This page is for foreigners and non-residents, American, Canadian or of any other nationality, who want to buy a home or other real estate in Colombia. It covers who may buy, what to check before paying, how ownership passes, the foreign investment registration and taxes on a later sale.
Colombian statutes and decrees have no official English version. The law is quoted in Spanish, as published; the bracketed English wording is an unofficial translation.
Can a foreigner buy property in Colombia?
Article 100 of the Constitution: «Los extranjeros disfrutarán en Colombia de los mismos derechos civiles que se conceden a los colombianos» [Foreigners shall enjoy in Colombia the same civil rights granted to Colombians], although the law may, for reasons of public order, subject certain civil rights of foreigners to special conditions or deny their exercise.
Article 2.17.2.2.1.1 of Decree 1068 of 2015 (Title 2 of Part 17, as amended by Decree 119 of 2017): «La inversión de capitales del exterior en Colombia será tratada para todos los efectos, de igual forma que la inversión de residentes» [Investment of foreign capital in Colombia shall be treated for all purposes in the same way as investment by residents]. Without prejudice to special regimes, it bars both discriminatory and more favourable treatment of foreign investors compared with residents. Under Article 2.17.2.2.2.2, save as provided in special rules of that Title, «la realización de una inversión extranjera no requiere autorización» [making a foreign investment does not require authorisation].
These rules turn on residence, not nationality. Under Article 2.17.1.2, as amended by Article 1 of Decree 119 of 2017, and without prejudice to international treaties and special laws, residents for exchange purposes include Colombian nationals who live in Colombia and foreign individuals who stay in the country, continuously or not, for more than 183 calendar days, counting entry and exit days, during a period of 365 consecutive calendar days; other individuals, Colombian or foreign, are non-residents.
Before you pay: the title review
Before you sign a promise of sale or pay a deposit, we carry out a title review (estudio de títulos). We obtain the registry certificate (certificado de tradición y libertad), read the chain of deeds, check whether the seller is the registered owner or has authority to sell, and look for mortgages, attachments, registered lawsuits and limitations on ownership. We report in writing what we found and what, in our view, should be resolved first.
Attachments and lawsuits are communicated to the registry for recording (General Code of Procedure, Articles 593(1) and 591). Under Article 591, registration of a lawsuit does not take the property out of commerce, but whoever acquires it afterwards is subject to the effects of the judgment.
Under Article 756 of the Civil Code, «Se efectuará la tradición del dominio de los bienes raíces por la inscripción del título en la oficina de registro de instrumentos públicos» [Transfer of ownership of real estate shall be made by registration of the title at the public instruments registry office]. The same article applies that rule to usufruct, use, habitation and mortgage rights over real estate.
The seller’s obligations are, in general, delivery or transfer and the warranty (saneamiento) of the property sold (Civil Code, Article 1880), which covers protecting the buyer in peaceful ownership and possession and answering for hidden defects (Article 1893).
Promise of sale, public deed and registration
Many purchases begin with a promise of sale (promesa de compraventa). Under Article 1611 of the Civil Code, as substituted by Article 89 of Law 153 of 1887, «La promesa de celebrar un contrato no produce obligación alguna, salvo que concurran las circunstancias siguientes» [The promise to enter into a contract produces no obligation unless the following circumstances concur]: it must be in writing; the promised contract must not be one the law declares ineffective for lack of the requirements the Civil Code sets; it must contain a term or condition fixing when the contract is to be entered into; and the contract must be so determined «que para perfeccionarlo solo falte la tradición de la cosa o las formalidades legales» [that only the transfer of the thing or the legal formalities are lacking to perfect it].
Article 1857 of the Civil Code: «La venta de los bienes raíces y servidumbres y la de una sucesión hereditaria, no se reputan perfectas ante la ley, mientras no se ha otorgado escritura pública» [The sale of real estate and easements, and that of an inheritance, are not deemed perfected at law until a public deed has been executed]. Ownership then passes on registration of the deed (Article 756).
Your purchase as foreign investment: the Banco de la República
Under Article 2.17.2.2.1.2 of Decree 1068 of 2015, the assets it lists are foreign capital investment when acquired by a non-resident, and point (a)(iv) includes as direct investment «Los inmuebles ubicados en el país, adquiridos a cualquier título, bien sea directamente o mediante la celebración de negocios fiduciarios» [Real estate located in the country, acquired by any title, whether directly or through fiduciary arrangements], provided the title is not listed in the National Registry of Securities and Issuers (RNVE).
