Apartment Renovation Permits in Colombia

Before you refresh a Colombian apartment, ask what the work touches. Simple upkeep needs no license, while changing the structure, the built area or the use does. In a building under propiedad horizontal (condominium rules), the building's own rules add a second layer. This guide is educational, not legal advice.

Which repairs need no license?

Works called reparaciones locativas need no license. Decreto 1077 de 2015, article 2.2.6.1.1.10, defines them as works to keep a property in proper hygiene and appearance without affecting its load-bearing structure, interior layout, or functional, formal or volumetric features. Its examples include replacing floor, ceiling, tile and paint materials and improving plumbing, sanitary, electrical, telephone or gas networks. Ley 810 de 2003, article 8, uses the same definition, and Ley 1801 de 2016, article 135, repeats that these works need no license, with a special rule for properties of cultural interest.

No license does not mean no rules. The person doing the work must still comply with the regulations of the propiedad horizontal.

Which works need a licencia de construcción?

Decreto 1077 requires a license before construction, ampliación, modificación, adecuación, reforzamiento estructural, restauración, reconstrucción, cerramiento or demolition (article 2.2.6.1.1.1, same compilation). Article 2.2.6.1.1.7 lists nine modalities. These are the ones most likely in a renovation:

Modificación: changing the architectural or structural design of an existing building without adding built area.
Ampliación: increasing the built area.
Adecuación: changing the use of a building or part of it.
Reforzamiento estructural: strengthening the structure to adequate earthquake-resistance levels.
Demolición: tearing down all or part of a building; it must be granted together with another construction modality, with stated exceptions.

One application may combine modalities. Moving walls, changing the structure, adding area or changing use is not a reparación locativa. Structural work must follow Ley 400 de 1997, and Decreto 092 de 2011 records that Decreto 926 de 2010 adopted the NSR-10 earthquake-resistant construction code.

Who issues the license, and how long does it last?

A license is issued by a curador urbano or by the competent municipal or district authority. The curador urbano is a private person in charge of studying, processing and issuing licenses (article 2.2.6.6.1.1 of Decreto 1077). We found no rule that one named municipal office issues licenses everywhere, so ask which office handles your property.

Under Decreto 1783 de 2021, a new-building license lasts 36 months and other construction licenses last 24 months, counted from the date the act is final (en firme). Each can be extended once for 12 months if you file complete papers at least 30 business days before expiry, with a sworn statement that work has started. Ask the office that issues the license whether any later transitory rule changes these periods.

What does a propiedad horizontal building add?

For ampliación, adecuación, modificación, reforzamiento estructural or demolición in a PH building, Resolución 1025 de 2021 (article 5, numeral 9) requires a copy of the minutes of the competent administrative body, or an equivalent document under the reglamento, authorizing the works. That numeral does not list restauración, reconstrucción, cerramiento or obra nueva. We could not confirm whether a later resolution changed it, so ask the office that issues the license for the current requirements.

There is also a notice rule: article 16 of Decreto 1783 requires a 30 cm by 50 cm notice on the building board for ampliación, adecuación, restauración, demolición or modificación in a PH building.

Why are facades and structure not a private decision?

Ley 675 de 2001 treats the foundations, the structure, the facades and the roofs or slabs as essential common property (article 3). Each owner must use the private unit as the reglamento provides and abstain from any act that compromises the safety or solidity of the building (article 18). The top-floor owner cannot add floors or new construction without the assembly's authorization, and the ground-floor owner cannot excavate in ways that harm solidity without the same authorization.

Essential common property cannot be released from its common status (article 20), and decisions that change the destination of common property or sharply reduce its use need 70 percent of the coeficientes (article 46). A facade change is therefore not a private repair.

What happens if work is done without a license?

Ley 1801 de 2016, article 135, prohibits building, demolishing or intervening on land suitable for those actions without a license, or when the license has expired. The measures it lists include a special fine for urban infraction and demolition of the work, and construction without a prior license is suspended immediately. On suitable land you have 60 days to seek reconocimiento; if you do not file, the work cannot restart and the fine is doubled. The amount of the fine is not in the part of the Code we read, so ask for it.

What should you check when buying a unit that was renovated?

A previous owner's works may have been done without a license or without the assembly's authorization. Ask your lawyer to compare the license and plans with what is actually built, and to ask the administración whether past works were authorized. See the step-by-step buying process, and ask whether the promesa de compraventa should say anything about past works.

Our free one-page due-diligence checklist is a starting point. The Colombia Owner Kit has no permit guide, but the Colombia Owner Kit includes a buy checklist listing the paz y salvo de administración, an ongoing-costs guide on how your administración share is set and what to ask the building for, and question lists for your Colombian lawyer, contador and home-country preparer. See also the administración fee.

Questions to take to your advisers

Architect or curaduría: Is my planned work a reparación locativa or does it need a licencia, and under which modality? How long is the license valid?
Colombian lawyer: What does the reglamento require, and what must the assembly authorize? Do the license and plans match what is built in a unit I am buying?
Administración: What notices, minutes and rules apply to works in this building?
Home-country tax adviser and your bank: How should I pay contractors in pesos and keep the records you will need?

Colombia Owner Kit · US$79 · pre-order

The risk: Building without a license can mean immediate suspension, a special fine and demolition of the work under Ley 1801 de 2016, article 135, and acts that compromise the building's safety or solidity are barred by Ley 675 de 2001, article 18.
One step now: Before any work beyond a reparación locativa, ask the administración for the reglamento de propiedad horizontal and find out whether the works need the assembly's authorization.
In the kit: The kit’s ongoing-costs guide explains how your administración share is set and lists what to ask for before you buy: the budget, the last two assembly minutes, approved special assessments and a statement showing the unit is up to date. See what’s included

Pre-order: US$79 once. We email the download by the delivery date stated in our pre-order terms. Full refund anytime before delivery, and for 10 calendar days after we email your download.

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Frequently asked questions

Do I need a license to repaint or replace floors in a Colombian apartment?

Generally no. Reparaciones locativas, such as replacing floors, ceilings, tile and paint or improving plumbing, electrical or gas networks, need no license under Ley 810 de 2003, article 8, but you must still follow the building's propiedad horizontal rules.

Which works need a licencia de construcción?

Construction, ampliación, modificación, adecuación, reforzamiento estructural, restauración, reconstrucción, cerramiento and demolition. Moving walls, changing the structure, adding area or changing use is not a reparación locativa.

Who issues the license?

A curador urbano, or the competent municipal or district authority where the law gives it that role. Ask which office handles your property.

Do I need the building's approval to renovate?

For ampliación, adecuación, modificación, reforzamiento estructural or demolición in a PH building, Resolución 1025 de 2021 requires minutes or an equivalent document authorizing the works. Facades and structure are essential common property under Ley 675 de 2001, article 3.

What happens if work is done without a license?

Ley 1801 de 2016, article 135, provides immediate suspension, a special fine and possible demolition, with 60 days to seek reconocimiento on suitable land. Ask for the fine amount.

Not sure where you stand? Take the quiz. The Colombia Owner Kit (US$79, pre-order) turns this guide into a checklist, a calendar entry and a question list: see what’s included. Or start with the free sample: K19, the one-page due-diligence checklist.