SEDETUS Registry Due Diligence for Foreign Buyers

Buying pre-construction in the Riviera Maya? Check the SEDETUS registry first

Quintana Roo’s urban development authority, SEDETUS, currently has more than 135 real estate developments under administrative procedure for alleged irregularities and publishes an online state registry of developments flagged as irregular. Common findings include no urban feasibility opinion, no utility feasibility certificates, no municipal land-use or construction licences, or units marketed without an authorised condominium regime.

For a foreign buyer, especially one considering pre-construction in Tulum, Playa del Carmen, Akumal or Puerto Aventuras, this registry is the single most valuable free due-diligence tool available today. If a project appears on it, the authority itself is telling you that the developer lacks mandatory permits. Signing a purchase agreement or a promise-of-trust agreement on a flagged project puts your capital at direct risk, and the authority has warned that such transactions may even constitute offences against urban ordering.

If you already purchased in a flagged development, you are not without remedies. Mexican law allows you to pursue rescission and recovery of what you paid, with interest and damages, through civil litigation, and the official registry entry is powerful evidence of the developer’s breach. Timing matters: assets and corporate structures move quickly once a developer is publicly flagged.

Before you buy

1. Verify title. Check title at the Public Registry and request a title due-diligence review before committing funds.
2. Confirm permits. Confirm the developer’s permits with SEDETUS and the relevant municipality.
3. Review the intermediary. Confirm that the real estate agent holds a state licence.
4. Have counsel review the structure. Ask counsel to review the purchase agreement or promise-of-trust agreement. Our guide to buying property in Mexico as a foreigner provides broader context, while the IBG due-diligence protocol helps organise the review.

Next step

IBG Legal has spent more than 25 years advising foreign investment and real estate in the Mexican Caribbean, from due diligence through recovery litigation. Request a complimentary initial fit assessment, subject to scope review.