Property
Registered title alongside unresolved indigenous land claims
Title passes by notarial deed registered in the Registro General de la Propiedad. Two structural issues dominate practice: a cadastre that is still incomplete outside surveyed zones, and collective indigenous landholding that the registry was never designed to record.
Key rules
- Transfers require an escritura pública before a notary and registration to bind third parties.
- The Registro de Información Catastral surveys land zone by zone; many parcels remain uncadastred.
- Foreigners may own land, but not within 15 km of national borders without authorisation.
- Communal indigenous tenure is constitutionally protected under Articles 66 to 68 and cannot simply be extinguished by registration.
- Adverse possession (usucapión) runs for ten years of peaceful, public and uninterrupted possession.
Governing law
- Código Civil (Decreto Ley 106)Property, possession and prescription.
- Ley del Registro de Información Catastral (Decreto 41-2005)Cadastral survey process.
- Convenio 169 de la OITIndigenous land and consultation rights.
In practice
Always order a certificación registral and, where available, a cadastral report before purchase. Double registration and overlapping fincas are real risks in rural areas. Municipal transfer arbitrio and the 3% IVA or stamp charge apply depending on whether the seller is a habitual trader.