This guide is general information prepared by the seller, who has an interest in the sale. It is not legal, tax or immigration advice and may not reflect recent changes. Laws and fees change; confirm every point with an independent Costa Rican lawyer of your choice before signing or paying anything. Last reviewed 2026-10-22.
The protected strips along rivers and creeks
Article 33 of the Forestry Law, Law 7575 of 1996, declares protected areas along water, and inside them you cannot build or cut trees. The ones that matter most to someone buying a rural lot are:
- Rivers, creeks and streams: a strip of 15 metres in rural areas (10 metres in urban areas) on each side, measured horizontally, if the terrain is flat.
- Steep terrain: a strip of 50 metres measured horizontally if the terrain is steep (quebrado). In practice this is commonly applied to slopes above 40 %; confirm with your lawyer how it is read on your lot.
- Lakes and reservoirs: a strip of 50 metres around natural lakes and reservoirs.
Article 34 forbids cutting trees inside these areas, with narrow exceptions for projects declared of national interest. A private house is not one of them.
These strips belong to your lot: they are still your property, and they count in your total area. But you cannot place the house, the driveway or a pool inside them, and you have to leave the vegetation in place.
Springs: the 100 m radius
A permanent spring (naciente) gets the widest protection: a radius of 100 metres around it, measured horizontally (art. 33). That circle can take up a large part of a half-hectare lot, so the question to ask early is not only "is there a creek?" but also "is there a spring on this lot or next to it?"
Springs are not always marked on maps. Ask the seller in writing, walk the lot in the rainy season if you can, and have the surveyor or engineer look for one before you design.
Forest land cannot change its use
If part of a lot is forest, it stays forest. Article 19 of the Forestry Law does not allow changing the use of forested land, with limited exceptions that require permits. You cannot clear a wooded area to make room for a lawn or a house.
What this means when you look at a lot:
- Trees in pasture or scattered trees are not the same as a forest; the distinction is technical, and it is made by the authorities, not by the seller or the buyer.
- Even outside a forest, cutting trees usually needs a permit from the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC).
- The fair question is: where on this lot can I build without cutting anything that is protected?
Who marks the line: the alignment
The exact protected line on a given lot is set through an official alignment (alineamiento); for rivers and creeks, the National Institute of Housing and Urbanism (INVU) issues it. The municipality asks for it in the building-permit process when a lot borders a watercourse.
The alignment uses the lot's cadastral map and the real course of the creek, so it can differ from a rough line drawn on a sales map. Until you have it, any setback you see on a plan is an approximation. Our guide on how to check a property title explains where to get the cadastral map that the alignment is based on.
Permits to get before you design
Design the house after you know where you can build, not before. A sensible order, to confirm with your lawyer and your architect:
- Cadastral map of the lot, and a fresh registry certificate.
- Land-use certificate (uso de suelo) from the municipality.
- Alignment from INVU if the lot borders a creek or river, and any other alignments the municipality asks for.
- A check for springs and for forest cover on and next to the lot.
- Only then: the house design, inside the area that is left.
- Building permit from the municipality, and any environmental filing the project requires.
If you are budgeting the purchase as well, our article on closing costs and property taxes covers what you pay at closing and every year.
The lots along the Quebrada Lapa at Yakú
Some Yakú lots border the Quebrada Lapa creek. The width of the protected strip along it is being confirmed, and so is the alignment.
What that means for you today:
- If a lot you like borders the creek, ask us for its plan and for the status of the alignment, and plan your house away from the creek until the line is confirmed.
- We do not publish a buildable area for those lots until the strip is confirmed.
- The other data that is still being confirmed, such as per-lot title and water and power for each lot, is listed on the lots page.
You can see where the project sits on the location page.
Sources
- Law 7575, Forestry Law — current text (SCIJ / SINALEVI)
- Law 7575, Forestry Law — original PDF (the law has since been amended; check the current text above)
- National Registry — online services and cadastral maps
Not taken from the official text: the reading of "steep terrain" as a slope above 40 % is a common practical interpretation, not the wording of Article 33. Confirm it with your lawyer.
General information, not legal, tax or immigration advice. Check every point with your own lawyer.