9 August 2026
The full checklist we use before listing a property: what to ask for, what each document confirms, and what to do if one is missing.
One of the most common examples. An apartment in the centre is advertised as pet-friendly: two bedrooms, terrace, good price. The owner accepts pets, and says so in good faith. The condominium bylaws, however, cap them at ten kilos. Anyone moving in with a labrador finds out after signing.
Nobody lied there: nobody read the bylaws in time. It's a document you can request free of charge and receive within days.
Not every property we're offered makes it into the catalogue. The ones left out are usually good properties with something still to be clarified, and we wait for it to be clarified.
Below is the full checklist we work from. We publish it in its entirety, with what to request and what to do when something is missing, because it works just as well with us as with any other agency.
All of this is checked before viewing and long before reserving. The first documents are free and arrive within hours; the last ones cost time or money. If something is going to fall through, better it falls through early.
The rule we use: no deposit before the first five points are resolved. A holding deposit returns far less than it costs to recover.
What to request: a copy of the public deed and the ID of whoever signs it.
What you're confirming: that the person offering you the property is the person on the title. It sounds obvious, and it's where things fall down most.
If the names don't match: ask for the power of attorney authorising that person. Where an estate is still in probate, the property can only be deeded once the case concludes. That's information anyone about to leave a deposit deserves to have beforehand, not after.
What to request: a current certificate from the Public Property Registry. Applies to purchases.
What you're confirming: whether the property carries a live mortgage, a seizure order or a precautionary annotation.
Useful to know: anyone can request it directly, and almost nobody does so in time. It costs little and takes days.
What to request: the latest receipt and the arrears statement.
What you're confirming: how much is owed. Property tax arrears don't prevent a sale, but they must be cleared before the deed is executed.
Why it's worth knowing early: while the price is still under discussion, who pays those arrears is still negotiable. After signing, it isn't.
This is the point that prevents the most surprises, and the one almost never requested.
In Playa del Carmen most of what is rented and sold are condominium units. Two documents govern them: the deed establishing the condominium regime and the internal bylaws. Between what the listing says and what the bylaws say, the bylaws win.
What to look for inside:
It's one of the most frequent mismatches: units advertised as suitable for holiday letting in buildings whose bylaws expressly restrict it. The listing rarely lies in bad faith; the document simply arrived late.
What to request: three separate things, and it's worth requesting them separately. The fee amount. How often it's charged. And that unit's account statement.
What you're confirming: that the fee fits your real budget, and that the unit is up to date.
What almost nobody knows: in several buildings in the area, arrears follow the property, not the person. The buyer inherits the debt. Also ask how much the fee has risen over the last three years: a building with works pending will levy for them, and that levy falls on the new owner.
If the manager won't hand over the account statement: take that as your answer.
When it applies: if you intend to use the space for something other than living. A practice, a studio, a shop.
What to request: the certificate issued by the Solidaridad municipality, available through the Urban Development Department.
What you're confirming: that the use is permitted there. A residential unit becomes commercial through official process, not because the owner says so.
We work with plenty of people moving with a dog or a cat, and we've learned that "yes, pets are allowed" is one of the slipperiest phrases in the market.
There are three layers, and all three have to be in place:
Ask about all three and have it written into the contract. A verbal permission from the owner holds up poorly against an owners' meeting, and the one left without a home six months later is the tenant with the dog.
Playa del Carmen falls within the restricted zone: the 50-kilometre coastal strip where, by constitutional mandate, a foreign national acquires property through a bank trust.
The mechanism is solid and entirely lawful: a Mexican bank acts as trustee and you are the beneficiary, with full rights to use, rent, sell and bequeath.
What to cost in from the start: it carries a set-up cost, an annual fee to the bank, and processing time that adds to the transaction's calendar. It's a conversation people are grateful for early on, which is why we have it there.
When a document turns up incomplete, we raise it with the owner and wait. It's often resolved: a missing certificate, arrears settled, an owners' meeting that clarifies the bylaws. That property enters the catalogue later, and it enters complete.
We publish what we can back up with documents: square metres from the deed, current fees, bylaws actually read, and arrears identified. That file serves whoever is going to live there and serves the discerning investor even more, because it's exactly the information you decide well with.
Our inventory fits into an afternoon of viewings. For an agency measured by listing count, that would be a flaw. For us it's the product.
We specialise in long-term rentals in central Playa del Carmen and sales across the Riviera Maya. We work with people who choose this city to stay in it and with investors who buy with judgement, and we apply the same review in both cases.
Save it, print it, send it to anyone house-hunting. It works with any agency and any owner, and asking these questions is the right of anyone about to sign.
If you'd rather we went through it with you — even if the property is someone else's — write to us. The consultation is free, and reading documents out loud is part of the job.
The information on legal and documentary requirements in this article is general in nature and does not constitute legal advice. Every transaction must be validated with a notary public and with the competent authorities. Measurements, fees and terms are approximate and subject to document verification. Price and availability subject to change without notice.