How Close to the Sea Can You Actually Own? Spain's Ley de Costas, Turkey's Shore Law, Greece's Aigialos and Mexico's Restricted Zone

Published on: July 13, 2026

Last verified: 13 July 2026. Coastal demarcation lines are administrative and can be redrawn. Verify the boundary for any specific parcel before acting.

Quick answer: In almost every coastal country, you cannot own the beach, and often you cannot own right up to it. The shore itself is public domain, and a setback strip behind it restricts what you may own or build. In Spain, the Ley de Costas makes the beach and shore public, with a 100-metre protection zone and a 500-metre influence zone behind it, and pre-1988 seafront homes may hold only a time-limited concession, not ownership. In Turkey, the shore and a 100-metre coastal strip are under state control, and new buildings must stay set back from the shore edge line. In Greece, the aigialos (up to the maximum winter wave line) and the paralia beach zone are public. In Mexico, foreigners cannot own directly within 50 km of the coast at all; they use a bank trust (fideicomiso), and the beach itself is federal. The single most expensive mistake a coastal buyer makes is assuming "beachfront listing" means "owns to the water." It usually does not.

Climate-risk coverage talks about coastal erosion. But the more immediate danger to a seafront buyer is legal, not physical: buying a property that sits, in whole or in part, on public land, or discovering after purchase that the setback line runs through your garden. Here is how four of the most popular coastal markets actually work, and how to protect yourself in each.

Spain: the Ley de Costas

Spain's Coastal Law (Ley 22/1988, de Costas, significantly reformed by Law 2/2013 and subsequent amendments) nationalised the entire Spanish coastline. It divides the coast into zones separated by a demarcation line (the deslinde).

• Public maritime-terrestrial domain (Dominio Público Marítimo-Terrestre, DPMT). The beach, dunes, the tidal zone and wetlands: everything up to where coastal effects become negligible. This is inalienable public property; no private ownership is permitted here.
• Protection zone (Servidumbre de Protección). A strip generally 100 metres inland from the DPMT (reducible to 20 metres in already-urbanised areas, extendable to 200 metres), with strict limits on building and modification. A swimming pool, for example, is typically prohibited here because it increases volume or changes land use.
• Influence zone (Zona de Influencia). Extends 500 metres inland, with planning scrutiny: no "walls of high-rises," for instance.

The concession trap. Homes legally built on what is now public land before the 1988 law are not usually demolished outright; instead, ownership is converted into an administrative concession, a time-limited right of use, not ownership. The 2013 reform extended the maximum concession length to 75 years (from an original 30). When a concession expires, the right of use ends and the property can, in principle, be demolished; concessions can only be transferred with government approval. Hundreds of thousands of properties are affected, a meaningful share of them foreign-owned, mainly along the Mediterranean.

How to protect yourself in Spain: the deslinde is not always shown on the property register (the nota simple). Request a specific certificate from the Demarcación de Costas and have a lawyer overlay the cadastral plans onto the demarcation maps. Never buy within 500 metres of the shore in an area where the boundary has not yet been drawn, and treat a suspiciously cheap seafront "bargain" as a red flag. Bear in mind that the demarcation line can shift over time with rising sea levels. What is private today can be claimed later.

Turkey: the shore and the kıyı kenar çizgisi

Turkey's Coastal Law (Kıyı Kanunu No. 3621, 1990, with 1992 and later amendments) rests on a constitutional principle: the shore is under the State's control and disposal (Devletin hüküm ve tasarrufu altında) and cannot be private property. It is open to everyone's free and equal use. The law defines a precise geometry:

• Shoreline (kıyı çizgisi): where the water meets the land.
• Shore edge line (kıyı kenar çizgisi): the natural landward boundary of the sand, pebble, rock and marsh areas behind the shoreline.
• Shore (kıyı): the area between those two lines; public.
• Coastal strip (sahil şeridi): at least 100 metres wide, landward from the shore edge line.

Two practical rules follow. First, planning and construction on the coast require the shore edge line to be officially determined, by a provincial commission of surveyors, engineers and planners, approved by the ministry. Second, since the 1992 amendment, new buildings in the coastal strip must be set back from the shore edge line (the first stretch behind the line is reserved for pedestrian, recreation and public use). A sea-view plot is not automatically buildable to the water.

How to protect yourself in Turkey: confirm the property is entirely outside the shore and coastal-strip zone, request the official shore-edge-line determination for the parcel, and check the imar durumu (zoning status). Be aware that historically acquired titles on coastal land have sometimes been challenged in court for the public benefit, so a clean-looking Tapu near the water still warrants specialist review. (For how this interacts with buying on the Çeşme peninsula specifically, see our İzmir, Çeşme and Alaçatı guide.)

