Water Law is a Big Deal in Costa Rica!
That's a bit odd since there seems to be so damn much of it! I mean, its one of the rainiest places on earth. There's certainly no shortage of fresh water rivers, creeks, and springs.
Nevertheless, Costa Rica takes the issue of water very seriously.
One of the areas of real estate that can be most confusing for expats is how all these water laws and regulations might affect the property they're looking to buy.
First of all, let's get something clear: You as a property owner do not own the rights to water on your property, either above or below the ground.
In order to legally use water on your property, you have to ask the government for a “concession.” That applies whether the water is coming from a creek or a spring. A concession grants a legal right to consume the water existing on your own property.
How about a well?
Well (no pun intended), that depends on what type of well. There are two:
A drilled well must not only receive a concession, but also you must ask for a permit to drill the well in the first place. There are also hand-dug, or so-called “artesian” wells. New laws recently enacted allow property owners to create hand-dug wells without the requirement of a concession or a permit. These wells do have to be registered with the local municipality.
The reason having legal water is so important is that, generally, without it you cannot get a building permit. Therefore it is incumbent on you to find out how the property you want to purchase gets its potable water.
If it is a “metered” source, such as a local Asada or AyA (essentially city water), you're good to go. If the property has a private non-metered source, then generally you will need a concession. Private sources would be creeks, springs or drilled wells. As noted above, there is an exception for artesian (hand-dug) wells.
If all that wasn't confusing enough, there's also the issue of setbacks from water sources on your property. In general setbacks from rivers and creeks can be either 10, 15, or 50 meters.
Many of my client buyers love to have these water sources on their properties. However, before you buy, during your due diligence period, you need to find out what the setback from a river or creek is. You have to ask a government organization called INVU for this information. Your attorney should do this for you.
There are also important setbacks from springs. These can be either a 60, 100, or 200 meter radius from where the spring originates. Springs that are intermittent (not having a year-round flow) have 60 meter setbacks. Year-round springs have 100 meter setbacks. However, if the spring is being used as a community water source, the setback increases to 200 meters.
Note also that these prominent setbacks from springs even located on adjacent properties can extend over into your property!
Now, what if no one knows about the spring? That is, it's not registered with either the water department or INVU. In that case you might be ok, but your attorney must carefully verify that the spring is indeed “unregistered.” Your surveyor can also help in this regard.
The problem with these setbacks is that you cannot get a building permit to build within a river, creek, or spring setback. What if the house you’re considering to buy is found to be within a setback area? Well, you need to find out if that home was built with a permit. These setbacks do change over time. If the home was originally built with a permit, then you’re probably ok, at least with regard to the existing home. Although getting a permit for any new construction within the setback won't be possible. If the home wasn't built with a permit, you should proceed with extreme caution!
I hope all this doesn't provoke too much stress!
Just keep in mind, when buying real estate in Costa Rica, water is always a major issue!
