Costa Rica
Renting & Tenant Rights
Last verified August 7, 2026
Written for U.S. passport holders
Deposit Rules
- Under the Ley General de Arrendamientos Urbanos y Suburbanos (Law No. 7527), the security deposit is capped at 1 month's rent; any contract clause demanding more is legally void.
Eviction (Desalojo)
- Eviction runs through an administrative process, not self-help: notification to the tenant, a hearing, and then execution of any eviction order. A landlord can't remove you or your belongings unilaterally.
The Gotcha
A landlord in Costa Rica asking for more than one month's rent as a security deposit is asking for something the law explicitly voids. That clause has no legal force even if you signed it, since Law 7527 sets a hard 1-month cap regardless of what the contract says.
Sources
This page was drafted from the primary sources below. Rules change, so check the linked page directly before relying on any of this.
- Ley General de Arrendamientos Urbanos y Suburbanos, Nº 7527 (Sistema Costarricense de Información Jurídica (SCIJ), Procuraduría General de la República)