Greece: the aigialos and the paralia

Greek law treats the coastal edge as public through two defined zones:

• Aigialos (αιγιαλός). The land between the shoreline and the line reached by the maximum winter wave. This belongs to the public domain and is not subject to private ownership.
• Paralia (παραλία), the beach zone. An additional strip, up to 50 metres beyond the shoreline, designated to serve as a public access corridor between land and sea. Also public and reserved for free, unobstructed access to the water.

A subtlety worth knowing: if the aigialos line shifts seaward through natural or artificial changes, the newly created land ("old aigialos", palaios aigialos) belongs to the State and can only be transferred to a private person through a specific administrative procedure. The precise demarcation of the aigialos and paralia is set administratively (by committee) and can be contested, which is exactly why a "first-line" villa is set back from these zones rather than sitting on them.

How to protect yourself in Greece: obtain a current topographic survey and confirm the property lies outside the demarcated aigialos and paralia. Because the lines are administrative and can be redrawn, verify the status specifically for your parcel with a Greek engineer and lawyer before buying. Do not rely on the seller's assurance that it is "beachfront." (For the wider island-buying picture, see our Greek islands guide.)

Mexico: the restricted zone and the fideicomiso

Mexico is the strictest of the four, because the limit is on ownership form, not just proximity. Under Article 27 of the 1917 Constitution, foreigners cannot directly own real estate within:

• 50 km (about 31 miles) of any coastline, and
• 100 km (about 62 miles) of any international border.

This "restricted zone" captures virtually every beach destination, Cancún, Tulum, Los Cabos, Puerto Vallarta, and the entire Baja peninsula. Foreigners buy there legally through a fideicomiso, a Mexican bank trust in which the bank holds legal title as trustee while you, the beneficiary, hold all the economic and use rights: you can sell, lease, mortgage, remodel and inherit. The trust runs 50 years, renewable indefinitely, and is functionally perpetual. And there is a further layer at the water's edge: the federal maritime-terrestrial zone (ZOFEMAT), the beach itself, is federal land, so building a seawall, pier or beachfront deck requires a federal concession, and since October 2020 obstructing public beach access is a sanctionable offence (you can market "controlled access," never a "private beach").

Because the fideicomiso is a whole topic in itself, we cover the mechanics, the costs and where the real risks sit (ejido land, weak title verification, HOA rules) in a dedicated guide: Mexico's Fideicomiso for Foreign Buyers: The Restricted Zone and Bank Trust Playbook.

How to protect yourself in Mexico: use a properly constituted fideicomiso with a reputable trustee bank, verify the title chain (the real losses trace to ejido communal land and weak title work, not the trust structure), and confirm the ZOFEMAT boundary if the property fronts the beach.

The pattern across all four countries

The universal rules for buying near the sea

Wherever you buy, the same protections apply:

• Assume you cannot own the beach, and often not right up to it. Ask specifically where the public boundary and any setback line fall on your parcel.
• Get the boundary in writing from the authority, not from the seller or the agent. The coastal demarcation is frequently absent from the standard title document.
• Have a local lawyer overlay the cadastral and survey plans onto the official coastal maps.
• Distrust the cheap seafront bargain. The price may be discounting a legal problem.
• Remember the line can move. Rising sea levels and administrative redraws mean today's private land can become tomorrow's public domain.
• Never buy where the boundary hasn't been drawn yet.

Frequently asked questions

Can foreigners own beachfront property in Spain?
You cannot own the beach or the public maritime-terrestrial domain. Behind it, a 100-metre protection zone restricts building. Some pre-1988 seafront homes are held only as a time-limited concession. Verify the deslinde for the specific property.

How far back from the sea must you build in Turkey?
The shore and a coastal strip of at least 100 metres are public, and since 1992 new buildings must be set back from the shore edge line, with the first stretch reserved for public use. The shore edge line must be officially determined for any coastal construction.

Can you own land on a Greek beach?
No. The aigialos (up to the maximum winter wave line) and the paralia beach zone (up to 50 metres) are public domain. A "first-line" property is set back from these zones.

Why can't foreigners own beachfront in Mexico directly?
Article 27 of the 1917 Constitution bars direct foreign ownership within 50 km of the coast and 100 km of any border. Foreigners buy through a fideicomiso (bank trust) with full use rights; the beach itself is federal land.

What's the biggest mistake buyers make near the coast?
Assuming a "beachfront" listing means you own to the water. In most coastal countries the beach is public and a setback strip limits ownership or building. Always confirm where the public boundary falls on your specific parcel before buying.

Keep reading on JanusHermes

Coastal setbacks are one layer of pre-purchase due diligence. Pair this guide with Is My Overseas Property Legal? Building Permits, Occupancy Licences and Illegal Builds, How to Check Climate Risk Before You Buy, and the coastal-market guides for the Costa Blanca and İzmir and the Çeşme peninsula.

This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Coastal legislation is complex, jurisdiction-specific and subject to amendment and administrative redrawing of boundaries, and individual parcels differ. Before buying any coastal property, obtain a specific boundary determination from the relevant authority and engage a qualified local lawyer to verify the property's status.