Ecuador Property Disclosure: What Sellers Must Reveal & What Buyers Must Demand

As a Certified Ecuadorian Real Estate Attorney and Land Specialist, I have guided countless foreign investors through the complexities of acquiring property in Ecuador. The single most critical lesson I can impart is this: the concept of "seller disclosure" as understood in North America or Europe does not exist here. The legal framework places the burden of discovery squarely on the buyer. This is not a flaw in the system; it is the system. Your security depends not on what a seller volunteers, but on the rigor of your own state-sanctioned investigation.

This guide moves beyond generic advice. It provides the specific, actionable intelligence required to de-risk your investment, secure clear title, and avoid the catastrophic pitfalls that ensnare uninformed buyers.

The Ecuadorian Legal Standard: Buyer-Led Verification, Not Seller Disclosure

In Ecuador, the transfer of property is governed by the Civil Code and validated through public instruments. There is no legally mandated "Seller Disclosure Statement" compelling a seller to list property defects. Instead, the law requires the seller to provide the necessary documents to prove they have the legal right to sell a property that is free and clear of liens. The buyer's responsibility—and that of their legal counsel—is to independently verify the authenticity and accuracy of every single claim and document through the correct government registries. Relying on photocopies from a seller or verbal assurances from an agent is professional malpractice and a direct path to financial loss.

What Sellers Are Legally Obligated to Provide for Closing

To execute a definitive public deed of sale (Escritura Pública de Compraventa), a seller must produce the following, which forms the basis of your due diligence:

The Current Title Deed (Escritura Pública): This is the seller's proof of ownership. We scrutinize it for the history of the property (tracto sucesivo), its registered dimensions, boundaries (linderos), and any declared easements (servidumbres) or restrictive covenants.
Certificate of No Tax Debt (Certificado de no adeudar al Municipio): Issued by the finance department of the local canton's municipality, this certificate confirms that all property taxes (impuestos prediales) are paid to date. An outstanding tax debt constitutes a lien against the property that a new owner would inherit.
Certificate of Liens and Encumbrances (Certificado de Gravámenes): This is the most crucial title security document. It is an official extract from the canton's Property Registry (Registro de la Propiedad) that details all recorded liens, mortgages (hipotecas), lawsuits (demandas), prohibitions to sell, and other encumbrances affecting the property. A clean certificate will state the property is "libre de todo gravamen."

Hyper-Specific Detail #1: Verifying the Certificado de Gravámenes

A common tactic for a fraudulent seller is to present an altered or outdated certificate. Your attorney must obtain this document directly from the Registro de la Propiedad or verify the seller-provided copy through official channels. To request one, you need the seller's full name and cédula (ID number) and the property’s unique cadastral key (clave catastral), found on the property tax receipt. Modern certificates from major cantons like Quito or Cuenca include a QR code or verification number that your attorney must use to validate its authenticity on the registry's official web portal. This is a non-negotiable verification step.

The Buyer's Mandate: Proactive Demands and Forensic Investigation

Your due diligence must extend far beyond the seller's provided documents. As your legal counsel, my role is to act as a forensic investigator on your behalf. Here is what we must demand and verify.

Essential Documents and Verifications You MUST Demand:

Updated Cadastral Certificate (Certificado de Avalúos y Catastro): This municipal document provides the property's official valuation and confirms its location, area, and clave catastral. We cross-reference this against the Escritura and the physical reality on the ground. Any discrepancy is a major red flag.
Land Use Zoning Certificate (Informe de Regulación Metropolitana - IRM in Quito, or equivalent): This is a non-negotiable document from the municipal planning department. It defines precisely what you can and cannot do with the property. It specifies permitted uses (residential, commercial, agricultural), construction density, height restrictions, and required setbacks. Buying without this is like buying a car without knowing if it can legally be driven on the road.
Proof of Water Rights (Rural/Agricultural Land): For any property not on a municipal water system, verifying water rights is paramount. This goes far beyond seeing a river on the property.

Hyper-Specific Detail #2: The SENAGUA/MAATE Water Rights Process

Water rights are granted as a formal concession (concesión de uso y aprovechamiento de agua) by the national water authority, which is now part of the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Ecological Transition (Ministerio del Ambiente, Agua y Transición Ecológica - MAATE). Do not accept a seller's old paperwork. Your attorney must file a formal written request (oficio) at the relevant MAATE demarcation office, citing the concession number or the property coordinates. We request a Certificado de No Afectación de Recursos Hídricos, which confirms the concession is valid, its registered flow rate (caudal), and that it is not in conflict with other users. Many properties operate on informal or inherited water arrangements that offer zero legal security.

