land is that there is a lack of certainty as to whom the land belongs to. To end with this uncertainty, Costa Rican legislation has come up with a special judicial process called “Información Posesoria” by which people who can prove a public and peaceful possession of a particular plot of land for at least ten years, can become the title holder’s of their land by registering it in the Public Registry.

As I mentioned, “Información Posesoria” is a judicial process. This means that it is up to a judge to grant the possessor his or her title rights.

The person claiming ownership rights over the land must prove through testimonies mostly, that he or she has possessed the land publicly and peacefully, as owner, in good faith for at least ten years. By “good faith” legislation means that the person exercising possession of the land does not know of any other person who may hold rights over the property, and that those who possess the land truly believe they are its rightful owners.

In general the process starts with a petition to a civil court judge, by the person who is exercising possession of a particular plot of land. One thing to keep in mind is that the petition must be accompanied by a map or plat of the land to be registered. An excerpt of the process is published in the official newspaper to publicly acknowledge the process. When the term to hear opposing claims is over, and if no claims have been filed, or those filed have been rejected, after performing an onsite inspection, the judge grants the petitioner title of the land and it is registered in the Public Registry.

The process does not en there though. There is a validation period of three years before title becomes final, allowing people who believe they should be titleholder’s to exercise their rights. And although it seldom happens, titles can even be contested for a period of ten years after registration takes place.

In any case, be weary of untitled property. You never can know for certain the history a plot of land has and who might have misleading intentions over it. Be sure to advise yourself well with a Notary Public before any property investment. And even though some untitled plots of land are hard not to fall in love with, it is always better to deal with registered land.