Summary
Yes, foreigners can own property in Honduras in their own name, but not everywhere: Article 107 of the Constitution reserves a 40 km strip along the coasts and borders, plus all the islands, for Hondurans by birth.
Inside that strip, which includes Roatán, Utila and most of the Caribbean coast, Decree 90-90 lets a foreigner buy one urban home on up to 3,000 m², condos included, for their own use.
Outside the strip (Tegucigalpa and most inland towns), you buy and register exactly like a Honduran, without residency. Expect buying costs of about 4% to 8% of the price, including the 1.5% transfer tax.
Your passport doesn't matter: Americans, Europeans and everyone else face the same rules. Buying doesn't give you residency either; the investor permit needs $50,000 and the rentista permit $2,500 a month.
The real danger is the title, not the law: the U.S. State Department estimates that about 80% of private land in Honduras is untitled or badly titled. A local company or a Honduran nominee does not get you around Article 107.
Mortgages exist on paper (Ficohsa lists 13% in lempiras over up to 30 years), but no bank publishes a product for non-resident foreigners, and the central bank raised its rate to 6.00% in September 2026. Unless you're a resident with local income, plan to pay cash.
Courts treat foreigners the same as locals, but slowly: Honduras ranks 116th out of 143 countries in the 2025 World Justice Project Rule of Law Index.
Nasry Asfura has been president since January 27, 2026, Honduras rejoined the ICSID arbitration system on August 16, 2026, and a June 2026 decree lets owners of titled land evict squatters faster. None of this changed Article 107.
Próspera, the ZEDE on Roatán, still operates even though the Supreme Court declared ZEDEs unconstitutional on September 20, 2024. On September 21, 2026 the state attorney filed a criminal complaint against two of its officials, so buying there is a legal bet.
On Roatán, Q2 2026 homes sold 7.7% to 10.1% below their last asking price and H1 2026 sales fell 26%: foreigners who pay the asking price are the ones who overpay.
Bottom line: buy freely inland, buy one qualifying urban home under Decree 90-90 on the coast and islands, have an independent lawyer check the title and the urban status, and never pay the first asking price.
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Message a proWhat foreigners can and can't own in Honduras
Can foreigners legally buy residential property in Honduras?
Yes. In 2026, foreigners can legally buy houses, condos and apartments in most of Honduras. The catch is geographic: Article 107 of the Constitution reserves a 40 km strip along the coasts and land borders, plus all the islands, for Hondurans by birth.
Outside that strip, you buy exactly like a Honduran would.
Inside it, a foreigner can only buy under Decree 90-90: one urban home, on up to 3,000 m² (a condo unit counts), for your own use.
So if you're looking at West Bay or West End on Roatán, the first question isn't the price. It's whether the property is legally "urban" and whether you already own something else in the restricted zone. Ask before you make any offer.
Do foreigners have the exact same ownership rights as locals?
No. The Constitution gives Hondurans by birth something foreigners don't get: the right to own freely along the coasts, the borders and on the islands.
That's the one big difference. In the Bay Islands and along the Caribbean coast, a Honduran can buy land of any size and use; a foreigner is limited to one urban home of up to 3,000 m².
Everywhere else, foreigners and locals have the same rights to buy, sell, register and pass on residential property.
Are there any foreigner-only restrictions?
There are two, and they work together: the Article 107 ban in the coastal, border and island strip, and the conditions of Decree 90-90, the exception that lets foreigners in anyway.
Under Decree 90-90 the property must be urban, the plot can't exceed 3,000 m², it must be for your own residence, and you can only have one. If you buy a vacant urban plot, the law expects a finished house within 36 months; if you miss that deadline, Article 5 adds a surcharge of 20% a year on the appraised value, so plan to build on time.
Bigger plots or anything you plan to run as a business (a small hotel, rental villas, a development) need a separate tourism-project declaration approved by the Honduran Tourism Institute (IHT). No official processing time is published.
The official reason for all this is national sovereignty. It hasn't changed in 2026: no bill to amend Article 107 was moving in Congress when we checked in October 2026.
Can foreigners buy property freely anywhere in Honduras, or only in specific areas?
Only in specific areas. Article 107 covers a 40 km belt along the land borders, a 40 km belt along the Caribbean and Pacific coasts, and every island, key and reef. That puts Roatán, Utila and Guanaja entirely inside it.
In those zones, ownership is reserved for Hondurans by birth, companies 100% owned by Hondurans, and the State, with the Decree 90-90 urban exception as the only door for foreigners.
