Frente de Playa / Vista al Mar (Beachfront / Ocean View)FREN-tay day PLY-ah / VEESS-tah al mar
Frente de playa means a property fronts the beach with its boundary line meeting the federal maritime zone, while vista al mar means the property has an ocean view without necessarily fronting the beach. Beachfront property adjoins the ZOFEMAT (Zona Federal Marítimo Terrestre), the 20-meter federal strip landward from the high-tide line that no one can own, defined in Article 119 of the General Law of National Assets (Ley General de Bienes Nacionales).
By Daniel Ortega · Last reviewed 11 November 2026
How it works
Buyers of beachfront property in Mexico must understand that many valuable coastal features—beach access, terraces, palapas, pools and docks—often sit in the federal maritime zone, not on private land. The land between the mean high-tide line and 20 meters inland is the federal maritime terrestrial zone (ZOFEMAT), which no one privately owns; beachfront owners instead hold a federal concession to use that strip. Concessions are granted by SEMARNAT (Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales) for up to 50 years and are renewable, with preferential renewal rights during the final 10 percent of the term. Application costs range from MXN 729 to MXN 3,644 depending on use type. Annual fees are calculated per square meter under Article 232-C of the Federal Rights Law (Ley Federal de Derechos) and vary by zone: in Cozumel, MXN 95.90 per m² for general use or MXN 26.69 per m² for protection and ornato in 2025; in Playa del Carmen (Zone XI Subzone B), MXN 199.25 per m² for general use or MXN 55.60 per m² for protection and ornato. For typical beachfront properties, total annual concession fees range from roughly MXN 80,000 to MXN 400,000 or more depending on surface area and zone classification. Vista al mar properties offer ocean views from upper floors or elevated positions but do not adjoin the federal zone and require no ZOFEMAT concession. Buyers must verify the concession exists, is current, and is transferable as part of any beachfront purchase; an expired or non-transferable concession means inheriting the property but not the right to use the federal zone. Foreign buyers in the restricted zone (50 kilometers from the coast) hold beachfront property through fideicomiso (bank trust) and must secure a separate ZOFEMAT concession for any structures or improvements within the 20-meter federal strip. Search beachfront listings by filtering for frente de playa at PropertyMex or verify concession status through SEMARNAT online registry.