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Certified Costa Rican Lease Agreement Translation
Certified translation of the documents that record a tenancy in Costa Rica, including the registry annotations and endorsements that carry the legal effect and that a reader unfamiliar with the system will otherwise skip.
$24.95/page
Flat rate per page, up to 250 words. No hidden fees.
100% USCIS acceptance
Every certified translation is guaranteed to be accepted by USCIS.
24-hour delivery
Most 1-3 page documents are delivered within 24 hours. Same-day available.
Three years, whatever the contract says
Costa Rican law gives a residential tenant a minimum term of three years regardless of what the lease states, renewable, with the landlord able to terminate only on statutory grounds.
So a one-year Costa Rican lease gives the tenant three years at their option. A US reader taking the written term at face value has the tenant's security badly wrong, and we state the statutory position where the lease references it.
Rent increases, and the colón rule
Where rent is in colones, annual increases are capped by reference to inflation; where it is in a foreign currency, the statutory cap does not apply in the same way.
So the currency of the rent determines whether it can rise freely. That is an unusual rule and it is the reason many Costa Rican leases are in dollars. We name the currency and translate the adjustment clause.
The deposit, and the guarantee
One month's deposit is the market norm and the lease states the conditions for its return. A guarantor or a bank guarantee is sometimes required and named in the contract.
We translate the guarantee clause and describe the position rather than substituting a US label.
The cédula, and the property reference
Parties are identified by cédula, assigned at birth registration and unchanged for life; a company is identified by a cédula jurídica whose prefix states the entity form.
The property is identified by its folio real at the Registro Nacional, and we reproduce the reference. See our Spanish page.
Ordering, and what the certification covers
Upload the document, choose certified translation at $24.95 per page of up to 250 words, and it comes back typically within 24 hours as a PDF formatted to mirror the original, with a signed certificate of translation accuracy on letterhead. Marginal annotations are translated in place, in the margin, and every seal, stamp and registry endorsement is translated with the text. See how we translate and certified versus standard.
Frequently asked questions
My lease says one year.
Costa Rican law gives a residential tenant three years at their option regardless of the written term.
Can the rent rise?
Colón rents are capped by reference to inflation; foreign currency rents are not capped in the same way.
Why are so many leases in dollars?
Because the statutory increase cap applies to colón rents and not in the same way to foreign currency ones.
What is the folio real?
The property's entry at the Registro Nacional, which identifies it.
Ready to get started?
Upload the document and receive the certified translation, typically within 24 hours.