Countries › Chile › Guide › 11. Real estate and land › Indigenous land in Chile (Ley Nº 19.253): what counts as indigenous land, the ban on sale to non indigenous buyers, leases of up to five years, the CONADI registry, land bought by the land fund and consultation under ILO Convention 169

Indigenous land in Chile (Ley Nº 19.253): what counts as indigenous land, the ban on sale to non indigenous buyers, leases of up to five years, the CONADI registry, land bought by the land fund and consultation under ILO Convention 169

Last verified: 2026-10-26 · Status: Stable

Land held by indigenous persons or communities under historic titles, State grants or court recognition, and registered with CONADI, cannot be sold, seized, mortgaged or acquired by prescription except between indigenous persons or communities of the same people. Community land cannot be leased at all and individual indigenous land only for up to five years, and contracts in breach are absolutely void. Projects affecting indigenous peoples also trigger consultation under ILO Convention 169.

Key facts

Sale of indigenous land	Only between indigenous persons or communities of the same people textLey Nº 19.253 art. 13, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Maximum lease of individually owned indigenous land	5 yearsLey Nº 19.253 art. 13, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Resale ban on land bought with the indigenous land fund	25 yearsLey Nº 19.253 art. 22, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Minimum lot when a judge authorises subdivision of divided reserve land	3 haLey Nº 19.253 art. 17, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. Indigenous lands include land that indigenous persons or communities occupy in ownership or possession under historic titles (títulos de comisario and títulos de merced), State grants and regularisations, land historically occupied by the Mapuche, Aymara, Rapa Nui, Atacameño, Quechua, Colla, Diaguita, Chango, Kawashkar and Yámana peoples when registered in the Indigenous Land Registry, land courts declare theirs, and land they receive free from the State. Indigenous land is exempt from property tax.Ley Nº 19.253, Establece normas sobre protección, fomento y desarrollo de los indígenas (Diario Oficial 5 October 1993), Art. 12, 1993-10-05 official text · verified 2026-10-26

2. For reasons of national interest, indigenous land cannot be sold, seized, encumbered or acquired by prescription except between communities or indigenous persons of the same people; it may be encumbered with CONADI authorisation, never including the family house and the land needed for subsistence. Community owned land cannot be leased, lent or ceded in use, enjoyment or administration; land of individual indigenous persons may be, for no more than five years. With CONADI authorisation it may be exchanged for non indigenous land of similar value, which then becomes indigenous. Acts and contracts in breach are absolutely void.
Cost to do it: No fee, but a void purchase or lease puts the whole price and any investment at risk.Ley Nº 19.253, Art. 13, 1993-10-05 official text · verified 2026-10-26

3. CONADI keeps a public Indigenous Land Registry; registration proves indigenous land status, and registrars must send it copies of registrations of acts covered by art. 13 within 30 days. Non indigenous land and water rights bought with the Indigenous Land and Water Fund for indigenous beneficiaries cannot be sold for 25 years from registration (the registrar records the prohibition automatically) unless CONADI authorises it on repayment of the indexed subsidy. Land from the division of reserves is indivisible, with subdivisions allowed by a judge in qualified cases only if no lot is under three hectares.Ley Nº 19.253, Art. 15, art. 17 and art. 22, 1993-10-05 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. Chile is bound by ILO Convention 169: governments must consult the peoples concerned, through appropriate procedures and their representative institutions, whenever legislative or administrative measures that may affect them directly are planned, in good faith and with the aim of reaching agreement or consent.Decreto Nº 236 of 2008, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, promulgating ILO Convention Nº 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples (Diario Oficial 14 October 2008), Convention art. 6, 2008-10-14 official text · verified 2026-10-26

Worked example

A wind developer in La Araucanía wants a 30 year lease of land owned by an indigenous individual. Ley Nº 19.253 allows leases of individual indigenous land for no more than five years and bans leases of community land, so a 30 year lease would be void; developers usually check the CONADI registry first and structure the project around land that is not indigenous, with consultation where the project may affect indigenous peoples.

Step by step

Ask CONADI for a certificate on whether the plot is registered as indigenous land, and review the chain of title for títulos de merced or State grants.
Check for the 25 year prohibition on land bought through the fund.
Map indigenous communities near the project for environmental assessment and consultation (see investing/project-permits-and-environmental-assessment).
Check water rights separately; the Water Code protects water for indigenous communities (see real-estate/water-rights).

Common traps

A sale to a non indigenous buyer is absolutely void, whatever the price paid.
Long leases and usufructs on community land are prohibited outright.
Registration status matters: land under historic titles is indigenous even if the current register entry looks ordinary.

Sources

← Rural land in Chile: the 0.5 hectare minimum lot (DL Nº 3.516), the ban on urban use of subdivided farmland, access roads, exceptions, fines of 200 percent and nullityWater rights in Chile after the 2022 Water Code reform: water as a national public good, 30 year concession rights, extinction for non use, registration of old rights by 6 April 2032 →