Peruvian property terms, in plain English

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Abogado

A lawyer. Yours should be independent of the seller and independent of me. I'm not one.

Alcabala

The property transfer tax, commonly described as 3% of the price above an exempt amount. The exemption changes and is tied to the UIT, so confirm the current figure. The buyer usually pays it.

ANA

Autoridad Nacional del Agua, the national water authority. Rural ditches and water rights often lead here. A hose in a field isn't the same as a right.

Apostilla

An apostille: the certificate that makes certain foreign public documents usable in Peru. It's one way a power of attorney signed abroad gets recognized; a consulate is the other common route.

Arbitrios

Municipal service charges (trash, parks, local security), separate from property tax. A seller can leave them unpaid.

Arras

Earnest money under a promise to buy. What you lose if you walk away, and what happens if the title fails, has to be in writing.

Autoavalúo

The municipality's valuation of a property, used to calculate predial. It isn't the price you negotiated.

Autoconstrucción

A building put up without a formal engineer's project. Common, and a different earthquake and wiring risk from engineered work.

Bancarización

The rule that payments above a threshold go through the banking system. The threshold is set in UIT and changes. The bank trail is how you prove the price later.

Carné de extranjería

The ID card for a foreign resident. Buying property doesn't give you one.

Certificado de gravámenes

A SUNARP certificate listing burdens on a property: mortgages, embargoes and other claims. Read a fresh one close to signing.

Certificado literal

A certified copy of the current registry entry: how the property is described, who the registered owner is, and any notes on the file.

Cisterna

A ground-level or buried water tank. Many houses store water because network pressure isn't continuous.

COFOPRI

The state body for formalizing informal property, mainly urban. A path toward title, not a shortcut or a sure thing.

Comunidad campesina

A rural community that holds land collectively. An individual member offering you a piece may not have the right to sell it.

Comunidad nativa

An indigenous community, often in the Amazon, holding land collectively, with its own legal rules. A handshake isn't a subdivision.

Conformidad de obra

The municipality's confirmation that finished construction matches the permit.

Constancia de posesión

A document saying someone possesses a property. Common in rural and jungle areas. It is not a registered title.

Copropietario

A co-owner. All co-owners generally have to sign a sale.

Declaratoria de fábrica

Registration of the building on the title. Without it, you may own registered land and an unregistered house.

Escritura pública

The public deed signed before a notary: the formal sale document. It still has to be registered at SUNARP.

Gravamen

A burden on the title, like a mortgage or an embargo.

Guardián

A caretaker who watches a property while you're away.

Habilitación urbana

The formal process of turning land into an approved subdivision with lots and services. A painted street isn't always one.

Hipoteca

A mortgage registered on the property. It should be cleared before you think you own clean title.

Huaico

A debris flow of mud, rock and water down a ravine, typical of Andean rainy seasons.

Independización

Splitting one registered property into separate titles. Until it's done, you may be buying a share of a larger file, not the lot you walked.

Licencia de construcción

The municipal building permit. Building first and asking later is common, and it can freeze a later sale.

Maestro de obra

The site foreman who runs day-to-day construction. Essential, but not a substitute for an engineer on a real project.

Minuta

The contract, usually drafted by a lawyer, that the notary turns into the escritura pública. Names, price and conditions should be exact here.

Mototaxi

A three-wheeled motorcycle taxi. In jungle towns it's the transport system and the sound of the street.

Notario

A notary public, who formalizes the deed. The notary isn't your advocate; your abogado is.

Parámetros urbanísticos

The municipal rules for a lot: land use, height, setbacks. They decide whether your plans are legal.

Partida registral

The registry file number of a property at SUNARP. It's how you find the record.

Plano

A plan or map of the lot. The fences, the plano and the registry description should all match.

Poder

A power of attorney. For a remote purchase, limit it to one property and one transaction, with an end date.

Posesión

Possession: physical control of a property. It can exist with title, without title, or in conflict with the registered owner.

Predial

Impuesto predial, the annual municipal property tax. Unpaid years belong in the negotiation.

Prescripción adquisitiva

A legal path to title based on long possession. It takes time and money, and it can fail.

Quebrada

A ravine. Pretty when dry, and the route huaicos take when it rains.

Se vende

"For sale," often painted on a wall with a phone number. A lead, not a contract.

Servidumbre

An easement: a registered right to cross land or run water across it. Access by a neighbor's kindness isn't one.

Sociedad conyugal

The shared-property side of a marriage. Both spouses usually must sign to sell.

Sol

The Peruvian currency (PEN). Write down whether a price is in soles or dollars, and which exchange rate applies.

Sucesión intestada

The process when an owner died without a will. All heirs have to be included; one relative can't sell the family's property alone.

SUNARP

The national public registry, where title, mortgages and other rights are recorded.

SUNAT

The national tax authority. Not the land registry; predial is municipal.

Tanque elevado

A rooftop water tank that gives a house pressure. Usually paired with a cisterna.

Testimonio

The notary's official copy of the escritura. You'll need it to move utilities into your name.

Topógrafo

A surveyor. The person you want when the fence, the plano and the registry disagree.

UIT

Unidad Impositiva Tributaria, a tax unit reset every year. Alcabala exemptions and banking thresholds are expressed in UIT.

Zona de frontera

The border zone. Foreigners generally can't own property within 50 km of Peru's borders without special authorization. Measure the coordinates rather than guessing from a town name.

For US citizens: FBAR and FATCA are US reporting rules for foreign accounts, not Peruvian taxes. A cross-border accountant can tell you what to file, including for rental income.