Where foreigners buy without any of this: inland cities like Tegucigalpa (Lomas del Guijarro, Colonia Palmira, El Hatillo), which sits outside the restricted belt. San Pedro Sula (Río de Piedras, Colonia Universidad) is popular too, but no official source says whether it's inside or outside the belt, so get the notary to confirm it in writing before you sign.
Can foreigners own property 100% in their own name?
Yes, outside the restricted strip, and inside it for a home that qualifies under Decree 90-90. You don't need a local partner, a company or residency.
You'll need a valid passport, a Honduran tax number (RTN), proof of where your money comes from, a public notary to sign the deed, and registration at the Instituto de la Propiedad. A signed deed is not ownership until it's registered.
Budget about 4% to 8% of the price on top for buying costs (Trolto, September 2026). The transfer tax is 1.5%, the registry charges L 200 plus L 1.50 per L 1,000 of value, and the notary or lawyer usually takes 1% to 2%. On a $182,000 apartment (L 4,890,000), the transfer tax alone is $2,730.
Is freehold ownership possible for foreigners?
Yes. Full ownership, called "dominio pleno", is open to foreigners for residential property outside the restricted strip, and inside it for one home that qualifies under Decree 90-90.
Watch out for "dominio útil": it's a narrower right to use municipal or ejido land, not full ownership. Banks and the registry don't treat it the same way, and converting it to dominio pleno goes through the municipality. Your lawyer should tell you in writing which one you're buying.
Buyers who don't meet the Decree 90-90 conditions sometimes look at long-term leases instead. That's a contract, not ownership, so read it with your own lawyer.
Can foreigners buy land?
Yes, outside the restricted strip, with the same rights as a Honduran. Nationally, residential lots of 500 to 2,000 m² were listed at a median of $112,000 on TuLugar in October 2026 (asking prices).
Inside the strip, land is off-limits unless it's an urban plot of up to 3,000 m² under Decree 90-90, and then you have 36 months to finish a house on it.
A Honduran company owned by foreigners does not get around Article 107. Only companies fully owned by Hondurans can hold restricted land.
Does my nationality or residency status change anything in Honduras?
Does my nationality change what I can buy?
No. The line the law draws is "Honduran by birth" versus everyone else, not one country versus another.
There's no list of banned nationalities, so Americans, Canadians, Europeans and everyone else face the same 40 km rule and the same 3,000 m² cap.
No treaty gives any country better property rights in Honduras.
Do EU/US/UK citizens get easier property access?
Not legally. The Constitution applies the same restrictions to every non-Honduran.
In practice, banks and notaries are used to American, Canadian and European paperwork, so anti-money laundering checks tend to go faster.
One thing for Americans: there's no income tax treaty between the US and Honduras (it isn't on the IRS treaty list), so you report rental income and sale gains in both countries and rely on foreign tax credits.
Can I buy property in Honduras without local residency?
Yes. You can buy on a tourist visa, and residency doesn't change what you can buy under Article 107.
Buying a home doesn't give you residency either. The usual permits ask for an investment of $50,000 (investor), $2,500 a month of income (rentista) or a $1,500 monthly pension (pensionado), according to the Library of Congress (February 5, 2026). A 2025 exceptional regime can consider half those amounts, but it's discretionary.
Where residency helps: opening bank accounts, getting a loan, and taxes. If you rent out your place as a non-resident, 25% of the rent is withheld; a resident pays 10% on residential rents above L 15,000 a month.
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Message a proWhat are the biggest legal grey areas for foreigners in Honduras?
What are the biggest legal grey zones for foreigners?
Three keep coming up: where exactly the 40 km line falls, whether a property is really "urban" under Decree 90-90, and whether the title in the registry matches reality.
The title problem is the biggest one. The U.S. State Department's 2025 Investment Climate Statement estimates that about 80% of private land in Honduras is untitled or badly titled. Buying something that later turns out not to qualify can make the sale void.
What to do: get the "folio real" from the registry, check the cadastral plan and the boundaries on the ground, confirm the urban status with the municipality, and hire a lawyer who works for you, not for the seller or the agent.
Some good news for owners: Decree 107-2026, published in La Gaceta on June 26, 2026, lets owners of titled productive and tourism land have squatters removed through "preventive" evictions ordered by prosecutors and judges, without waiting for a ruling on the merits. It only helps if your title is clean.
Can foreigners safely buy property using a local nominee?
No. Putting the property in a Honduran friend's name makes them the owner, full stop. If they sell, mortgage or keep it, your side agreement may be worth very little in court.
