Squatter Conflicts

Squatters
The greatest possible danger for land ownership in absentia and sometimes even when the landowner resides on the property is the problem of squatters. According to Costa Rican law, a person can acquire rights to a property if the property owner allows that person to use or maintain possession of the property for more than a year. Once the property has been acquired it can't be taken away, except for reasons such as eminent domain and then only with proper compensation.

Before investing in large expanses of land or even a cottage or a quinta in the countryside, knowledge of the legal procedures along with due meticulousness is necessary to maintain your property rights. Written into the Civil Code (or CC for short) are numerous passages that deal with the rights of possession that are reminiscent of the earlier days of Costa Rica’s agricultural reform. Such clauses tend to favor the small, poor land-holder by upholding de facto "squatter’s rights" (CC Titulo II, Capítulo II).

In theory, squatters can only attempt to gain legal rights to a non-maritime property by peacefully occupying non-cultivated, unimproved agrarian land over an extended period of time. The difficulty of maintaining one's rights over those of the squatters is due to the imprecise nature of the law and what legally passes as "non-cultivated" or "unimproved" land. It can be equally complicated to establish the duration of the squatter occupation, which is a crucial piece of evidence in the eviction process. It is imperative to understand that, according to the law, in case of doubt, "good faith" is presumed on the side of the squatters (CC Art. 284).

There are legal steps that can be taken to rid one's land of squatters. The eviction process is divided into three phases, which are:

1. Eviction of squatters during the first three months of occupation. Such early discovery is essential for if squatters are detected during this period you will not need not go to court. Hypothetically, you need only to alert the local police, who will then be obliged to evict the squatters. The catch is that it can be extremely difficult to get the police to carry out their duty and if you are not present in the Costa Rica, actual eviction is very difficult to verify. Even though eviction within the first three months is a rather straightforward procedure, at least in principle, early recognition can prove to be difficult if you are not actually living on the property.
2. The second phase takes place after the initial three months of occupation but before one year. If squatters are "allowed" to squat on property for this duration of time, you will have to go to court and start the process of "administrative eviction" (Harris, 1995).
3. The third phase consists in continued occupation for more than one year. According to the law, squatters have then achieved a "legal assumption" and the owners must go through an ordinary lawsuit process. Such a process has been described by attorney Robert Wells as "kind of like a root canal" (Harris, 1995). In order for the court to grant the property rights to squatters, they must prove that they have been on the land "uninterrupted," "non-challenged" and living "peacefully" for ten years.

Although there are no foolproof, precautionary measures for eliminating the problem of squatters on land owned in absentia, there are a few somewhat helpful steps that can be taken. To begin with, the property should not appear abandoned and signs should be posted with the owner's name. The most important, although expensive, precaution is to hire a caretaker for the property. You should go out of your way to secure a reliable caretaker, as well as another individual who can supervise the caretaker; it is not unusual for a caretaker to squat on the land that he is paid to protect. The easiest way to avoid such a problem is to register the caretaker as an employee, which entails paying minimum wage and social security. You should also demand signed receipts from the caretaker as proof of payment.

A word of caution when it comes to squatters: the notion that squatters are simple campesinos is unfortunately not always correct. There have been numerous reports of armed, dangerous and organized squatters -- predominantly in the southern regions of Golfito and Pavones, and one such group killed an American landowner in 1997. There have been further reports of armed squatters using intimidation and committing violence against caretakers and landowners in order to gain control of the land. Evidently, extreme caution should be exercised when purchasing land in Costa Rica to avoid areas with known organized squatters. The bottom line with purchasing land for future development or as a summer getaway is that, while it may be less expensive than other developed resort areas, it may not be the bargain it appears, as caretaker and attorney costs may accumulate very quickly.

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