Renting in Costa Rica: three years in the law, three months' notice, and a rent that rises with inflation

Yes, you rent in Costa Rica from the day you land, on your passport and without a residence card, and that is exactly what you do in the first year while you wait for the DGME. What it costs in advance is capped: for a home the landlord may ask no more than one month's rent in advance, and the deposit that is customary alongside stands as cover for the rent and damage. The trap is that the tenancy law of 1995 is mandatory and does two things your landlord would rather not mention: every housing contract lasts at least three years, whatever the landlord writes in it, and you may terminate with three months' notice.

How long am I tied in, and how long the landlord?

Article 70 of Ley 7527: the lease may not be shorter than three years, and a contract with a shorter or no term counts as concluded for three years, counted from the day you receive the property. That is a minimum for the landlord, not for you: article 72 lets the tenant end the contract by giving three months' notice, unless you agree otherwise in writing.

At the end of the three years the contract renews tacitly for another three, unless the landlord has told you at least three months before expiry that they will not renew (article 71). A landlord who shows you the door after two years is therefore not within their rights.

Rule	What the law says	Article
Term	at least three years; shorter or nothing agreed counts as three years	70
Renewal	tacitly for three years, unless the landlord gives notice three months ahead	71
Termination by the tenant	three months ahead, unless otherwise agreed in writing	72
Advance payment	at most one month's rent in advance for a home	58
Payment term	monthly; payment allowed up to seven calendar days after the due date	58
Receipt	the tenant has an inalienable right to proof of payment	56
Increase	once per contract year, at most the inflation of the preceding twelve months	67
Foreign currency	a rent in dollars may be paid in colones at the central bank's selling rate	57

How much can the rent rise?

The law regulates it per contract year. If inflation over the twelve months before the contract's anniversary is ten percent or lower, the landlord may by operation of law raise the rent by at most that percentage, measured by the consumer price index of the statistics office INEC. If inflation is above that, the housing ministry sets the percentage. Article 68 declares any agreement that goes further void, in whatever form.

A contract in dollars — very common on the coast and in the valley — falls under the same rule. And article 57 gives you the right to pay a dollar rent in colones, at the Banco Central's selling rate on the day of payment. So reckon with the exchange rate, because it moves more than the rent.

What must the landlord provide?

Article 26 lists it, even if the contract says nothing about it: guarantee quiet enjoyment, hand over the property with the agreed fittings and furniture "in good condition of service, safety and hygiene", maintain it, and not disturb you. Go through everything at handover and record the condition; the law places the duty of maintenance on the landlord, but evidence helps.

What is the deposit, and what may be done with it?

The law names the security without prescribing its form. Article 59: the securities attached to the contract, "of whatever nature", serve for payment of the rent and of all other obligations under the law or the contract, unless expressly agreed otherwise. A deposit of one month is the practice; set out in the contract what it serves for and when you get it back, because the law doesn't do that for you.

Pay by transfer and keep the receipts. Article 56 gives you an inalienable right to proof of payment, and article 58 obliges the landlord to issue one. Those receipts and the contract are together the proof of address that the bank, the Caja and the DGME will ask for; a cash payment without paper leaves you without.

What do I do with the address?

As soon as you have applied for a residence permit, your address is a fact the DGME knows. Article 33 of the migration law obliges you to report every change in writing and to give an address for service — otherwise a decision counts as received after twenty-four hours. What else hangs on the address is in the article on DIMEX and registration.

What isn't here: what rent costs per region. That differs between the valley, Guanacaste and the Caribbean coast, and the cost indication for Costa Rica works it out from your choices. And whoever wants to buy after three years first reads the article on buying a house in Costa Rica.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey, step 5.6: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Costa Rica or go straight to step 5.6 in the open plan.