A Honduran spouse doesn't change the rule either. The property is theirs on paper, and a divorce puts you in the same position as any other nominee arrangement.
A Honduran company doesn't work if foreigners own any part of it: Article 107 only lets companies 100% owned by Hondurans hold restricted land.
What happens if a foreigner dies owning property?
The property passes to the heirs under Honduran succession rules and any valid will, but the paperwork takes months.
Heirs need an apostilled death certificate, proof of the family link, and sworn Spanish translations, then a notary (or a court) to transfer the title. We couldn't find a reliable, current inheritance tax rate for foreign heirs, so ask a Honduran lawyer before you plan around it.
Heirs can usually sell afterwards. If the home sits in the restricted strip and was bought under Decree 90-90, they should check that they can hold it themselves, especially if they already own another property there.
Most inheritance headaches start with a title that was never properly registered. Fix that at purchase, not later.
Can foreigners realistically get a mortgage in Honduras in 2026?
Do banks give mortgages to foreigners?
Rarely, and not on published terms. Banks do lend for housing: Banco Ficohsa listed 13% in lempiras over up to 30 years in its June 2026 tariff, and BAC advertises loans with a 10% to 20% down payment. But those are products for local borrowers, and no bank publishes conditions for non-resident foreigners.
Credit is also getting more expensive: the central bank raised its policy rate from 5.75% to 6.00% in September 2026 to fight inflation of 6.28% a year.
If you're a resident with local, provable income, you have a real chance. Otherwise, plan to pay cash, as many foreign buyers do.
Are mortgage approvals harder for non-residents?
Much harder. Banks can't easily check foreign income or chase a borrower who lives abroad.
Even with BAC's 20% minimum, a $182,000 apartment (the national median asking price for a 2-bedroom on TuLugar in October 2026) means $36,400 (about L 977,000) upfront, and a non-resident should expect a bank to ask for more.
Non-residents are also asked for certified foreign income statements, foreign bank references, proof of address abroad and sometimes a local guarantor.
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Message a proAre foreigners protected by the law in Honduras during disputes?
Are foreigners legally protected like locals in Honduras right now?
On paper, yes. Foreigners get the same constitutional protection against expropriation without compensation and the same access to courts as Hondurans.
The gap is enforcement, not discrimination. Honduras ranks 116th out of 143 countries in the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index 2025, and 121st for civil justice.
The protection that works is the one you put in place before buying: a full title search at the registry, a check of the seller's identity and ownership chain, and a contract written by your own lawyer.
Do courts treat foreigners fairly in property disputes in Honduras right now?
There's no sign of systematic bias against foreigners. The problem is that courts are slow and unpredictable for everyone.
A contested property case often takes one to four years, and legal fees from L 50,000 (about $1,860) to L 200,000 (about $7,450) are a realistic order of magnitude, more if the case is complex.
Most disputes involve title defects, boundaries, or liens and competing claims the seller didn't disclose.
Mediation, private arbitration and lawyer-negotiated settlements are usually faster and cheaper than going to court.
What changed for foreign buyers in Honduras in 2026?
Did the new government change the rules for foreigners?
No. Nasry Asfura took office on January 27, 2026, and as of October 2026 neither he nor Congress has changed Article 107 or Decree 90-90. The 40 km rule and the 3,000 m² cap are exactly where they were.
What did change is the climate for investors. Honduras signed the ICSID convention again on March 6, 2026 and was back in the system on August 16, 2026, which gives foreign investors an international arbitration route again (La Prensa, August 13, 2026).
Squatting is the other change. Decree 107-2026 (June 26, 2026) speeds up evictions on titled productive and tourism land. It's a real plus for owners of clean, registered land; it does nothing for a shaky title.
What should a foreign buyer watch in late 2026?
Taxes on the islands: in October 2026, ZOLITUR and the tax authority (SAR) were still discussing how a 4% charge on capital gains applies in the Bay Islands. Don't treat it as settled; ask your lawyer who pays what at closing. Elsewhere, the gain is taxed at 10%, and a non-resident seller has 4% of the price withheld as an advance (PwC, August 2026).
Prices on Roatán: closed sales fell 26% in H1 2026 compared with H1 2025, and there were 3.7 new listings for each sale in Q2 2026 (Roatán MLS analysis by Roatan Reef). That's a buyer's market. The median home sold for about $363,000.
Money: the lempira is sliding slowly against the dollar (about 2% since January 2026), not collapsing. If you hold dollars, that works slightly in your favor.