Distinguishing the Promesa from the Escritura: A Promise to Buy/Sell (Promesa de Compraventa) is a preliminary contract. To be legally enforceable, it must be executed before a Notary Public. It grants you the legal right to demand the execution of the final sale, but it does not transfer ownership. Ownership is only transferred upon the signing of the final Public Deed (Escritura Pública), and critically, its subsequent registration (inscripción) at the Registro de la Propiedad. Without this final registration step, the property legally remains in the seller's name.

Key Areas of On-the-Ground Investigation:

Professional Topographical Survey: Commission an independent survey to physically verify the property's boundaries and area. It is remarkably common for the physical reality to differ from the decades-old descriptions in the title deed. This survey is your primary defense against future boundary disputes.
Access Rights (Servidumbres de Paso): Verify that legal access is not only physically present but also legally recorded. A handshake agreement with a neighbor for access is worthless and can be revoked at any time.
Coastal Property Regulations: The widely cited "5-kilometer" restriction is a dangerous oversimplification. Per the Ley Orgánica de Ordenamiento Territorial, Uso y Gestión de Suelo (LOOTUGS) and MAATE regulations, there is a mandatory 8-meter wide non-developable public access zone (zona de playa y bahía) measured from the high-tide line. Beyond that, significant building restrictions are governed by the municipality's specific zoning plan (Plan de Uso y Gestión de Suelo - PUGS), which can regulate density and use for hundreds of meters inland. We must obtain and analyze the PUGS for your specific beach area.

Hyper-Specific Detail #3: The Grave Risk of Proindiviso and Cuerpo Cierto

A massive red flag, especially in rural areas, is a property being sold as "rights and actions" (derechos y acciones) within an undivided co-ownership (proindiviso). This typically arises from an unsettled inheritance where multiple heirs own a single large parcel. A seller might offer you a specific "piece" of this land, often pointed out physically, known as a cuerpo cierto. However, without a formal, municipally-approved subdivision (lotización), your purchase is legally just a percentage of the whole, with no legally defined boundaries. You cannot get building permits, you cannot easily resell, and you are legally tied to all other co-owners. This is one of the most common and disastrous legal traps for foreign buyers.

Legal Due Diligence Checklist for Maximum Security

Status	Verification Item	Purpose
[ ]	*Complete Title History Review (Estudio de Título)*	Trace ownership back 20+ years to identify breaks in chain of title or historical liens.
[ ]	Directly-Obtained Certificado de Gravámenes	Confirm no mortgages, liens, or prohibitions to sell are currently registered.
[ ]	Municipal Tax & Contributions Clearance	Ensure no debts to the municipality exist which could become a lien.
[ ]	Official Cadastral Certificate & Land Use Zoning	Confirm property data matches records and that your intended use is legally permitted.
[ ]	MAATE Water Rights Verification (if applicable)	Legally confirm the existence, validity, and terms of any water concession.
[ ]	Independent Boundary Survey	Physically confirm area and boundaries to prevent disputes; compare against title.
[ ]	*Check for Proindiviso* Ownership Structure**	Rule out shared, undivided ownership to ensure you are buying a legally segregated lot.
[ ]	*Verification of Access Rights (Servidumbres)*	Confirm legal, registered access and identify any easements burdening the property.

⚠️ Title Risk Warning: What You Don't Know Will Hurt You.

The greatest risk in Ecuadorian real estate is not market fluctuation; it is defective title. Failing to independently verify every detail can lead to catastrophic outcomes: inheriting a multi-generational family dispute, discovering a hidden mortgage that exceeds the property's value, or learning that the pristine agricultural land you bought has no legal water rights and is therefore worthless. The purchase process is intentionally designed to be deliberative and investigative. Any seller or agent who pressures you to rush or skip these steps is not acting in your best interest. In Ecuador, title is not assumed to be clean; it must be proven to be clean.

Your investment deserves the highest level of legal protection. This is achieved through methodical, expert-led due diligence, not through trust or assumption.

Secure your investment with professional certainty. Book a one-on-one due diligence consultation with our licensed Ecuadorian Real Estate Attorney and Land Specialist today.