Protecting Homes, Land and Property from Registry Fraud in Costa Rica

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Due to the dramatic increase in land values in Costa Rica in the 2000-2008 period, land fraud in the National Registry became a lucrative crime. This article explains the different methods criminals use to make changes to the property title and ways they make money using these techniques.

On September 12, 2008 the OIJ arrested a group involved in fraud in the Registry. The group included an ex-police investigator, attorneys / notaries, accountants, and collaborators in the banks. (Article from La Nacion in Spanish)

A study posted on the University of Costa Rica web site by Federico Torrealba (Download Study Here - Spanish PDF File) explores the extent of registry fraud on properties and its different modes practice. It also indicates the treatment in the courts once the fraud is discovered.

According to the study, they generally present a false document to the Registry that show that the true owner is transferring the property title, or is asking for a mortgage on the property, in favor of a 3rd party.  Sometimes the false document is a power of attorney, that authorizes one of the collaborators to sell or mortgage the property in the true owner's name.

The study analyzes court decisions in light of the larger issue of what happens when the 3rd parties involved are not collaborators with the criminals.   From a civil perspective the courts tend to favor the new owner who purchased in good faith based on the public record, whereas the criminal courts tend to favor the original owner.

While often the criminals sell the property to an innocent 3rd party, more commonly they seek loans from banks or investors after they have successfully transferred the property to a false owner.  Or they seek loans representing themselves as the owner of record, using false identification or a collaborator in the lending institution.

You may protect yourself from this sort of fraud by frequently checking your property's information in the National Registry.  You can verify your property's status online at the National Registry. The main web site is http://www.registronacional.go.cr/ Or you can go to the directly to the page where you access the online database for different types of property.    http://www.registronacional.go.cr/Consultas_Principal.htm

In order to fully protect yourself, you would verify this information on a daily basis.  As practical matter this is not likely, and even checking it on a monthly basis is difficult, except for the truly organized.  And since you are reading the information, rather than comparing it, there is even a chance you could read over and not notice an important change.

However, there is an automated service that will review this information for you on a daily basis, and will also take direct action to protect your property in case of any change. Follow the links below for more detail or to request the service:

How PPR Protects Your Costa Rica Property from Fraud or Theft

Go Directly to the Service Request Form