Countries › Peru › Guide › 11. Real estate and land › Condominiums in Peru (Ley 27157): exclusive and common property, the internal regulation, owners' board, voting shares, sale of common areas and owners who lose their vote for arrears

Condominiums in Peru (Ley 27157): exclusive and common property, the internal regulation, owners' board, voting shares, sale of common areas and owners who lose their vote for arrears

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

Apartment buildings, gated houses, shopping centres and similar developments with common areas belonging to different owners are governed by Title III of Ley 27157, which offers a regime of exclusive and common property or one of independent units and co ownership. Every such building needs an internal regulation, approved by the developer or by owners with more than 50 percent of the shares, that sets each unit's percentage for expenses and votes. Common property can be sold only with two thirds of the votes, and owners behind on three ordinary or one extraordinary instalment lose their vote.

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

Approval of the internal regulation by owners	More than 50% of participation shares textLey 27157 art. 39, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Vote needed to transfer common property	Two thirds of the owners' board votes textLey 27157 art. 43, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Absent owners' period to object to a common property sale	20 business daysLey 27157 art. 43, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Arrears that suspend an owner's vote	3 ordinary or 1 extraordinary instalment textLey 27157 art. 49, as of 2026-10-28 · in force

The rule

1. Apartment buildings, quintas, houses in co ownership, shopping centres and galleries, trade fair grounds and other real estate units with common property belonging to different owners are subject to the regime in Title III. Owners may choose between the regime of exclusive and common property or that of independence and co ownership, and the choice must appear in the official form and be registered.Ley Nº 27157, Ley de Regularización de Edificaciones, del Procedimiento para la Declaratoria de Fábrica y del Régimen de Unidades Inmobiliarias de Propiedad Exclusiva y de Propiedad Común (El Peruano 20 July 1999), Art. 37 and art. 38, 1999-07-20 official text · verified 2026-10-28

2. These buildings must have an internal regulation drawn up or approved by the developer or, as the case may be, by the owners with the favourable vote of more than 50 percent of the participation shares. It must describe each unit, its area and use (housing, commerce, industry, office, parking or other), the common property and services, owners' rights and duties, each owner's percentage in the common property (used to share service, maintenance and administration costs and to vote at owners' meetings), and the rules on meetings, quorum, voting and functions of the owners' board.Ley Nº 27157, Art. 39 and art. 42, 1999-07-20 official text · verified 2026-10-28

3. Transfers of common property must be approved by two thirds of the votes of the owners' board. Owners who did not attend are notified by notarial letter and, if they do not object in writing within 20 business days, are deemed bound by the decision, which cannot be executed until that period ends. A transfer without that prior vote is null.Ley Nº 27157, Art. 43, 1999-07-20 official text · verified 2026-10-28

4. The owners' board (Junta de Propietarios) is made up of all owners of the units and represents them jointly; the resignation of one or more owners does not prevent its formation. Its president has the general and special powers of representation in the Code of Civil Procedure, proved with a notarized copy of the registered minutes of appointment.Ley Nº 27157, Art. 47 and art. 48, 1999-07-20 official text · verified 2026-10-28

5. An owner qualified to vote is one who has paid all instalments set by the board. The board's officers declare disqualified owners who have failed to pay three or more ordinary instalments or at least one extraordinary instalment at the time of the call; the disqualification ends on payment. Disqualified owners may attend and speak but do not vote and do not count for the quorum.Ley Nº 27157, Art. 49, 1999-07-20 official text · verified 2026-10-28

6. Sales of parking spaces and storage rooms in a building under this regime, made by an owner who also owns another unit in the same building, do not count towards the three sales a year that make an individual a habitual seller for income tax.TUO Ley del Impuesto a la Renta; art. 4 second paragraph as replaced by Ley Nº 29492 (31 December 2009), Art. 4, 2009-12-31 official text · verified 2026-10-28

Decision	Requirement	Article
Approve the internal regulation (by owners)	More than 50% of participation shares	Art. 39
Transfer common property	Two thirds of votes; absent owners notified by notary and may object within 20 business days	Art. 43
Vote at meetings	Only owners up to date with instalments	Art. 49
Lose the vote	3 ordinary or 1 extraordinary instalment unpaid	Art. 49.2

Key majorities and thresholds under Ley 27157

Worked example

A fund buys 12 of 40 apartments in a Barranco building. If those units carry 30 percent of the shares in the internal regulation, the fund alone cannot block a two thirds vote to sell the rooftop, but together with owners holding more than 3.4 percent it can. If the fund falls three ordinary instalments behind, it loses its vote until it pays.
Absent owners who receive a notarial letter about the rooftop sale have 20 business days to object in writing; the sale cannot be signed before then.

Step by step

Before buying a unit, obtain the registered internal regulation and check the unit's percentage, permitted use and any restrictions (for example on short stays or commercial use).
Ask the board for a statement of unpaid instalments and the latest minutes.
Register the purchase and notify the board, so the new owner is called to meetings.
For decisions on common property, follow the two thirds rule and the notarial notice to absent owners.

Common traps

Use restrictions in the internal regulation bind buyers; a unit registered as housing may not be usable as an office.
A sale of common areas without the prior two thirds vote is null.
Arrears silence an owner's vote, and the board can disqualify an owner for a single unpaid extraordinary instalment.

Sources

← Residential and commercial leases in Peru: freedom of contract, the 10 year cap, termination for non payment, sale of the leased property and notarial eviction under Ley 30933Rural 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 it →

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