Countries › Peru › Guide › 11. Real estate and land › 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 it

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 it

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

Peru guarantees private, communal and associative ownership of land, and its land law gives Peruvians and foreigners the same free access to land, with no limits other than those in that law (the border zone rule still applies to foreigners). Peasant and native communities are legal persons, autonomous in using and disposing of their land, which cannot be lost by prescription except by abandonment. Selling, mortgaging or leasing communal land in the highlands or jungle needs a general assembly vote of at least two thirds of all community members, and communal land not ceded to third parties is outside the property tax.

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

Access to rural land ownership for foreigners	Free, same as Peruvians, except within 50 km of borders textLey 26505 art. 4, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Statutory limits on private rural land ownership	None other than those in Ley 26505 textLey 26505 art. 3, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Assembly vote to sell, mortgage or lease highland or jungle communal land	At least two thirds of all members textLey 26505 art. 11, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Acquisitive prescription of communal land	Not possible except abandonment textConstitución 1993 art. 89, as of 2026-10-28 · in force

The rule

1. The State gives preferential support to agricultural development and guarantees ownership of land in private, communal or other associative form; the law may set limits and extensions of land by zone. Abandoned land passes to the State for sale under the law.Constitución Política del Perú de 1993, Art. 88, 1993-12-30 official text · verified 2026-10-28

2. Peasant and native communities have legal existence and are legal persons. They are autonomous in their organization, communal work, use and free disposal of their land and in economic and administrative matters, within the law. Ownership of their land cannot be acquired by prescription, except for abandonment.Constitución Política del Perú de 1993, Art. 89, 1993-12-30 official text · verified 2026-10-28

3. Land in the agrarian regime covers any property capable of agricultural use, including farm, grazing and forest land, wasteland and river banks, and is governed by the Civil Code and the land law. No limits or restrictions on land ownership may be imposed other than those in that law; protected natural areas and the archaeological and historical heritage rules remain in force. The State guarantees every person, Peruvian or foreign, free access to land ownership, with foreigners in the border zone subject to art. 71 of the Constitution.Ley Nº 26505 (promulgated 17 July 1995), Art. 2, art. 3 and art. 4, 1995-07-17 official text · verified 2026-10-28

4. To dispose of, mortgage, lease or carry out any other act over communal land of the highlands or jungle, the general assembly must agree with the favourable vote of at least two thirds of all members of the community.Ley Nº 26505, Art. 11, 1995-07-17 official text · verified 2026-10-28

5. Land of peasant and native communities of the highlands and jungle is outside the property tax, except areas ceded to third parties for economic use; rural land used for agriculture and outside urban value maps has its property tax base reduced by 50 percent.TUO Ley de Tributación Municipal; art. 17 letter g) as amended by Ley Nº 27616 (29 December 2001) and art. 18 letter a), Art. 17 g) and art. 18 a), 2001-12-29 official text · verified 2026-10-28

6. The State recognizes the right of peasant and native communities to use the waters on or flowing through their land and in the basins where they rise, for economic, transport, subsistence and cultural purposes; the right is imprescriptible, prevails and is exercised according to ancestral customs, and the water law must not be read to reduce rights under ILO Convention 169.Ley Nº 29338, Ley de Recursos Hídricos (promulgated 30 March 2009), Art. 64, 2009-03-30 official text · verified 2026-10-28

Land	Who can sell or lease it	Rule
Private farm land	The registered owner, Peruvian or foreign (outside border zone)	Ley 26505 art. 4
Communal land, highlands or jungle	The community, by assembly vote of at least two thirds of all members	Ley 26505 art. 11
Land within 50 km of a border, foreign buyer	Only with a supreme decree	Constitution art. 71
Abandoned land	Passes to the State for sale	Constitution art. 88

Who decides over the land

Worked example

An agribusiness wants to lease 1,000 hectares from a highland peasant community for an avocado project. With 300 registered members, the lease needs at least 200 favourable votes in a general assembly, counted on all members, not just those present, recorded in minutes that the buyer should check before signing.
Projects affecting indigenous peoples' collective rights may also require prior consultation by the State; see the investing page on environmental certification and prior consultation.

Step by step

Confirm in SUNARP whether the land is private, communal or State land, and whether any part lies within 50 km of a border.
For communal land, obtain the registered list of members, the call and minutes of the assembly, and check the two thirds of all members vote.
Check water rights separately: land ownership does not carry water, which needs its own licence (see the water rights page).
Review protected areas and archaeological restrictions, which the land law keeps in force.

Common traps

Two thirds is counted on all community members, not on those attending; minutes that show only a majority of attendees can make the deal void.
Communal land cannot be acquired by long possession.
Areas ceded by communities to third parties for economic use lose the property tax exclusion, so the user may face the tax bill.

Sources

← 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 arrearsBeaches 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 →

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