Myths and realities about Squatters

The Costa Rican law recognizes the right of land possession. If a person has been established on a particular piece of land for a specific period of time, even if this land isn’t registered under his name, he can claim possession of that land and eventually after an additional period of time he could claim himself as the legal owner of that property.

However, this is a very strict and limited regulation, and several conditions must met for a person to claim any rights on a land that hasn’t been acquired by legal transfer. General conditions are (1) the “good faith” of the person claiming possession and (2) this person has to be acting before others as if he were the legal owner of the property (“acts of ownership”). In productive land (e.g. a plantation or a small farm), different regulations apply, and besides the general conditions said, this person must have worked the land and make it productive for as long as he has being living on it.

Additionally, for a person to claim possession, he must have been living on the land with all the conditions said, for at least one year on productive land scenario and for three years on any other kind of land.

According to those conditions, it’s very unlikely that a person can claim “good faith” and “acts of ownership” on any land acquired legally by the purchase procedure explained in this guide, and even less probable that this conditions could be kept out of your knowledge for one to three years.

To prevent squatters from invading your property, the easiest way is living in the property you are acquiring. If you are going to be traveling back and forth from your homeland, we recommend that you leave someone of your confidence to watch periodically for your property.

If squatters ultimately invade your property, the law gives you the right to evict them on a very easy and fast procedure, but we have it has to be establish it within three months from notice about their presence. If this process isn’t established on time, there are other kinds of processes that will help you maintain your rights as owner of your land.