Penthouse and terrace in Cielo Mar: what is yours and what is common property assigned for exclusive use

A penthouse terrace in Cielo Mar is rarely private area in the sense the buyer assumes. It is usually bien común de uso exclusivo, and that distinction decides who pays when the waterproofing fails.

A condominium has private property and common property, and among the common there are elements assigned to a single unit for its use: bien común de uso exclusivo (common property assigned for exclusive use). The building's roof slab is essential common property, and the top-floor terrace sits on it. That is where the money question starts: if the slab and its waterproofing are common, the condominium pays for repairs; if the bylaws shifted upkeep to the holder of the exclusive use, you pay, and in Cielo Mar a leak from a seafront terrace is not a minor matter. The same logic covers the hot tub, the pergola, the enclosure and any equipment up there: the coeficiente de copropiedad (ownership coefficient), the private area and the exclusive-use area are three different things, and all three are written down.

What sets Cielo Mar apart is that much of the buying happens before the property legally exists. Units sell off plan, and the counterparty is not an owner but a fiduciaria, a trust company, managing a patrimonio autónomo, a segregated trust estate, into which the landowner contributed the site. That changes the whole process. The first document signed is not a deed but an enrollment in the project; the money goes into a trust account rather than to a seller; and the deed is granted once the punto de equilibrio, the pre-sales break-even threshold, is reached and the building goes up, so in the early stage there is no unit folio to certify because none has been opened. Ask for the trust agreement and ask what happens if that threshold is never reached, who returns the money and on what terms. Who decides changes too: the governing document is the permit issued by the curaduría urbana, the private licensing office, and the condominium bylaws are still unregistered, so you read a draft. Utilities may be run by private operators belonging to the development itself, meaning the supply relationship does not start with the city water company.

What is specific to Cielo Mar

What to verify, step by step

1. Request the unit's deed and read what it describes as private area and what it describes as bien común de uso exclusivo. The sales plan will not tell you.
2. Request the condominium bylaws and find who maintains the roof slab, the waterproofing and the terrace drains.
3. Ask the manager whether the top floor has a history of leaks and how the cost was split the last time.
4. Confirm at the curaduría that the terrace enclosure, pergola or pool in Cielo Mar is covered by a permit, and was not added later without one.
5. Check the coeficiente de copropiedad assigned to the unit in the bylaws, since it governs both your vote and your share of costs.
6. Ask whether the exclusive use was formally recorded and whether an owners' meeting can revoke it, because that is different from ownership.

Mistakes that cost money

• Paying for the terrace as if it were private area. Ask how it was accounted for, because exclusive-use area is not registered the same way.
• Inheriting unpermitted work. If the terrace enclosure or pool went up without a permit, the problem transfers to the buyer with the property.
• Assuming the top floor has no neighbours. The roof is common property, and what happens on it is decided by the owners' meeting.

Frequently asked questions

Who pays to waterproof the terrace?

The bylaws decide, not custom. If the roof is common property and the bylaws do not shift upkeep, the condominium pays; if they do shift it, you pay.

Does exclusive use make me the owner of the terrace?

No. It assigns you the use of common property. That is why you read how it was recorded and under what conditions it can change.

Can I enclose the terrace or add a pool?

That depends on the bylaws, the owners' meeting and a building permit. Three separate permissions, worth confirming before you sign.

Where to check it

• Superintendencia de Notariado y Registro — the certificate of title and encumbrances, which is the property's full history
• Curadurías Urbanas de Cartagena — whether a current building or subdivision permit exists and exactly what it authorises
• Instituto Geográfico Agustín Codazzi — the cadastral record, area, boundaries and assessed value of the property
• Alcaldía Mayor de Cartagena de Indias — property tax, betterment levies and District procedures
• Cartagena de Indias — the rules of the municipality Cielo Mar belongs to

Official bodies. Specific figures are requested there, not copied from a listing.

Updated 2026-11-06