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Do you know why rivers have setbacks? There is a fundamental reason for that. It is raining more and more every year. It rained more in 2024 than ever before I moved here in 1980. It’s more water in a shorter time, and the soil is not able to suck it up anymore. So every year, we have more victims of flooding, even though rivers have a legal setback in our beautiful country.
There are two reasons for having victims of flooding here:
- Poor people build their homes on the river banks without permits. The riverbanks slowly move during rains, causing mudslides, so the houses disappear into the river.
- Rivers outside the Central Valley are almost the same level as the land, so when it rains heavily, the rivers overflow, and houses in the area flood.
Why am I telling you about this? Many people who move to Costa Rica have no idea how much it can rain. It’s important to know that before you buy a property and not after. It doesn’t rain cats and dogs in Costa Rica; it rains water, and lots of it. I would like you to investigate before you buy. So here is a bit about why rivers have setbacks here.
A Mudslide
On November 3rd, 2010, a giant mudslide occurred on Calle Lajas, on the side of the Pico Blanco Mountain. This mudslide killed 24 people and left 51 families homeless. The avalanche of mud and rocks descended at 60 kilometers per hour, destroying everything in its path. Most people killed were living in homes that they had built illegally on the riverbanks of the Rio Lajas.
This was not the only mudslide in Costa Rica; we have them all the time during the rainy season. Highways and roads are closed after each mudslide, sometimes for days. Especially the highways that come and leave the Central Valley, like Highways #1, 2, 27, and 32.
Watch out for these flood areas before you buy a property. A good and honest realtor will show you how to recognize them.
Impacted areas
Every year, the same areas are impacted by the tremendous rainfall. I understand a bit (not a whole lot, though) why people who are born and raised in these areas stay and lose everything they own year after year.
If you know Costa Rica well, you probably know the common flood areas during the worst month of the rainy season: November. If you don’t, check at any time on this Costa Rica flood map by Google (which won’t show anything during the dry season), or see below.
Before you buy
When you purchase a property in Costa Rica and a river runs through it, you need to pay attention to this river.
First, you must look at the terminology and see if it is a river, creek, or rainwater drain. Unfortunately, there is no automatic rule to this. Your closing attorney won’t even notice any problems with a river that borders or runs through the property. Most real estate agents don’t know anything about river setbacks, either.
Well, you’re not allowed to build in the river setback. But maybe the seller built it illegally? Some rivers have a 10-meter setback, and others have a 40-meter setback. This usually depends on the property’s topography.
How do you find out how many meters it is and if there is any existing construction inside the setback?
River Setback Certification
You can quickly learn how to certify the river setback, but actually it is the seller who should do this during the due diligence period of your purchase:
Take 5 copies and an original survey map to INVU (INSTITUTO NACIONAL DE VIVIENDA Y URBANISMO) in San Jose. Request the setback on the river that borders or flows through the property you’re buying. You can download the protocol for the river setbacks here: Protocolo para el otorgamiento de alineamientos de las áreas de protección según Ley Forestal N7575
It will take them two weeks to stamp the setbacks on it. This will indicate how far you need to stay from the riverbanks to build. Setbacks are called “retiros” in Spanish. These setbacks are meant to protect the nature around the rivers (regulated by forest law) and those who live around the rivers.
Licensed Realtor?
I know quite a few licensed realtors in Costa Rica who don’t know why rivers have setbacks. Now, you also understand why I have such an extreme feeling about real estate training and why we train our agents at GoDutch Realty to tell our clients about flood areas.
Fotos from Guanacaste a la Altura and Freepik.
Would you like to learn more about buyer property in Costa Rica? Then request a Zoom meeting with me now.
