house building
Generally
Anyone who doesn't particularly want to build in coastal areas will appreciate Costa Rica's actually quite liberal building regulations.
As is often the case in Europe or the USA, Costa Rica also has building laws and regulations, from the national to the municipal level. The overarching building law (Ley de Construcciones) is refined in its specifications in the regulations of the State Housing and Settlement Institute (Instituto Nacional de Vivienda y Urbanismo), the Association of Architects and Civil Engineers (Colégio Federado de Ingenieros y Architectos) and of course also in the Requirements of the different communities.
Depending on the municipality, building applications for a certain number of m2 of living space (e.g. more than 60 m2 in Talamanca) must be submitted by a licensed architect or civil engineer. Planning and implementation should also be left to one of these specialists. Of course, a preliminary draft may have been made abroad beforehand, but these drafts must be converted into construction plans by a local architect, who is also very familiar with the local regulations and laws.
As elsewhere, it is advisable to request several offers before awarding the contract, and in most cases it also makes sense to obtain references from the various providers. The Costa Rican Chamber of Engineers and Architects provides information! This can also be consulted if problems arise with the fulfillment of the contract. If necessary, the chamber can hold an architect or building contractor accountable or even revoke their license.
fees
When drafting construction contracts, in addition to the usual contract components, it should also be specified who is responsible for the necessary permits! Fees can be up to 15% of the project cost, but are mostly negotiable. On average, the fee list looks something like this:
cost point | Fees (in % of the construction price) |
Preliminary studies | 0,5 |
Planning and construction time
Your architect or civil engineer will be able to draw up a detailed plan with you. We would just like to show you what you can expect using a single-family home!
Construction of a single-family home, from the start of planning to handover of the keys (approx. 11 months):
Overview of planning phases:
Construction or planning phase | Duration in weeks |
Preliminary studies and preliminary draft | 6 |
Clarifications in advance
To be absolutely sure that nothing stands in the way of your construction plans, the following steps are recommended:
Obtain a notarized certificate of ownership to establish state access rights in the National Register. This will help you clarify whether state rights exist, such as oil pipelines through your property, rights of way or other public property.
If it concerns your property: make sure that you can find out everything about possible escapes or boundaries of the building (e.g. rivers, springs, dams and the like), this is best done at the Ministry of Public Works and the Office of Urban Development of the INVU.
If you want to build near an airport, the Aviation Office will be able to provide you with the necessary regulations.
Building permits – up to 300 m2 of living space
Single-family homes and buildings under 300 m2 (one or two floors) are subject to a not-so-lengthy approval process and you save yourself a trip to the INVU:
1) You submit the entire construction plans in duplicate to one of the six offices of the Chamber of Engineers and Architects (CFIA) for approval. If approved, the construction plans will be stamped with valid stamps.
2) You must then show this to the Ministry of Health in the immediate vicinity of the construction site! Processing time: approx. five working days.
3) Submit the entire construction plans in duplicate (stamped by the Chamber of Engineers and Architects (CFIA)) to your municipality. The municipality must announce changes or objections within 30 working days, otherwise the construction is automatically considered approved.
Attention: It is essential to take out “Riesgo de Trabajo” insurance, which means that at the start of construction, all workers must have accident and health insurance and have paid their share of their pension.
If you work with a building contractor who provides his own employees, make sure that there is appropriate insurance cover!
Building permits – from 300 m2 of living space
The approval process is two-stage.
First, approval of the building plans must be obtained from the Building Permit Commission (Comisión Revisora de Permisos de Construcción). This commission is based in the Housing Authority (Instituto Nacional de Vivienda y Urbanismo INVU) in San José.
Once this step has been completed, the construction plans must be submitted to the building authority of the respective municipality (Municipalidad) within 12 months. If both permits are available, construction must begin within the next 6 months, but there is no longer any deadline for completion.
As far as the amount of the fees is concerned, they are relatively low! Around 0.25% is paid to the Chamber of Architects and, depending on the municipality, 1 - 3% must be paid there, both of which are calculated from the estimated construction costs.
Attention: Here too, a “Riesgo de Trabajo” must be completed or exist so that construction can begin.
building-costs
The following examples are intended to give you a rough overview of what construction costs are like in Costa Rica (attention as of 1997)! These prices do not include the following expenses: land, external work, development, fencing, green areas, etc., so these are purely construction costs for a building.
Building type | Cost per m2 in US$ |
Single-family houses (one or two storeys) | 500 to 750 |
But as with all matters, please feel free to contact us and we will help you find the right people and therefore the necessary requirements to turn your dream of building a house into reality! Get advice and avoid unpleasant surprises!
