Rent increases in Costa Rica: how much and when they can rise

In Costa Rica, the rent on a home does not go up whenever the landlord decides: the law sets when it is adjusted, how much it may rise and how notice must be given. This guide is for tenants and landlords who want to check an increase before paying or charging it, with the rules for rents in colones, rents agreed in dollars and leases signed before June 2016.

How often and by how much can the rent on a home go up?

The basic rule is in article 67 of the Ley General de Arrendamientos Urbanos y Suburbanos (Law 7527): in a residential lease, the rent is updated at the end of each year of the contract. What sets the date is the anniversary of the lease, not the calendar year or the month in which the landlord decides to review the numbers. If you signed in March, the adjustment comes up each time a year passes from that March. The current supply of homes for rent in Costa Rica helps you compare your rent, but it does not tell you how much yours may rise.

The cap depends on inflation over the previous 12 months. If it was 10% or less, the landlord may raise the rent by up to that same inflation rate, measured with INEC's consumer price index. It is a maximum: the landlord may raise it by less or not at all, and if there is an agreement more favourable to the tenant, that agreement applies. That is why it pays to read the signed lease first; the guide on what a rental agreement must say and what is void goes over the clauses worth checking, including the one on increases.

When inflation over the previous 12 months exceeds 10%, the calculation changes: the percentage increase for residential rent is set by MIVAH, within two limits given by the same article: it cannot be lower than that 10% nor higher than the annual inflation rate. In that scenario, the prudent step is to wait for and check the percentage MIVAH sets before accepting any figure that arrives by message. If the adjustment forces you to rethink the household budget, the guide on how much it costs to rent a house in Costa Rica goes over the other expenses that come with the rent.

How must the increase be notified and when does it apply?

Articles 67 and 68 of that law establish that a residential rent increase applies from the payment period after the one in which the landlord notifies the tenant, together with INEC's certification or a certified copy of the publication in the official gazette. There are two pieces: a notice and a document backing the percentage. A message that only announces the new amount, without the certification or the copy of the publication, does not include what the rule describes. For the landlord, the practical recommendation is to deliver both together and through a channel that leaves a record of the date.

The start date is tied to the notice: the new amount applies from the payment period that follows it. That is why it matters to keep the message, letter or email that delivered the notice, and the INEC document that came with it. The same rule adds that any increase above what the law allows is null and void. And articles 2, 3 and 4 of Law 7527 state that the law governs every lease, oral or written, that it is a public-order law, that the rights it gives tenants cannot be waived and that a clause contradicting its mandatory rules is treated as unwritten.

What should you do if the increase did not arrive as the law requires? The reasonable step is to ask in writing for INEC's certification or the certified copy of the publication and keep the reply. If the percentage seems higher than allowed, compare it with INEC's index before accepting it. What is not advisable is acting on your own: before paying less, withholding a payment or stopping payment, consult a lawyer, because late rent has consequences of its own that this guide does not cover. These are the steps a landlord would follow to give notice properly:

1. 1
   Confirm the date on which the lease year ends and the currency in which the rent was agreed.
2. 2
   Obtain INEC's certification with inflation over the previous 12 months or a certified copy of its publication in the official gazette.
3. 3
   Calculate the new amount without exceeding that percentage, or the one set by MIVAH if inflation exceeded 10%.
4. 4
   Give the tenant the notice together with the INEC document, through a channel that records the date.
5. 5
   Charge the new amount from the payment period after that notice.

What happens if the rent was agreed in dollars?

Article 67 of Law 7527 treats residential rents agreed in a foreign currency, for example US dollars, separately: the agreed amount stays the same for the whole term of the contract, with no right to an increase. The rule provides no inflation-based increase for those leases, so the dollar amount that was signed is the one paid for as long as the term lasts. A common explanation in the market is that the foreign currency already works as protection for the landlord; whatever the reason, what counts for the tenant is what the rule says.

Many tenants earn their salary in colones, and the law provides for it: under article 57 of Law 7527, if the rent was agreed in a foreign currency, the tenant may pay it in colones, at the Banco Central de Costa Rica selling exchange rate in force on the payment date. That means the amount in colones can vary from one month to the next even if the dollar rent does not change: what moves is the exchange rate, not the agreed price. It is worth noting on each receipt the exchange rate used, so both parties can check the math.

