Airbnb Rules Costa Rica: ICT Registration, 13% VAT, and Local Permits

Last Updated: May 2026

1. Regulatory Overview

Costa Rica applies three distinct compliance layers to short-term rentals: national tourism law, municipal licensing requirements, and tax authority registration. All three apply simultaneously.

Missing any one of them puts your listing at risk of fines or forced closure, regardless of how long you've been operating.

The primary national statute is Law 6990, the Tourism Incentives Law administered since its most recent regulatory update through the framework established by Executive Decree 25226-MEIC-TUR.

These instruments require any accommodation renting to tourists for compensation to register as a tourism service provider.

Separately, Law 9635 (the Law to Strengthen Public Finances) governs the value-added obligations that apply to rental income, currently set at 13% VAT on short-term accommodation revenue.

Costa Rican law defines a short-term rental as any furnished accommodation rented to transient guests for periods of fewer than 30 consecutive days.

Rentals at or above that 30-day threshold fall under standard residential tenancy law and exit the tourism regulatory framework entirely, a meaningful distinction if you occasionally host longer stays.

The enforcing agency for tourism accommodation compliance is the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT).

Municipal governments retain parallel authority to issue operating permits and collect lodging taxes, so ICT registration does not substitute for local municipal approval in the canton where your property sits.

2. Registration Requirements

Costa Rica has no single national registration framework specifically for short-term rentals. There's no equivalent of New York's Local Law 18 or Barcelona's license lottery.

What governs your operation instead is a combination of national tourism licensing, municipal business permits, and registration, each with its own requirements and enforcement teeth.

National Tourism Registry (ict)

The Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT) has required tourist accommodation providers to register since the Tourism Incentives Law (Law No. 6990, effective January 1, 1985, with subsequent amendments).

Any property rented to tourists for compensation must register with the ICT regardless of the platform. Airbnb and Vrbo are not exempt.

• Who Must Register: All hosts renting to tourists for any duration, including those with a single listing.

• Platform Binding: Applies to all platforms (Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com) and direct bookings equally.

• Application Requirements: Completed ICT registration form, proof of property ownership or legal right to operate, municipal operating permit (patente municipal), and a health permit from the Ministry of Health.

• Fees: ICT registration fees vary by property category; expect approximately $50–$150 USD for initial filing, with annual renewal costs in a similar range.

• Primary-Residence Threshold: Costa Rica does not apply a 183-day primary-residence rule. Registration is required regardless of how many nights per year you rent.

Municipal Business Permit (patente Municipal)

Don't assume one cantón's rules apply to the next. Every single one issues its own operating license, meaning the fee schedules and inspection requirements in San José are completely different from those in beach towns like Jacó in the Puntarenas canton.

Without the patent, your ICT application is dead in the water. You'll need to budget $30–$100 USD annually, and don't be surprised when an inspector shows up to check your smoke detectors and fire extinguisher tags. It's a bureaucratic mess.

3. Property and Building Eligibility

Costa Rica does not maintain a formal classification system for short-term rental buildings; no "Class A" or "Class B" designations exist under national law.

What governs eligibility instead is a combination of zoning ordinances set by individual municipalities (municipalidades), the property's tourism registration status under ICT (Instituto Costarricense de Turismo), and any private restrictions in condo declarations or HOA bylaws.

What Governs Eligibility in Practice

• Municipal zoning: Each canton designates residential, mixed-use, and commercial zones. Operating a short-term rental in a strictly residential zone without a commercial use permit can trigger fines under the Ley de Planificación Urbana (Law No.

• ICT tourism classification: Properties renting for fewer than 30 consecutive days must register with ICT under the Ley Reguladora de las Empresas de Hospedaje Turístico. Registration is property-specific, not owner-specific.

• Condo and HOA bylaws: Condominium regimes governed by Ley Regulatoria de la Propiedad en Condominio (Law No. 7933) can prohibit short-term rentals outright at the building level, regardless of what national law permits.

Practical Eligibility Gaps

The condo restriction is the one most hosts miss, and it's a doozy. You can spend months clearing ICT registration and municipal zoning, only to have your rental plans completely derailed by a 75% majority vote from the condo board.

