Key takeaways
- Most commercial space sold in Medellín sits inside a horizontal property regime: a shopping centre, an office tower, or a mixed-use building with locales at street level.
- Every unit has a coefficient of co-ownership, a percentage fixed in the registered reglamento.
- Municipal land use (set by the territorial plan) and the reglamento are two separate permissions, and you need both.
- Request in writing, inside the 30 to 45 days a closing normally takes:
- The assembly can approve rules that bind your tenant: delivery hours, service entrances, rubbish storage, signage, terrace use.
A commercial unit in a Medellín building is sold with its share of the common property, and that share carries obligations the title deed does not spell out. Before you sign, read the propiedad horizontal reglamento: it sets your coefficient, your monthly administración, what the unit may legally be used for, and whether the assembly can veto your tenant.
Checklist · Before you sign a promesa
The 12 documents I check on every deal
Tick them off as you collect them. Saved on this device.
Superintendencia de Notariado y Registro, online; valid 30 days
The notaría where it was signed; ask for a certified copy
The municipality's tesorería or hacienda office
The building's or gated community's administración
From the seller; the RUT downloads from the DIAN site
Granted at a notaría, or at a consulate if the seller is abroad
Printed on the predial bill, or from the municipal catastro
In the deed and on the cadastral record
Latest paid bills from EPM or the local operator
Declared before the notary in the deed itself
Drafted by your lawyer or agent; never sign the seller's version unread
Curaduría urbana or the municipal planning office
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Where each document comes from
- Certificado de tradición y libertad: Superintendencia de Notariado y Registro, online; valid 30 days
- Prior deed: The notaría where it was signed; ask for a certified copy
- Property-tax good standing: The municipality's tesorería or hacienda office
- HOA good standing, if applicable: The building's or gated community's administración
- Seller's ID / RUT: From the seller; the RUT downloads from the DIAN site
- Power of attorney, if the seller is represented: Granted at a notaría, or at a consulate if the seller is abroad
- Cadastral appraisal: Printed on the predial bill, or from the municipal catastro
- Survey and boundaries: In the deed and on the cadastral record
- Utilities up to date: Latest paid bills from EPM or the local operator
- Family-home protection certificate: Declared before the notary in the deed itself
- Promesa de compraventa draft: Drafted by your lawyer or agent; never sign the seller's version unread
- Building permit, if applicable: Curaduría urbana or the municipal planning office
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What is propiedad horizontal and why does it govern a commercial purchase?
Most commercial space sold in Medellín sits inside a horizontal property regime: a shopping centre, an office tower, or a mixed-use building with locales at street level. You buy a private unit plus an undivided share of lobbies, façades, roofs, lifts and structure. The regime's registered constitution decides how much you pay every month, what you may do inside your own walls, and what happens when the roof needs replacing. A buyer who reads only the certificate of tradition and freedom is reading half the file.
What is a coefficient and how does it change what I pay?
Every unit has a coefficient of co-ownership, a percentage fixed in the registered reglamento. It sets your share of every common expense and your voting weight. Commercial units often carry a coefficient out of proportion to floor area, so ask for the coefficient table for the whole building. Confirm in writing the unit's exact coefficient, whether the reglamento permits a different rate for services commercial units do not use, and whether the building charges a separate módulo de contribución that splits costs by sector.
What does the reglamento say about use, and can it block my business?
Municipal land use (set by the territorial plan) and the reglamento are two separate permissions, and you need both. A reglamento may restrict a unit to retail but exclude food preparation, alcohol sales, late hours, gyms, veterinary clinics or anything noisy, and that is enforceable. Read the use, noise, schedule and façade clauses: many reglamentos prohibit altering the façade, so signage, awnings, extraction ducts and air conditioning condensers need assembly authorisation, documented before closing.
What do I ask the administración for before I sign?
Request in writing, inside the 30 to 45 days a closing normally takes:
- Paz y salvo de administración. Unpaid administración attaches to the unit.
- The registered reglamento, complete with modifications, cross-checked against the registry file.
- Assembly minutes for the last three years: extraordinary levies, litigation, repairs under discussion.
- The current budget and monthly figure for your unit, plus any approved cuota extraordinaria not yet billed.
- Fondo de imprevistos balance. A thin reserve with an ageing lift or roof means a levy is coming.
- Proof of the building's insurance policy.
- The parking assignment: a private unit with its own registry number, a common area of exclusive use, or an informal allocation the assembly can revoke.
How does the assembly affect a unit I plan to lease out?
The assembly can approve rules that bind your tenant: delivery hours, service entrances, rubbish storage, signage, terrace use. For a restaurant or late-opening business, verify the schedule rules first. With a tenant already in place, read the lease and reglamento together. Also check arrears across the building, since chronic non-payment is funded through the coefficient.
How do the costs stack up on a commercial unit?
Buyer closing costs run about 2 percent: notary 0.27 percent, registry 0.67 percent, beneficencia 1 percent, plus your lawyer. Annual property tax runs from 0.3 to 1.2 percent of cadastral value. Capital gains are taxed at 15 percent when held two years or more. The unpredictable part is monthly administración and extraordinary levies, which come out of a gross yield that long-term rentals have historically put at 5 to 9 percent a year. For the full sequence, see the full guide.
What to verify in the registry alongside the reglamento
The certificate of tradition and freedom, requested with the registry number, shows the registered owner, mortgages, liens and encumbrances. Confirm the unit has its own matrícula inmobiliaria and that the certificate matches the unit number and area in the reglamento. Mismatches between the registered description, the coefficient table and what the seller shows you are the most common reason a commercial closing stalls.
Frequently asked questions
Can the building's rules stop me running my business even if the municipality approves the use?
Yes. The reglamento is a separate, enforceable layer and is often stricter: it can ban food preparation or alcohol, limit hours, or prohibit façade changes your signage and duct require.
What is a coefficient of co-ownership and why does it matter on a commercial unit?
Your unit's registered percentage share of the building. It sets your share of common expenses and your assembly vote, and does not always track floor area.
Am I liable for administración the previous owner did not pay?
Yes: arrears attach to the unit. Request a paz y salvo de administración before closing.
Which documents should I request from the building administrator?
The registered reglamento with modifications, the paz y salvo, three years of assembly minutes, the budget and monthly figure, the fondo de imprevistos balance, the insurance policy, and the parking arrangement.
What will the purchase cost me beyond the price?
About 2 percent in closing costs, then annual property tax of 0.3 to 1.2 percent of cadastral value, plus the monthly administración set by your coefficient.
