Countries › Chile › Guide › 11. Real estate and land › Using State land in Chile: concessions and leases of fiscal land from Bienes Nacionales, beach and coastal maritime concessions, and the restrictions near the border and the coast

Using State land in Chile: concessions and leases of fiscal land from Bienes Nacionales, beach and coastal maritime concessions, and the restrictions near the border and the coast

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

Investors can use State owned (fiscal) land through onerous concessions of up to 50 years, granted to Chilean legal entities (a foreign investor can use a Chilean company), or through leases of up to five years urban and ten years rural at a minimum rent of 8 percent a year of the fiscal assessment. Beaches, the 80 metre beach strip, the seabed and navigable waters are used only through maritime concessions from the Ministry of Defence, which the State can end. Fiscal land within 10 km of the border is reserved to Chileans.

USD figures use the Central Bank exchange rate of CLP 986.58 per US dollar published in the Diario Oficial for 23 October 2026 (CVE 2891564). UF figures use the SII value of CLP 41,221.08 for 26 October 2026, UTM figures the October 2026 value of CLP 72,151 and UTA figures the December 2025 value of CLP 834,504. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Maximum term of a concession of fiscal land	50 yearsDL Nº 1.939 art. 62, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Maximum lease of urban fiscal land	5 yearsDL Nº 1.939 art. 75, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Maximum lease of rural fiscal land	10 yearsDL Nº 1.939 art. 75, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Minimum annual rent on fiscal real estate	8 % of fiscal assessmentDL Nº 1.939 art. 69, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Statutory minimum annual rent of maritime concessions	16 % of appraised valueDFL Nº 340 art. 4, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Maximum term of minor maritime permits	1 yearDFL Nº 340 art. 3, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. The Ministry of Bienes Nacionales may grant concessions over fiscal property for a set purpose to Chilean legal entities, by public or private, national or international tender or, in justified cases, directly on an application by any person, Chilean or foreign, stating the activity, term, works and rent offered. Direct applications must be decided within three months after hearing the regional government. The award is made by supreme decree published in extract in the Diario Oficial within 30 days; the awardee may have to form a Chilean legal entity and must sign the concession contract by public deed within 30 days of publication, registered in the Conservador's register of mortgages and encumbrances.Decreto Ley Nº 1.939 of 1977 (Diario Oficial 10 November 1977), Art. 57, art. 58 and art. 59, 1977-11-10 official text · verified 2026-10-26

2. Concessions are onerous: the rent is proposed by the Special Disposals Commission after appraisal and can be set lower only by reasoned decree in qualified cases. Concessions last the agreed term, up to 50 years. They may be transferred only as a whole and only to a Chilean legal entity meeting the original requirements; the Ministry must certify compliance within 45 days or the transfer is deemed authorised. Concessions may be pledged to financiers.Decreto Ley Nº 1.939 of 1977, Art. 61, art. 62, art. 62 A and art. 62 B, 1977-11-10 official text · verified 2026-10-26

3. The State grants use of its property to private parties by lease unless the law provides otherwise. The minimum annual rent of fiscal real estate is 8 percent of the fiscal assessment (lower by reasoned decree in qualified cases or zones). Leases may not exceed five years for urban property and ten years for rural property; the State may always end them administratively, without liability, after notice of one full payment period; and leases cannot be assigned, nor improvements made or transferred, without prior authorisation.
Cost to do it: Minimum rent 8 percent of the fiscal assessment: CLP 8,000,000 a year on land assessed at CLP 100,000,000 (US$8,109).Decreto Ley Nº 1.939 of 1977, Art. 66, art. 69, art. 75, art. 76 and art. 78, 1977-11-10 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. The Ministry of Defence (the decree refers to its Subsecretaría de Marina) controls the coast and territorial sea and has exclusive power to grant private use of beaches and fiscal beach land within the 80 metre strip from the high tide line, rocks, seabed, water areas inside and outside bays, and navigable rivers and lakes. Minor, transitory permits of up to one year are granted directly by the Dirección del Litoral y de Marina Mercante; other maritime concessions by supreme decree. The decree with force of law sets a minimum rent of 16 percent a year of the land's appraised value, payable in advance; concessions cannot be modified, extended, assigned or leased without a prior decree; they lapse for one year of unpaid rent or breach; and the State may end any concession without liability with a grace period of one tenth of its term, or by decree without cause or grace period.DFL Nº 340 of 1960, sobre Concesiones Marítimas (Diario Oficial 6 April 1960), Art. 1, art. 2, art. 3, art. 4, art. 6, art. 7, art. 9 and art. 10, 1960-04-06 official text · verified 2026-10-26

5. Fiscal land within 10 km of the border may be obtained in ownership, lease or any title only by Chilean individuals or legal entities, and fiscal land within 5 km of the coast likewise, though foreigners domiciled in Chile may receive it with a favourable Navy report. Fiscal beach land within the 80 metre strip cannot be sold.Decreto Ley Nº 1.939 of 1977, Art. 6, 1977-11-10 official text · verified 2026-10-26

Worked example

A foreign solar developer applies directly to Bienes Nacionales for a 30 year onerous concession over desert fiscal land in Antofagasta. The decree is published in the Diario Oficial; within the term set the developer forms a Chilean SpA, signs the concession by public deed within 30 days of publication and registers it, and can later pledge the concession to its lenders.

Step by step

Identify whether the land is fiscal (Bienes Nacionales) or a national good for public use on the coast (Ministry of Defence).
For Bienes Nacionales land, choose tender or direct application, and plan for a Chilean company to hold the concession.
Register the concession deed and annotate it on the land's title.
Check the 10 km border and 5 km coastal restrictions and the indigenous land and water rules.
Pay property tax on the occupied fiscal land (Ley Nº 17.235 art. 27).

Common traps

Maritime concessions can be ended by the State without cause; finance them accordingly.
Leases of fiscal land can be ended administratively with one payment period's notice.
Assignments of maritime concessions or fiscal leases without prior authorisation have no value.

Sources

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