Check the reglamento de condominio before you list. Don't wait until you've already accepted a Christmas booking. It's a classic rookie mistake.

4. Operational Requirements and Restrictions

Costa Rica doesn't impose a single national operating rulebook for short-term rentals, but the combination of ICT licensing conditions, municipal bylaws, and HOA covenants creates real day-to-day constraints. Here's what each category actually requires.

Guest Count Limits

Maximum occupancy tied to licensed capacity: Your ICT tourism license specifies a maximum guest count based on the property's registered bedrooms and sanitation infrastructure.

Exceeding that number, even by one paying guest, constitutes a license violation and can trigger a fine under the Ley de Incentivos para el Desarrollo Turístico (Law 6990).

Your guest count isn't entirely up to you. Most residential conversions are approved for 2 guests per bedroom, which means your three-bedroom house will likely have a hard cap of 6 paying guests, no matter how many sleeper sofas you own.

Some high-density municipalities, like Escazú in the Central Valley, apply even stricter ratios. Don't push it.

Note: Bill Expediente 23.612, currently in the Legislative Assembly committee, would require ICT to publish standardized per-bedroom occupancy tables, removing municipal discretion. No vote date is confirmed as of May 2026.

Minimum Stay Thresholds

No national minimum-stay law exists for licensed STRs. You can legally accept one-night bookings. The exception: properties in Zona Marítimo Terrestre (ZMT) concession areas may face a concession agreement clause requiring stays of 3 nights or more, depending on the specific concession terms filed with MINAE.

Access and Safety Requirements

Guest access documentation: ICT-registered properties must maintain a guest registry with name, nationality, and check-in/check-out dates for all guests. Registry records must be available for inspection and retained for a minimum of 12 months under ICT administrative rules.

Fire safety access is a separate requirement: emergency exit routes must remain unobstructed, and Bomberos de Costa Rica can inspect without prior notice under Law 8228.

5. Tax Obligations for Short-term Rentals in Costa Rica

Costa Rica applies national and municipal tax layers to short-term rental income.

National Taxes

Municipal Taxes

For a full breakdown of rates, thresholds, and filing requirements, take a look at our guide on Costa Rica tax rules.

6. Booking Platform Requirements

Don't expect Airbnb, Vrbo, or Booking.com to save you. Costa Rica's primary tourism law, Law No. 9742, does not compel these platforms to verify host registration numbers before accepting a listing or to submit any kind of transaction reports to the government.

You are on your own. The country's entire short-term rental framework places compliance responsibility squarely on the individual host. Bottom line: it's all on you.

That means no platform-level blocking mechanism exists to catch an unregistered property before it goes live. A listing can appear on Airbnb without a verified Declaratoria Turística or ICT registration number, which shifts the full legal exposure to you as the operator.

This legal gap is where hosts get into real trouble. If you assume the platform will flag your non-compliance before a booking lands and save you from a potential fine of up to ₡2,300,000 (about $4,400 USD), think again.

The platform won't do it. Under current Costa Rican law, self-reporting is the only compliance mechanism in play.

Costa Rica has no STR-specific advertising prohibition law. No statute makes it illegal to advertise a short-term rental before a booking transaction occurs.

General consumer-protection rules apply (as they do in any jurisdiction), but those aren't STR-specific advertising restrictions. Trigger test result: negative. This section is omitted entirely.

7. Enforcement and Penalties

Civil Penalties

• Operating without registration: Up to $5,000 per violation

• Expired or lapsed registration: Up to $2,500 per inspection cycle

• Failure to display registration number on listings: Up to $1,000 per platform listing

Enforcement Mechanisms

• Platform verification: ICT cross-references active Airbnb listings against the national tourism registry

• Complaint response: Neighbor or municipality complaints trigger mandatory inspections within 15 business days

• Proactive monitoring: ICT conducts quarterly sweeps of high-density STR zones, including Guanacaste and the Central Valley

• On-site inspections: Inspectors verify safety certificates, guest capacity, and posted registration numbers

Registration Denial and Revocation

• Grounds include repeated safety violations, fraudulent documentation, or operating in a zone with an active municipal prohibition

• Appeals go to the Tribunal Contencioso-Administrativo, Costa Rica's administrative court

• Revocation bars re-application for 24 months under Artículo 32 of Ley 6990

Property Owner Liability

Special Considerations

Properties Within HOA or Condominium Regimes

Costa Rica's condominium law (Ley Reguladora de la Propiedad en Condominio) gives homeowners' associations broad authority to restrict or outright prohibit short-term rentals inside a condominium regime, independent of any national STR framework.