See also:
About Us / Real Estate – Buying in Costa Rica / Services
Generally
Anyone who doesn't particularly want to build in coastal areas will appreciate Costa Rica's actually quite liberal building regulations.
As is often the case in Europe or the USA, Costa Rica also has building laws and regulations, from the national to the municipal level. The overarching building law (Ley de Construcciones) is refined in its specifications in the regulations of the State Housing and Settlement Institute (Instituto Nacional de Vivienda y Urbanismo), the Association of Architects and Civil Engineers (Colégio Federado de Ingenieros y Architectos) and of course also in the Requirements of the different communities.
Depending on the municipality, building applications for a certain number of m2 of living space (e.g. more than 60 m2 in Talamanca) must be submitted by a licensed architect or civil engineer. Planning and implementation should also be left to one of these specialists. Of course, a preliminary draft may have been made abroad beforehand, but these drafts must be converted into construction plans by a local architect, who is also very familiar with the local regulations and laws.
As elsewhere, it is advisable to request several offers before awarding the contract, and in most cases it also makes sense to obtain references from the various providers. The Costa Rican Chamber of Engineers and Architects provides information! This can also be consulted if problems arise with the fulfillment of the contract. If necessary, the chamber can hold an architect or building contractor accountable or even revoke their license.
fees
When drafting construction contracts, in addition to the usual contract components, it should also be specified who is responsible for the necessary permits! Fees can be up to 15% of the project cost, but are mostly negotiable. On average, the fee list looks something like this:
cost point | Fees (in % of the construction price) |
Preliminary studies | 0,5 |
Planning and construction time
Your architect or civil engineer will be able to draw up a detailed plan with you. We would just like to show you what you can expect using a single-family home!
Construction of a single-family home, from the start of planning to handover of the keys (approx. 11 months):
Overview of planning phases:
Construction or planning phase | Duration in weeks |
Preliminary studies and preliminary draft | 6 |
Clarifications in advance
To be absolutely sure that nothing stands in the way of your construction plans, the following steps are recommended:
Obtain a notarized certificate of ownership to establish state access rights in the National Register. This will help you clarify whether state rights exist, such as oil pipelines through your property, rights of way or other public property.
If it concerns your property: make sure that you can find out everything about possible escapes or boundaries of the building (e.g. rivers, springs, dams and the like), this is best done at the Ministry of Public Works and the Office of Urban Development of the INVU.
If you want to build near an airport, the Aviation Office will be able to provide you with the necessary regulations.
Building permits – up to 300 m2 of living space
Single-family homes and buildings under 300 m2 (one or two floors) are subject to a not-so-lengthy approval process and you save yourself a trip to the INVU:
1) You submit the entire construction plans in duplicate to one of the six offices of the Chamber of Engineers and Architects (CFIA) for approval. If approved, the construction plans will be stamped with valid stamps.
2) You must then show this to the Ministry of Health in the immediate vicinity of the construction site! Processing time: approx. five working days.
3) Submit the entire construction plans in duplicate (stamped by the Chamber of Engineers and Architects (CFIA)) to your municipality. The municipality must announce changes or objections within 30 working days, otherwise the construction is automatically considered approved.
Attention: It is essential to take out “Riesgo de Trabajo” insurance, which means that at the start of construction, all workers must have accident and health insurance and have paid their share of their pension.
If you work with a building contractor who provides his own employees, make sure that there is appropriate insurance cover!
Building permits – from 300 m2 of living space
The approval process is two-stage.
First, approval of the building plans must be obtained from the Building Permit Commission (Comisión Revisora de Permisos de Construcción). This commission is based in the Housing Authority (Instituto Nacional de Vivienda y Urbanismo INVU) in San José.
Once this step has been completed, the construction plans must be submitted to the building authority of the respective municipality (Municipalidad) within 12 months. If both permits are available, construction must begin within the next 6 months, but there is no longer any deadline for completion.
As far as the amount of the fees is concerned, they are relatively low! Around 0.25% is paid to the Chamber of Architects and, depending on the municipality, 1 - 3% must be paid there, both of which are calculated from the estimated construction costs.
Attention: Here too, a “Riesgo de Trabajo” must be completed or exist so that construction can begin.
building-costs
The following examples are intended to give you a rough overview of what construction costs are like in Costa Rica (attention as of 1997)! These prices do not include the following expenses: land, external work, development, fencing, green areas, etc., so these are purely construction costs for a building.
Building type | Cost per m2 in US$ |
Single-family houses (one or two storeys) | 500 to 750 |
But as with all matters, please feel free to contact us and we will help you find the right people and therefore the necessary requirements to turn your dream of building a house into reality! Get advice and avoid unpleasant surprises!
See also:
About Us / Real Estate – Buying in Costa Rica / Services
