The National Assembly's Committee on Public Infrastructure and Canal Affairs approved Bill 212 in first debate on October 28, 2026. The bill is titled "Que adopta medidas para subsanar y responsabilizar los procesos de construcción de las promotoras y constructoras, y dicta otras disposiciones" (adopting measures to remedy construction processes by developers and builders and hold them accountable). Deputy Lenín Ulate filed it on February 10, 2025, together with deputies Alexandra Brenes, Luis Duke, Yuzaida Marín, Jhonathan Vega, Manuel Samaniego, Yamireliz Chong, Roberto Zúñiga, Jorge González, Walkiria Chandler, José Pérez Barboni, Gertrudis Rodríguez, Miguel Ángel Campos, Augusto Palacios and Eduardo Gaitán. According to the official session summary, the committee approved the subcommittee report, voted on the articles with amendments, removed articles 9 and 11, changed the title and sent the bill to second debate.

In the text adopted by the committee in February 2025, article 4 bars municipalities, the Ministry of Housing and Land Management (MIVIOT) and the National Water and Sewer Institute (IDAAN) from granting construction permits when there are no conditions for round-the-clock water and electricity, road access, sewerage, education and health services. Article 5 requires those agencies to verify every three months that the work matches the approved plans, and article 6 requires developers and builders to hand over easements, parks, reserve tanks and treatment plants, with a maximum of two years for the transfer.

Article 7 bars dissolving the project's companies for ten years, counted from the sale or delivery of the last home. Article 8 amends article 1343 of the Civil Code to extend to the developer the ten-year liability for structural ruin that currently falls on the contractor. Article 10 proposes prison terms of 5 to 7 years for public servants who authorize works in flood- or landslide-prone areas without verifying the required mitigation measures.

For homebuyers, the proposal seeks to ensure there is an identifiable party responsible when construction defects appear. For developers, it could mean keeping their corporate structures in place for longer and facing stricter permits before starting works. The text approved in committee has not yet been published, so the final scope of these articles could differ from the original version.

The bill must clear second and third debate in the full Assembly and receive the Executive's approval. Nexo Capital will follow the text that reaches the floor.

Research assisted by Sentinel, with editorial verification of official sources. Discover Legislat.ai