Dreaming of a life on the water? The true meaning of living in paradise. Outlier Legal will gladly guide you through the process of buying a Costa Rican property that comes with a marina slip.

Marina Slip 101

A marina slip is essentially a parking space for your boat – a type of boat storage that provides adequate space for mooring a vessel when it is not being used. Furthermore, having a slip brings benefits to boat owners, such as security for the vessel, fuel and power provider, etc.

The slip is used for direct docking of a vessel in the water at the marina. Additionally, some people utilize these slips to store their boats temporarily for short or long periods of time. Marina slips are typically seen in harbors because they offer enough capacity to moor multiple boats together, so boat owners consider them incredibly useful.

The pricing on renting marina slips is determined by the length of the vessel and the term of the rental, for example:

• Vessels up to 40′ $20 to $30 USD per lineal foot (PLF) monthly and $20 to $26 USD PLF annually.
• Vessels up to 41′ to 60′ $19.50 to 34 USD PLF monthly and $26 to $29 USD PLF annually.
• Vessels up to 61′ to 75′ $23 to $38 USD PLF monthly and $24 to $33 USD PLF annually.
• Vessels up to 76′ to 90′ $30 to $43 USD PLF monthly and $35 to $38 USD PLF annually.
• Vessels up to 91′ to 110′ $40 to $49 USD PLF monthly and $40 to $44 USD PLF annually.
• Vessels over 110′ $50 to $62 USD PLF monthly and $45 to 55 USD PLF annually.

The reality of having a Marina Slip in Costa Rica

Marinas in Costa Rica are granted through a concession right enabled by a Costa Rican governmental entity: Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT), the Inter-institutional Commission of Marinas and Tourist Docks (CIMAT) and the local government (Municipality), where the marina will be located. Before you purchase or rent a marina slip, you must proceed with due diligence process to confirm that the marina is properly and legally recorded, understand the bylaws of usage and the amount of the fees (which will usually depend on the size of the vessel), and the tenure for which you wish to rent the slip. Usually, short-term rentals are costlier as they frequently store bigger vessels. If you are planning for a long-term slip, you may have to pay monthly rent for it.

There are two new legislations that updated the conditions in which marinas operate in Costa Rica. For example: Law 9977 for Tourism, that authorizes Marina and Coastal Development vessels with a foreign flag and their crews, to carry out economic activities related to maritime transportation, recreation and tourism within Costa Rican waters, as long as they comply with several administrative requirements and their foreign crew members can apply for a temporary labor permit.

Furthermore, Decree 43511 MIVAH-MEIC-TUR, modifies Law 7933 Condominium Property Regulatory Law, by allowing marinas to submit their rights to the Condominium Property Regime, as long as the function of the marina is consistent with the official zoning plan or the special legal regime regulation that applies to it. The possible damages into the condominium regime could be for both land and water surface areas.

The Decree (43511) mentioned above is fairly new. At the moment of writing this article, there are currently no Marinas subject to the Condominium law, however we can foresee this changing as Marinas seize the opportunity to transform their Marina to a Condominium.

The concessionaire (company or physical person that obtains the marina concession) must obtain prior authorization from: 1) the Municipality that granted the concession; 2) the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT); and 3) the Inter-institutional Commission of Marinas and Tourist Docks (CIMAT); by completing the form established for the application of the condominium property regime.

We are here to help

If you are purchasing a property with a marina slip or already have one, congratulations! Our team of experts are happy to help with the ins-and-outs of the process. Contact us today!