The currency of the lease is therefore a decision best made at signing, not at the first anniversary. In colones, the rent may rise each year within the legal cap; in dollars, the agreed amount is not adjusted, but what you pay in colones depends on the exchange rate. When comparing options, for example among homes for rent in Costa Rica under US$1,000 a month, note the currency in which each listing is published and the one the lease would be signed in.

Which rules apply to leases signed before June 2016?

The rules this guide summarises were not always the same. Under the sole transitional provision of Law 9354, the current rules on residential rent increases apply since June 2016, and the leases already in force at that time are governed by the previous rules. In other words, the inflation-linked cap and the notice procedure described above are today's, and a lease that was already running in June 2016 follows a different framework.

This guide does not summarise those previous rules, because the legal facts it works with are those of the current rules. If your lease was signed before June 2016 and is still in force, the percentage and procedure in this text may not be the ones that apply to you. What counts as a lease in force on that date, and what happens if an extension or a new lease was later signed, are questions worth taking to a lawyer or a notary with the contract in hand.

In practice, the first step is to locate the original lease and its signing date. If the lease was oral, the oldest receipts, transfers or messages showing since when the rent has been paid are useful. With that date clear, the conversation with the landlord or the lawyer starts from a fact and not from each party's memory.

How do you check an increase before accepting it?

An increase can be checked in a few minutes if done in order. The idea is to answer four questions before paying the new amount: whether the lease year has ended, in which currency the rent was agreed, what inflation over the previous 12 months was according to INEC, and whether the notice came with the document the law requires. A fifth applies to older leases: whether yours was already in force in June 2016.

1. 1
   Find the start date in the lease and confirm that a year has passed since then or since the last adjustment.
2. 2
   Check the agreed currency: if the rent is in dollars, the agreed amount stays the same for the whole term.
3. 3
   Look up inflation over the previous 12 months published by INEC and compare it with the percentage being proposed.
4. 4
   If inflation exceeded 10%, check the percentage set by MIVAH.
5. 5
   Confirm that the notice came with INEC's certification or the certified copy of the official gazette, and note from which payment period it applies.
6. 6
   Check whether the lease includes an agreement more favourable to you as tenant or was in force before June 2016; if in doubt, consult a lawyer.

The following table sums up each situation with the rule that applies and where it is written. It does not replace reading the lease or the law, but it organises the conversation with the landlord and makes clear which document to ask for in each case.

What we would do before the next adjustment

• Note the lease start date and its currency before the anniversary and, if the adjustment does not fit the budget, compare in good time the homes for rent in Costa Rica under US$600 a month.
• Always ask, together with the notice, for INEC's certification or the certified copy of the official gazette, and keep both documents.
• If the goal is to lower the monthly expense, review the supply of cheap homes for rent in Costa Rica before renewing.
• If you have rented for years and are weighing a purchase, look at homes for sale in Costa Rica in the areas where you live today.
• Before choosing between renewing and buying, set your rent against home prices in Costa Rica by province and canton.

Frequently asked questions

Can the landlord raise the rent twice in the same year?

The rules this guide summarises speak of the rent being updated at the end of each year of the lease, with the cap tied to inflation over the previous 12 months. If you receive a second increase within the same lease year, the prudent step is to ask in writing for its basis and the INEC document backing it, and to take the case to a lawyer before accepting the new amount or stopping payment.

Is a clause setting an increase above inflation valid?

As explained above, any increase above what the law allows is null and void, the rights Law 7527 gives tenants cannot be waived and a clause contradicting its mandatory rules is treated as unwritten. If your lease includes such a clause, review it with a lawyer, who can tell you how those rules apply to your specific case.

Do the increase rules apply if the lease is oral?

Yes: Law 7527 governs every lease of real property, oral or written. In an oral lease, the difficulty usually lies in proving the start date and the agreed amount, which is why it is worth keeping receipts, transfers and messages. With that information you can check whether the lease year has ended and whether the proposed percentage fits within the INEC cap.

Does paying dollar rent in colones change what is owed?

The agreed amount remains the foreign-currency amount for the whole term. What the law allows is paying it in colones, at the Banco Central de Costa Rica selling exchange rate in force on the payment date. That is why the figure in colones can change from one month to the next without any rent increase having taken place; noting the exchange rate used on the receipt avoids disputes.

This guide summarises practice and the rules on residential rent increases in Costa Rica as of November 2026, based on Law 7527 and Law 9354. It does not replace the advice of a lawyer or a notary, which is worth seeking when facing a questionable increase, a lease signed before June 2016 or before stopping payment.