Countries › Colombia › Guide › 11. Real estate and land › Indigenous reserves and Afro Colombian collective land: inalienable, imprescriptible and unattachable land, what can and cannot be bought, and prior consultation for projects

Indigenous reserves and Afro Colombian collective land: inalienable, imprescriptible and unattachable land, what can and cannot be bought, and prior consultation for projects

Last verified: 2026-10-27 · Status: Stable

Indigenous reserves (resguardos) and the collective lands of Afro Colombian communities cannot be sold, acquired by prescription or seized. Within Afro Colombian collective titles, only plots assigned to a family may be transferred, and then only to other community members or members of the same ethnic group. Investors cannot buy this land; projects affecting it go through prior consultation with the communities.

USD figures use the TRM of COP 3,157.94 per US dollar valid on 27 October 2026, certified by the Superintendencia Financiera and published on the national open data portal (datos.gov.co). UVT amounts use the 2026 UVT of COP 52,374 (DIAN Resolución 000238 de 2025) and minimum wage amounts use the 2026 monthly minimum wage of COP 1,750,905 (Decreto 1469 de 2025). Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Indigenous reserve (resguardo) land can be sold	No (collective, non transferable) textConstitución Política art. 63 and 329, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Afro Colombian collective land can be sold to outsiders	No; family plots only to community or ethnic group members textLey 70 de 1993 art. 7, as of 2026-10-27 · in force

The rule

1. Goods for public use, natural parks, communal lands of ethnic groups, reserve lands (resguardos), the nation's archaeological heritage and other goods the law determines are inalienable, imprescriptible and unattachable.
Cost to do it: Not purchasable; any sale is ineffective.Constitución Política de Colombia de 1991, Art. 63, 1991-07-04 official text · verified 2026-10-27

2. Indigenous reserves (resguardos) are collective property and cannot be transferred.Constitución Política de Colombia de 1991, Art. 329 inc. 2, 1991-07-04 official text · verified 2026-10-27

3. In each Afro Colombian community, the part of the land for collective use is inalienable, imprescriptible and unattachable. Only areas assigned to a family group may be transferred, on dissolution of the group or other causes in the regulations, and the preferential right to occupy or buy them may be exercised only by other community members, and failing them by another member of the ethnic group.Ley 70 de 1993 (Afro Colombian communities), Art. 7, 1993-08-27 official text · verified 2026-10-27

4. Property tax on indigenous reserves is set at the weighted average of the rates for other properties in the municipality, under the national cadastre methodology.Ley 44 de 1990 art. 4, as replaced by Ley 1450 de 2011 art. 23, Par. 1, 2011-06-16 official text · verified 2026-10-27

5. Maritime concessions require a certificate from the Interior Ministry's prior consultation office on whether ethnic communities are present in the project area, and ZIDRES surface right contracts cannot be granted over ethnic territories.Decreto Ley 2324 de 1984 art. 169 lit. i) as amended by Decreto Ley 2106 de 2019 art. 65; Ley 1776 de 2016 art. 13 par. 1, Art. 169 lit. i); art. 13 par. 1, 2019-11-22 official text · verified 2026-10-27

Worked example

A renewable energy developer wants land for a wind farm in La Guajira. Part of the site lies inside an indigenous reserve, which cannot be bought or acquired by prescription (Constitución art. 63 and 329). The developer limits purchases to private title outside the reserve, requests a certificate on the presence of ethnic communities, and plans the prior consultation process for project impacts (see investing/environmental-licensing-and-prior-consultation).

Step by step

1. Map the project area against indigenous reserves and Afro Colombian collective titles before any land offer.
2. Exclude collective land from purchase plans; it cannot be transferred (Constitución art. 63 and 329; Ley 70 de 1993 art. 7).
3. Ask the Interior Ministry for the certificate on the presence of ethnic communities.
4. Budget time for prior consultation where a project may affect communities.

Common traps

Buying a plot inside a resguardo from an individual member: reserve land is collective and cannot be transferred (Constitución art. 329).
Buying a family plot in Afro Colombian collective land as an outsider: only community or ethnic group members may acquire it (Ley 70 de 1993 art. 7).
Relying on long possession: ethnic communal lands are imprescriptible (Constitución art. 63).

Sources

← Rural land in Colombia: the Unidad Agrícola Familiar, limits on former public land (baldíos), the ban on splitting below the UAF, restrictions on agrarian reform parcels and ZIDRES leases of State land for agribusinessExpropriation in Colombia: constitutional guarantee and prior compensation, public utility grounds, the 30 business day negotiation, administrative expropriation, payment terms, the four month court challenge and the transport infrastructure rules →