Coast & Concessions
The federal zone — the part of the beach you can’t own
You don’t own the federal zone. You hold the right to use it — and that right has to be kept.
On the Mexican coast, the strip of land along the water doesn’t belong to the property behind it. It belongs to the nation. You can’t buy it — but you can hold the exclusive right to use it, through a federal concession.
Plenty of beachfront deals quietly assume that strip comes with the lot. It doesn’t. Whether you can use it, build near it, or count on it next year depends on a concession in good standing — and on getting that right before you buy, not after.
What we do
- Check the concession first. Before you buy, we confirm who actually holds the concession on the strip in front of the lot, and whether it’s valid and current — so you’re not paying for a beach view that legally belongs to someone else’s right.
- Secure or obtain it. We apply for, obtain, and document the concession that lets you use the federal zone in front of your property.
- Keep it in standing. Concessions run on terms, fees, and deadlines — and no notice arrives when they come due. We carry the renewals and compliance, so the right doesn’t quietly lapse and open up to someone else.
- Transfer it with the property. When the lot changes hands the concession doesn’t follow on its own; it has to be assigned the right way. We handle that, so the right actually arrives with the title.
- Land gained from the sea. Where new land has formed between your lot and the water, we handle the separate, narrow process to regularize it.
Why us
Here’s what owners find out too late: the right to use that strip stands or falls on a concession — whose name it’s in, whether it’s valid, whether it’s been kept current. If it lapses, or it was never really theirs, the strip in front of the house can pass to someone else — and the consequence sits with the owner, not with whoever made the promise. That is where independent counsel earns its place: with no stake in the sale, looking only at whether the right is real, current, and yours, before it becomes the one thing that can’t be fixed.
Learn more. Read our publications “Federal Maritime Zone Concessions (ZOFEMAT)” and “Land Gained from the Sea”.
Buying or holding beachfront?
Know what’s actually yours to use before you commit. A short review now can save a hard surprise at the waterline.
Schedule a Consultation