Thanks to a recent law reform, residential rentals in colones cannot rise above the accumulated inflation of the past 12 months.
In 2018, the legal hike in rents is 2.6%.
This means that rents on apartments and houses, paid in colones, cannot go up more than ¢2.600 colones per ¢100,000, notwithstanding what the rental contract says.
The reform does not apply to rentals of commercial and industrial premises and residential rental contracts in US dollars.
All residential rental contracts in Costa Rica are for a minimum period of three years, in colones or dollars. The difference is the rent increases, dollar rents are not subject to legal limits, only what is stipulated in the contract.
Prior to the reform enacted last year, rentals in colones could be increased automatically and unilaterally by landlord, up to 15% per year, with or without justification.