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What's going on with Próspera and the ZEDEs in 2026?
Is Próspera still legal?
That's the open question. Congress repealed the ZEDE law in 2022, and the Supreme Court declared the ZEDEs unconstitutional on September 20, 2024, with retroactive effect (published in La Gaceta on November 25, 2024).
Próspera, the ZEDE on Roatán, keeps operating and says property bought in good faith under the old framework stays protected. That's its reading; Honduran courts may not agree. Its ICSID claim against Honduras was cut from about $10.7 billion to about $1.63 billion (La Prensa, August 2026).
The pressure went up in September 2026. Próspera swore in its own "fiscal civil" on September 15, and on September 21 the state attorney (PGR) filed a criminal complaint for treason and usurpation of public functions against him and Próspera's technical secretary. President Asfura was seen at Próspera's stand in June 2026, but no decree or vote has changed its legal status.
Should a foreigner buy inside Próspera?
Only if you can afford to lose the money. Próspera's own legal disclosure (updated September 29, 2026) lists the risks: its property records may not be recognized, registries and services could be interrupted, and property could be affected by government measures.
If you still want to, check where the title is registered (the national Instituto de la Propiedad or only a ZEDE registry), whether the land itself is inside the 40 km strip (on Roatán it is), and whether you would qualify under Decree 90-90 if the ZEDE framework disappeared tomorrow.
A home near Próspera but outside it, on a clean national title under Decree 90-90, doesn't carry this risk.
What do foreigners say after buying in Honduras in 2026?
Do foreigners feel treated differently during buying in Honduras right now?
Some do, mostly because of extra paperwork, not hostility.
The usual complaints: longer waits, more anti-money laundering documents at the bank, and extra checks at the notary and the registry.
The usual good news: notaries and lawyers in Tegucigalpa and on Roatán are used to foreign buyers and walk them through the process.
Do foreigners overpay compared to locals?
Often, yes, but mostly because they pay the asking price. There's no official study comparing what foreigners and locals pay.
What the numbers show on Roatán: in Q2 2026, homes that were never reduced sold 7.7% below their asking price, and homes that were reduced sold another 10.1% below the reduced price. On a $363,000 home, that's about $28,000 to $37,000 left on the table if you pay full price.
Article 107 also shrinks the supply foreigners can legally buy on the coast and islands, and sellers know it. Negotiate anyway: with sales down 26% in H1 2026, you're the one with options.
Our methodology
This article explains what a foreigner can legally own in Honduras in 2026, where the limits apply, and what the real risks are once the paperwork is done.
The rules come straight from the legal texts: Article 107 of the Constitution and Decree 90-90 on urban property in restricted zones, read on the Tribunal Superior de Cuentas legal library. For the ZEDE and Próspera situation we used the Supreme Court ruling of September 20, 2024 (published in La Gaceta on November 25, 2024), Próspera's own legal disclosure updated on September 29, 2026, and Honduran press reports from June to September 2026.
Figures come from official or recent sources first: Banco Ficohsa's June 2026 tariff and BAC's home-loan page for mortgages, the central bank for the policy rate, the Library of Congress (February 5, 2026) for residency thresholds, PwC and SAR for taxes, the 2025 World Justice Project index for courts, and the Roatán MLS analysis for Q2 2026 for sale prices on the island. Asking prices from TuLugar (October 19, 2026) are listings, not sale prices.
We checked these figures in October 2026. Conversions use about 26.85 lempiras per US dollar (and about 30.15 lempiras per euro where euros appear).
Limits: no bank publishes terms for non-resident foreign borrowers, there is no official count of title disputes, and the dispute costs we give are a rough order of magnitude, not a tariff. The ZEDE situation is still moving; treat anything about Próspera as a snapshot of October 2026, not legal advice.
Key sources used for this analysis include the Constitution of Honduras, Article 107 on Biblioteca Legal HN, Decree 90-90 (Tribunal Superior de Cuentas), the 2024 Investor Guide of the Secretaría de Desarrollo Económico, SINAP, the U.S. State Department 2025 Investment Climate Statement, the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index 2025, the World Bank Governance Indicators, Banco Ficohsa's June 2026 tariff, BAC Credomatic, SECMCA on the September 2026 BCH rate decision, CNBS, the Library of Congress on residency rules, PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Trolto on 2026 closing costs, ZOLITUR, Próspera's legal disclosure, La Prensa on the ICSID return, Criterio.hn, the Roatán MLS Q2 2026 analysis, TuLugar, the IRS treaty list and INE Honduras.
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