Remodelling an off-plan new construction in La Boquilla: what the copropiedad authorises and what the curaduría does

Almost every buyer arrives with a remodel in mind, and for an off-plan new construction that remodel goes through two separate doors that get confused constantly: the copropiedad and the curaduría urbana. The work the seller already did matters too, because an unauthorised alteration passes to whoever buys.

The curaduría urbana is the body that issues construction permits and their variants, and what it requires depends on whether the work touches structure, façade, built area or only finishes. The copropiedad issues no permits: it authorises —or refuses— work on common property, sets how the job runs inside the building, and answers for what the reglamento says about façade and enclosures. The two doors are cumulative, and neither replaces the other. For an off-plan new construction, the split between what may be touched and what may not is written in the deed and the reglamento, not on the seller's drawing. In a resale there is a prior question: whether what stands matches the approved plans, because work done without a permit where one was required can surface in a Distrito inspection and complicate a later filing. Which permit variant fits your remodel is for the curaduría to define, and what the copropiedad allows is for the asamblea.

Off-plan new construction is bought differently because at signing the property does not yet exist: what exists is a project, a permit and a company that has to stay standing until delivery. The document, not the apartment, is therefore what gets reviewed. The first thing that changes is the path of the money: instalments are paid into a patrimonio autónomo —a trust estate— administered by a fiduciaria rather than into the builder's own account, and it is worth knowing what conditions must be met before those funds are released to the works. The second is that what you sign may be a promesa de compraventa, a binding promise of sale, or only an encargo fiduciario, a trust deposit instruction; they do not bind alike and do not unwind alike, and what happens if the project never starts depends on which one it is. The third is that the unit's identity rests on a plan that allows adjustment, so read which tolerances and specification changes the seller reserved and how the buyer is told of them. The fourth, for a buyer abroad, is duration: every transfer has to be documented and someone has to be empowered to sign and take delivery years later.

Buying here rarely means dealing with a private owner holding a clean folio de matrícula inmobiliaria, the registry record of a property. The counterparty is usually a family that has occupied the land for generations and documents its right with private papers, or a consejo comunitario, a community council whose legal representation is certified by the Ministerio del Interior rather than by a notary. That is the first procedural difference: before price comes up you need to know who may sign and under what acta, or board resolution, they were authorized, because a deal with someone who does not represent the collective never becomes a registrable deed. The second is that land in this corregimiento, an outlying township, passed down by occupation and inheritance with no registered partition, so what exists is often an unsettled sucesión, an estate proceeding, with boundaries described by neighbors. The third is authority: along this strip the District does not decide alone, because Cardique, the environmental agency, and DIMAR, the maritime authority, both weigh in, and on collective territory consulta previa, prior consultation, also applies. Infrastructure is uneven: the Anillo Vial is a major road and the village's inner streets are another matter, with water connections and wastewater worth confirming with the utility before counting on them.

What is specific to La Boquilla

What to verify, step by step

1. Describe the remodel in writing —what is touched, what is opened, what is closed— and ask the curaduría urbana which permit variant or filing applies to that work on that property.
2. Request the original licencia de construcción with its approved drawings and compare what was approved against what stands today.
3. Ask the administrador for the recorded reglamento and the minutes, and read which works require asamblea authorisation and under what conditions work may run inside the building.
4. Check what belongs to an off-plan new construction itself and decides what may be altered: which patrimonio autónomo (the trust estate holding buyers' funds) the instalments are paid into and which fiduciaria administers it, because the money should not reach the builder's own account; whether the licencia de construcción has actually been issued or the project is still in prelanzamiento, and what punto de equilibrio (the pre-sale threshold) must be met before building starts and what the signed document says about the return of funds if that threshold is never met, and whether you signed a promesa de compraventa or only an encargo fiduciario (a trust deposit instruction).
5. Ask the Oficina de Registro whether there are entries about alterations, mergers or subdivisions of the folio, and ask the Alcaldía whether any administrative proceeding is open over unpermitted work at the property.
6. Have the promesa state what happens if unauthorised work turns up and who answers for regularising it, because after closing the Distrito's counterpart is the new owner.

Mistakes that cost money

• Believing the administrador's permission replaces the permit. The administrador issues no permits, and the curaduría does not read the reglamento.
• Buying with the work already done and never asking for the approved drawings. Extra construction does not show on the certificado de tradición y libertad, and it surfaces the next time something is filed.
• Treating bien común de uso exclusivo as if it were área privada. Terrace, façade and assigned patio often belong to someone other than whoever uses them daily.

Frequently asked questions

Who issues the permit to remodel?

The curaduría urbana, under whichever variant matches the work. The copropiedad authorises what touches common property and sets how the job runs, but it issues no permit.

What if the seller already remodelled without a permit?

That risk is identified by comparing the approved drawings against what stands and asking the Alcaldía whether any proceeding is open. What route to regularisation exists is for the curaduría and your attorney to say.

Can the filing be advanced without being in Cartagena?

The preliminary enquiry and the application can be handled by a professional in the city, and the owner's signature is given by power of attorney. Which power the filing requires is confirmed by the curaduría.

Where to check it

• Curadurías Urbanas de Cartagena — whether a current building or subdivision permit exists and exactly what it authorises
• Alcaldía Mayor de Cartagena de Indias — property tax, betterment levies and District procedures
• Superintendencia de Notariado y Registro — the certificate of title and encumbrances, which is the property's full history
• Cartagena de Indias — the rules of the municipality La Boquilla belongs to

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

Updated 2026-11-06