Article 2.17.2.5.1.1, as amended by Article 1 of Decree 1044 of 2026, requires foreign capital investors to register their investments under the procedure the Banco de la República establishes by general regulation. For investments made in foreign currency, «la declaración de cambio correspondiente a su canalización a través del mercado cambiario hará las veces de declaración de registro» [the exchange declaration for channelling it through the foreign exchange market shall serve as the registration declaration]; otherwise, registration follows the Bank’s procedures. Article 2.17.2.2.2.3 adds: «Los inversionistas de capitales del exterior deberán nombrar un apoderado en Colombia, de acuerdo con los términos previstos en la legislación colombiana» [Foreign capital investors shall appoint an attorney in Colombia, in accordance with the terms provided in Colombian law].
Under Article 2.17.2.2.3.1, once the investment is made and its registration declaration filed, the investor may, among other exchange rights, «Remitir al exterior en moneda libremente convertible las sumas recibidas producto de la enajenación de la inversión dentro del país» [Remit abroad in freely convertible currency the sums received from the sale of the investment within the country]. Its paragraph preserves the powers of the Bank’s Board of Directors.
Taxes when you sell property in Colombia
Under Article 24(2) of the Tax Statute (Estatuto Tributario), profits from selling real estate located in Colombia are national source income. Under Article 300, the profit on selling an asset that was part of the taxpayer’s fixed assets for two years or more is an occasional gain (ganancia ocasional), measured as sale price minus tax cost; if held for less than two years, it is not an occasional gain but net income (renta líquida). Assets sold in the ordinary course of business are not fixed assets.
As amended by Law 2277 of 2022, the single occasional gains rate for resident individuals (Article 314) and for individuals without residence on national source gains (Article 316) «es quince por ciento» [is fifteen percent]. Tax residence follows Article 10 of the Tax Statute, not the exchange rules.
Article 398 subjects individuals’ income from selling fixed assets to «una retención en la fuente equivalente al uno por ciento» [a withholding at source equivalent to one percent] of the sale value, which «deberá cancelarse previamente a la enajenación del bien, ante el notario en el caso de bienes raíces» [must be paid before the sale of the asset, before the notary in the case of real estate]. We review your position with your accountant before the sale.
Buying property in Colombia from abroad with a power of attorney
Under Article 2158 of the Civil Code, a mandate naturally confers only acts of administration, and «Para todos los actos que salgan de estos límites, necesitará de poder especial» [For all acts beyond these limits, a special power is required]. For a purchase we prepare a special power that identifies the property and the act.
Under Article 28 of the Notarial Statute (Decree 960 of 1970), «el representante dirá la clase de representación que ejerce y presentará para su protocolización los documentos que la acrediten» [the representative shall state the type of representation exercised and submit the documents proving it, to be added to the notarial record]. How a power signed outside Colombia is executed and authenticated is explained on our power of attorney for Colombia page.
How ADALET LEGAL works on your purchase
We carry out the title review, draft or review the promise of sale and the deed, prepare the power of attorney if you will not attend, and coordinate the registration of your investment. We act for the buyer and report to you in English. We make no promises about results or timeframes, and our fees are agreed in writing before we begin.
Frequently asked questions
Can a foreigner buy property in Colombia?
As a rule, yes. Article 100 of the Constitution grants foreigners the same civil rights as Colombians, subject to the limits the law may set for reasons of public order, and Decree 1068 of 2015 (Article 2.17.2.2.1.1) treats foreign investment like investment by residents.
Can a US citizen or a Canadian buy property in Colombia?
Article 100 of the Constitution refers to foreigners in general. The foreign investment regime turns on residence for exchange purposes, not nationality (Decree 1068 of 2015, Article 2.17.1.2).
Is it safe to buy property in Colombia?
No lawyer can promise that a purchase carries no risk, and we do not. Ownership and mortgages pass by registration (Civil Code, Article 756), and courts communicate attachments and lawsuits to the registry for recording (General Code of Procedure, Articles 591 and 593), so we review the registry certificate before you sign.
When does the property become mine?
The sale requires a public deed (Civil Code, Article 1857), and ownership passes when the deed is registered (Article 756).
Do I have to register my property purchase with the Banco de la República?
Real estate in Colombia acquired by a non-resident is foreign direct investment (Decree 1068 of 2015, Article 2.17.2.2.1.2), and foreign capital investors must register their investments (Article 2.17.2.5.1.1, as amended by Decree 1044 of 2026).
What taxes do foreigners pay when selling property in Colombia?
If the property was a fixed asset held two years or more, the profit is an occasional gain (Tax Statute, Article 300), taxed at fifteen percent for resident and non-resident individuals (Articles 314 and 316). An individual selling a fixed asset is subject to a one percent withholding, paid before the notary prior to selling real estate (Article 398).
Contact us
Send us by WhatsApp the city, the type of property and where you live. We will tell you which documents we need to start the title review.
Related pages
Colombian lawyer for clients abroad · Power of attorney for Colombia · Derecho inmobiliario · About ADALET LEGAL