Costa Rica Rental Contracts

When the possibility of owning your own home in Costa Rica remains a distant dream, it becomes necessary to rent.

Nevertheless before moving into your new home, both tenants and landlords must secure their interests in a rental contract in order to establish the duties and responsibilities of both parties.

Rental contracts can be verbal or written.

A verbal contract allows any testimony as proof, among which a simple receipt for rent paid is the best document.

A written contract offers a rental relationship characterized by security that allows both parties to know their obligations, thus avoiding the application of the law for urban and suburban rentals.

According to the law there are three kinds of contracts: agrarian rentals that refer to farms or rustic areas used for agriculture or raising livestock; municipal rentals such as renting a plot for a parking lot with no other infrastructure, and the last kind, which establishes the rules for home or commercial rentals.

Some important aspects when establishing a rental contract, whether for a house, apartment, condominium or commercial locale, are that the document must include information about:

• Which locale
• The rental amount
• Where to pay
• The names and pertinent information about both parties
• Description of the locale and
• The “contractual” domicile (address, post office box, office of lawyer or legal representative where notifications can be sent).

With regard to rent increases, the law stipulates that if the rent agreed on is in colones, the monthly rent can increase a maximum of 15 percent a year.

If the rent is in dollars, no increase is allowed, because of local devaluation.

Also, Article 70 stipulates that a rental contract may not be for less than three years. If the tenant or landlord wishes to break the contract, they must give three months notice.

Please note that if you are making a rental contract without a legal professional:

• Be sure to agree on whether the rent payment is one month in advance or one month after.
• Determine specific prohibitions about having pets and the number of people who may live in the house.
• Establish a guaranteed deposit to handle non-payment of public utilities or for damages.

Our thanks to Yendry Miranda and our friends at La Nación – Costa Rica’s largest Spanish circulation newspaper for their permission use this article.

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Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.