Countries › Colombia › Guide › 11. Real estate and land › Plusvalía in Colombia: the municipal share of 30 to 50 percent of land value created by rezoning, extra building rights or rural to urban conversion, when it is charged and how it blocks licenses and sales

Plusvalía in Colombia: the municipal share of 30 to 50 percent of land value created by rezoning, extra building rights or rural to urban conversion, when it is charged and how it blocks licenses and sales

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

When a municipality rezones land to a more profitable use, allows more building area or brings rural land into urban expansion, it takes a share of the resulting increase in value, set by the council between 30 and 50 percent of the higher value per square metre. Once the charge is assessed and entered in the property's registry file, it must be paid before a building license is issued, when use changes or when the property is transferred. The amount is indexed to CPI until paid.

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

Plusvalía participation rate, legal minimum	30 % of value increase per m2Ley 388 de 1997 art. 79, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Plusvalía participation rate, legal maximum	50 % of value increase per m2Ley 388 de 1997 art. 79, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Indexation of assessed plusvalía until paid	CPI textLey 388 de 1997 art. 79 par. 2, as of 2026-10-27 · in force

The rule

1. Public entities share in the increase in land value (plusvalía) produced by their urban planning decisions.Constitución Política de Colombia de 1991, Art. 82, 1991-07-04 official text · verified 2026-10-27

2. Urban planning actions that increase the use of urban land and air space create benefits that entitle public entities to a share of the resulting plusvalía. Municipal and district councils set the rules for applying it by general agreement (acuerdo).Ley 388 de 1997 (territorial development law), Art. 73, 1997-07-18 official text · verified 2026-10-27

3. The triggering events are: incorporating rural land into urban expansion land or classing part of rural land as suburban; setting or changing the land use regime or zoning; and authorizing greater building use of land by raising the occupation index, the building index or both. The territorial plan identifies the zones that benefit.Ley 388 de 1997, Art. 74, 1997-07-18 official text · verified 2026-10-27

4. The council, on the mayor's initiative, sets the participation rate between 30 and 50 percent of the higher value per square metre, and may vary it between zones. Where two triggering events occur on the same property, the increases are added. The amount is adjusted by CPI from the date the assessment becomes final.
Cost to do it: 30 to 50 percent of the assessed increase in value per square metre, indexed to CPI.
Example: Rezoning adds COP 400,000 per square metre to a 1,000 square metre lot: an increase of COP 400,000,000. At 30 percent the charge is COP 120,000,000; at 50 percent, COP 200,000,000. / An increase of about US$126,665; a charge of about US$37,999 to US$63,332.Ley 388 de 1997, Art. 79 and par. 1 and 2, 1997-07-18 official text · verified 2026-10-27

5. The charge becomes payable only once an assessed plusvalía effect is entered in the registry file of the property, and only when one of these occurs: an application for an urbanization or building license; an actual change of use, for charges arising from rezoning; an act transferring ownership, for charges arising from rural to urban conversion or extra building rights; or the purchase of securities representing additional building rights. Proof of payment is required to issue building licenses and to sign transfer deeds. If not paid at one event, it becomes payable at the next. Owner and possessor are jointly liable. Municipalities may exempt social housing.Ley 388 de 1997, as amended by Decreto Ley 19 de 2012, Art. 83 (Decreto 19 de 2012 art. 181), 2012-01-10 official text · verified 2026-10-27 · changed: Decreto Ley 19 de 2012 art. 181 made the charge payable only once the plusvalía effect has been assessed and entered in the property registry file.

6. Plusvalía assessments are entered in the registry file under the liens category, together with betterment levies (valorizaciones), so they appear on the title certificate.
Cost to do it: Visible on the COP 24,300 title certificate (SNR Resolución 2026-001726-6 art. 14).Ley 1579 de 2012, Art. 8 par. 3 (code 02), 2012-10-01 official text · verified 2026-10-27

Event	Applies to charges from
Application for an urbanization or building license	All triggering events
Actual change of use of the property	Rezoning or change of land use regime
Act transferring ownership	Rural to urban or suburban conversion, and extra building rights
Purchase of securities for additional building rights	Additional building rights

When an assessed plusvalía becomes payable (Ley 388 de 1997 art. 83)

Worked example

A foreign developer buys a 1,000 square metre lot in a city that later raises the building index for the area. The municipality assesses a plusvalía effect of COP 400,000 per square metre and records it in the lot's registry file. At a council rate of 50 percent the charge is COP 200,000,000 (about US$63,332), adjusted by CPI from the date it became final. The developer must pay it to obtain the building license (Ley 388 de 1997 art. 83 num. 1 and par. 2). Had the developer bought after the entry was recorded, the title certificate would have shown it under code 02.

Step by step

1. Check the title certificate for plusvalía or betterment levy entries (code 02) before buying (Ley 1579 de 2012 art. 8).
2. Ask the municipal planning office whether the territorial plan or a partial plan is about to rezone the area (Ley 388 de 1997 art. 74).
3. Price any assessed charge, with CPI indexation, into the deal (art. 79 par. 2).
4. Budget payment before the building license application or the transfer deed (art. 83 par. 2).

Common traps

Assuming a seller absorbs a recorded charge: owner and possessor are jointly liable and payment is a condition of the license or deed (Ley 388 de 1997 art. 83 par. 2 and 3).
Ignoring CPI: the assessed amount grows with inflation until paid (art. 79 par. 2).
Treating it as a national tax: rates and rules come from each council's agreement, within the 30 to 50 percent range (art. 73 and 79).

Sources

← Municipal property tax (impuesto predial) and the cadastre in Colombia: rates of 5 to 16 per 1,000, the 33 per 1,000 vacant lot ceiling, the 25 percent cap on increases from rate changes, cadastral updates and the lien on the propertyZoning and building licenses in Colombia: the urban license, curadores urbanos, 45 business day decision with positive silence, license terms of 24 to 48 months, the 2026 earthquake extension and Police Code sanctions →