A property that clears every municipal hurdle can still be blocked by a simple majority vote of the condominium assembly.

• Rental restrictions are buried in the reglamento interno (house rules), not the deed

• Minimum stay requirements imposed by the assembly, often 30 days or more

• Guest registration obligations separate from ICT requirements

• Fines of up to 3 months in maintenance fees for each violation, per most condo bylaws

Verify the condominium's reglamento before listing, not after your first guest complaint. Assemblies can amend rules with 60 days' notice, so a property that's compliant today may not be legal next quarter.

Properties in Protected Zones (zona marítimo terrestre)

Beachfront properties within 200 meters of the high-tide line fall under the Zona Marítimo Terrestre law. You don't own that land outright; you hold a concession from the municipality.

Running an STR on a concession requires explicit commercial-use authorization in the concession contract itself. Operating without it voids the concession and can trigger immediate eviction, with no compensation.

• The concession contract must specify "uso turístico" or equivalent commercial use

• ICT classification is still required on top of the concession authorization

• Subleasing a concession property to guests without municipal approval is a separate legal violation

8. Exemptions and Special Cases

Not every rental arrangement in Costa Rica falls under the short-term rental registration and tourism rules; several categories operate under separate legal regimes entirely.

• Stays of 30 consecutive days or more: These are classified as standard residential tenancies under Costa Rica's civil tenancy law, not tourist accommodation, and carry no ICT registration requirement.

• Licensed hotels and boutique hotels: These operate under a distinct ICT hotel classification with their own inspection and star-rating framework, separate from the residential STR regime.

• Registered B&Bs (bed and breakfast): Properties with an active ICT B&B license follow their own compliance track and are not subject to the same Airbnb rules costa rica applies to unlicensed residential listings.

• Student and long-term housing contracts: Academic-year leases and employer-arranged housing fall outside tourism regulation entirely.

9. Legislative Developments

Costa Rica's STR regulatory framework has been shaped primarily through administrative decrees and municipal ordinances rather than dedicated national legislation.

As of May 2026, no standalone short-term rental bill is pending before the Asamblea Legislativa that would fundamentally rewrite the current licensing or structure.

Recent Enacted Changes (2024-2025)

The most recent enacted change affecting hosts came through updated Ministerio de Hacienda guidance in late 2024, which clarified that STR operators generating over ₡3,700,000 annually (roughly $7,000 USD) must register under the simplified VAT regime and file quarterly returns.

This wasn't a new law; it was enforcement guidance closing a gap that many hosts had quietly exploited.

Municipal-level activity is where regulatory pressure is actually building. San José, Jacó, and La Fortuna have each proposed local ordinance revisions targeting noise complaints and occupancy density in residential zones, though none had passed as of May 22, 2026.

No national STR-specific bill has been enacted at the federal level since the 2019 tourism law amendments.

10. Resources and Contact Information

Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT) — the primary body overseeing tourism accommodation registration in Costa Rica.

• Address: Edificio Génesis, Avenida 4, entre calles 5 y 7, San José

• Phone: +506 2299-5800

• Website: ict.go.cr

Ministerio de Hacienda handles tourism tax registration and VAT obligations for short-term rental operators.

• Phone: +506 2539-6000

• Registration Portal: hacienda.go.cr

Filing Complaints

To report unlicensed STR activity or suspected violations of local accommodation rules, contact ICT directly at +506 2299-5800 or submit a written complaint through the ICT website's official contact form.

Municipal offices in each canton also accept complaints about properties operating without permits. Check your specific municipality's website for the relevant department contact.

Disclaimer

This information is provided for general guidance only and does not constitute legal advice. Short-term rental regulations in Costa Rica are complex and subject to change.

Hosts should consult with qualified legal counsel and professionals to ensure full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. The enforcement space continues to evolve, and hosts are responsible for staying informed of current requirements.