Costa Rica Building Restrictions in Residential Subdivisions
 
 by Tom Rosenberger, - Costa Rica Contractor

A homeowners association in a deeded subdivision is a legal entity that should be included in the developer's initial legal documents, and recorded along with the deed upon purchase of a lot. Most professionals are accustomed to accomplishing this legal process through the condominium laws established here.
 
Anyone who has ever owned a condo or belonged to a homeowners' association is familiar with covenants, conditions and restrictions. These restrictions are in the governing paperwork that dictates how homeowners’ associations operate and what rules the owners and their tenants and guests must abide by. These legal documents become the bylaws in the master deed as well as and the building regulations of the owners association. They are legally enforceable by the group through the homeowners’ association. You will need a licensed Costa Rica attorney, to record the new homeowner's association board members that the owners can organize. This association and its board members need to be legalized in the National Registry, otherwise the new association will have no legal powers to restrict or enforce any of the regulations included in the subdivisions legal documents. Additionally, a licensed Costa Rican attorney will need to prepare and record the legal documents, in Spanish and then be reviewed by the registrars iin the National Registry before they will be accepted and recorded.

There is another legal process, which enables individuals and developers to subdivide raw land into lots and build a quality community with compatible architectural designs, utilizing specific building materials, to create a quality subdivision of equally valued homes. It can also protect homeowners from neighbors who want to exploit a subdivision that was designed to be residential. Regulations can be put in place to limit the types of vehicles and other items that may be visible to the neighbors. This is great for prospective homeowners who are accustomed to planned communities in other countries as well as those who desire to share similar lifestyles. This law limits and restricts property with any covenant, condition or restriction that is not contrary to law as long as it was put on the property, without cost and providing the restrictions do not violate human rights under the Costa Rican Constitution.
 
This process (Article 292 of the Costa Rican Civil Code) is much simpler than going though the condominium law process, and therefore will require less time to complete as well as lower legal fees. The property deeds need to include the legal development restrictions when they are sold. Any restrictions need to be included in the property deeds at the National Registry using a process that includes a previous no-cost transfer between owners. Lots developed in this manner will carry the rules, regulations and restrictions for 10 years. This process is not for vertical condominium buildings of more than one story. It is for horizontal properties or segregated lots that are next to each other in a subdivision.
 
If you are in Costa Rica and wish to live in or create a subdivision, review some of the information available at Costa Rica Custom Home Builder  to insure that all legal details are followed correctly, before purchasing land to subdivide or an individual lot within a deeded subdivision.