Countries › Peru › Guide › 11. Real estate and land › Beaches and the coastal restricted zone in Peru: the public 50 m beach strip, the 200 m restricted zone, pre 1997 private titles, release by SBN and the duty to open beach access every 1,000 m

Beaches and the coastal restricted zone in Peru: the public 50 m beach strip, the 200 m restricted zone, pre 1997 private titles, release by SBN and the duty to open beach access every 1,000 m

Last verified: 2026-10-28 · Status: Stable

Peru's beaches are public, inalienable and imprescriptible, covering the flat shore plus a strip measured from the high tide line, and no private title can include that strip. Behind it, a 200 m restricted zone is reserved for public beaches: since 9 September 1997 it cannot be granted or built on unless the national property agency (SBN) releases it for tourism, housing or coastal infrastructure projects, while private land titled before that date is excluded. Any beachfront development must keep public access roads at least every 1,000 m, open to vehicles up to 250 m from the high tide line.

USD figures use S/ 3.452 per US dollar, the banking system selling rate published by the Superintendencia de Banca, Seguros y AFP for 27 October 2026, from the Banco Central de Reserva del Perú statistics series PD04640PD. UIT based amounts use the 2026 UIT of S/ 5,500 set by Decreto Supremo Nº 301-2025-EF, as cited in SUNAT Resolución de Superintendencia Nº 000016-2026/SUNAT. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Public beach strip from the high tide line	50 mLey 26856 art. 1, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Restricted zone behind the beach strip	200 mLey 26856 art. 2, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Maximum distance between public beach accesses in developments	1000 mLey 26856 art. 4, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Vehicle access must reach at least this distance from high tide	250 mLey 26856 art. 4, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Private titles before this date are excluded from the restricted zone	1997-09-09 dateDS 050-2006-EF art. 12, as of 2026-10-28 · in force

The rule

1. The beaches of the coast are public use assets, inalienable and imprescriptible. A beach is the area where the coast is flat with a gentle slope towards the sea, made of sand, stone, gravel or sand mixed with mud, plus a strip of not less than 50 metres wide parallel to the high tide line. Entry and use are free except where the law says otherwise.Ley Nº 26856 (El Peruano 8 September 1997), Art. 1, 1997-09-08 official text · verified 2026-10-28

2. The restricted zone is the 200 metre strip behind the beach strip, where there is geographic continuity; land beyond cliffs, lakes, mountains, hills, roads and similar breaks is not included, and neither is private land legally acquired before the law came into force. Restricted zones are for public beaches; granting and building in them is prohibited from the law's entry into force, and only a supreme decree endorsed by the housing and defence ministers may set the grounds and procedure to release areas. No authority may grant land or approve urban projects in an unreleased restricted zone.Ley Nº 26856, Art. 2 and art. 3, 1997-09-08 official text · verified 2026-10-28

3. All resorts and developments next to the beach, riverside and similar land, public or private, must have an access road to the beach at least every thousand metres, allowing motor vehicles up to at least 250 metres from the high tide line and then at least pedestrian access to the beach.Ley Nº 26856, Art. 4, 1997-09-08 official text · verified 2026-10-28

4. The regulation describes the beach strip as up to 50 metres from the high tide line, with its line set by the coast guard directorate (Dirección General de Capitanías y Guardacostas); the restricted zone is measured as a 200 metre perpendicular projection from the back of that strip. Land legally in private or State private ownership before 9 September 1997, the law's entry into force, is excluded, but private titles can never include the beach strip, and land that reverted to the State after that date joins the restricted zone.Reglamento de la Ley Nº 26856, Decreto Supremo Nº 050-2006-EF (published 25 April 2006), Art. 3, art. 4, art. 5, art. 12 and art. 13, 2006-04-25 official text · verified 2026-10-28

5. The SBN is the competent body to release (desafectar) land in the restricted zone, as part of a grant of ownership or other rights. Release and grant are only possible for tourist and recreational projects, residential, club or holiday housing developments, or public or private infrastructure providing services linked to the beach or coastal activities; a private applicant needs a prior opinion of the provincial and district municipalities on access roads. Municipal licences for uses in the protected beach zone require proof of the right granted by the coast guard (beach strip) or SBN (restricted zone).Decreto Supremo Nº 050-2006-EF, Art. 11, art. 15, art. 16 and art. 18, 2006-04-25 official text · verified 2026-10-28

6. The duty to open access roads applies to urban developments after the law on land bordering the protected beach zone, land in the 1,000 metre coastal strip and land within a resort area. For plots with more than 1,000 metres of sea frontage, the access must allow two way vehicle traffic to a point at least 250 metres from the high tide line and then pedestrian access, and the municipal resolution approving the development must state where the accesses are.Decreto Supremo Nº 050-2006-EF, Art. 19, art. 20 and art. 26, 2006-04-25 official text · verified 2026-10-28

Band	Status	Who grants use
Beach strip (50 m in the law; the regulation says up to 50 m)	Public, inalienable, never private	Coast guard directorate
Restricted zone, next 200 m	Public beaches unless released	SBN, after release for listed purposes
Private land titled before 9 September 1997 inside the 200 m	Private, excluded from the zone	Owner; access duties still apply to new developments
Coastal strip up to 1,000 m	Private or public	Developers must open beach accesses

Coastal bands from the high tide line

Worked example

A developer buys a 2,500 m frontage plot south of Lima to build holiday homes. The first 50 m from the high tide line are public beach. If the next 200 m were not privately titled before 9 September 1997, the developer needs SBN to release and grant that land for a holiday housing project before building. The project must also leave at least two public accesses, each drivable to 250 m from the high tide line.

Step by step

Ask the coast guard for the high tide line and the beach strip, and check SUNARP title history to see whether the land was private before 9 September 1997.
If the plan uses the restricted zone, apply to SBN for release and grant, with the municipalities' prior opinion on access roads.
Design public accesses into the urban development plan; the municipal approval must show them.
Obtain any beach strip use right from the coast guard before temporary or permanent installations.

Common traps

A title that describes boundaries reaching the sea is not effective over the beach strip.
Land that reverted to the State after 1997 becomes part of the restricted zone and can no longer be bought privately without SBN release.
Municipal licences in the protected zone without a coast guard or SBN right expose officials and the developer to sanctions.
The law says not less than 50 m while the regulation says up to 50 m; the coast guard's survey decides the line.

Sources

← Rural land and peasant and native community land in Peru: no size limits for private owners, constitutional protection of communal land and the two thirds vote to sell or lease itWater rights in Peru: no private ownership of water, ANA licences, permits and authorizations, indefinite but non transferable licences, community rights and water charges →

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