Citizen Buys Plot Inside Municipal Parking Lot

A Costa Rican business owner was surprised to find out that a 150-square-meter lot he recently purchased is part of the San JoséMunicipality building complex.

Guillermo Sanabria told journalists last week he is the new owner of the lot, which is part of the municipality’s parking area.

He said he plans to build a new office building on the space.

Sanabria said he bought the lot a few weeks ago for $50,000 from a man identified by the last name Rigg, after double-checking that the property was properly registered.

The legal advisor to the San JoséMunicipality, Rafael Arias, said that because of an “administrative error” the lot was not in the municipality’s name. The municipality plans to appeal Sanabria’s purchase.

“The lot was purchased by the municipality,” Arias said. “We could be facing a fraudulent situation.”