Chile's rural subdivision bill: what changes for buying, selling or subdividing a 5,000 m² plot

Short answer: today you can buy and sell a 5,000 m² plot that already exists legally in Chile, and the rural subdivision bill does not prohibit it. The rule in force is still Decree Law 3,516, which allows rural land to be divided into lots of at least half a hectare. The bill filed by the previous government in 2024 keeps that minimum but requires those lots to be used only for farming, livestock or forestry, and creates rural residential complexes for housing projects. As of September 2026 it is still in the Agriculture Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, with no vote on its general principles.

The rule in force: Decree Law 3,516 and half a hectare

Since 1980, rural properties outside the urban limit can be freely divided by their owners, provided the resulting lots are no smaller than 0.5 physical hectares. That half hectare is the well-known 5,000 square metres. If you need to convert units, use our area converter.

The same decree contains exceptions, in paragraphs a) to j) of its Article 1. They include divisions that the Agriculture and Livestock Service (SAG) used to make or authorise under a 1979 decree since repealed, title regularisations under Decree Law 2,695, public works, strips annexed to a neighbouring property and, in paragraph j), the one-off transfer of a lot of 500 to 1,000 square metres to a child or to the parents, including in-laws in that degree, so that they can build their home, which is Ley Sabag. We review them one by one in the ten exceptions for subdividing below 5,000 m².

Since 2022 lots must also have access to a public space or to an agrarian reform road. And they are barred from changing their use under Articles 55 and 56 of the General Urban Planning and Construction Law: outside the urban limit you cannot open streets or subdivide to create housing estates, and only buildings for farming, the owner's and workers' homes and certain social or subsidised homes are allowed. Other uses need authorisation from the regional Agriculture office, with a favourable report from the regional Housing office.

Can I sell land smaller than 5,000 m²?

Yes, if the lot already exists legally. A rural plot smaller than half a hectare may have been created before Decree Law 3,516, under one of its exceptions, through a Decree Law 2,695 regularisation, or it may simply be in an urban area, where the half-hectare rule does not apply. In all those cases it can be sold.

What the law does not allow is creating a rural lot smaller than half a hectare today outside the exceptions, or disguising one. The decree expressly penalises division made even in the form of co-ownerships, condominiums or leases: the fine, payable to the State, is twice the assessed value of the divided property, doubles for repeat offences, and the judge can order work to stop or be demolished. On top of that, acts contrary to the decree are void.

So be wary of anyone offering a piece of a larger property by selling percentages. We explain why in undivided shares and rights in Chile and in why those sales are no longer registered.

What changed in 2022 without a new law

In July 2022 the SAG issued Circular 475, following an instruction from the Ministry of Agriculture. It did not change the half-hectare minimum, but it did change how subdivision certification requests are reviewed. Since then the Service suspends or rejects requests, and asks other bodies for reports, when it detects signs that the project is a real estate development rather than a farm:

• condominium features such as gatehouses, roundabouts or viewpoints;
• layouts incompatible with farming, such as very narrow, elongated lots;
• lots with streets, power poles or common areas already built;
• real estate advertising for the project;
• projects of 80 lots or more, or new phases of projects that already operate as housing estates;
• bylaws that restrict farming on the lots, and locations in protected areas.

The Comptroller General ruled in 2023 that tacit approval could not be applied to a certification request that the SAG had suspended while awaiting another body's report, and that same year the Supreme Court upheld the rejection of a constitutional complaint filed against these measures. The criterion is still in force. We explain the most common grounds for rejection in why the SAG rejects subdivisions.

The effect shows in the figures the Service publishes:

The bill: what it is and where it stands

The bill is called the protection of the territory and rural life bill. The previous government filed it in July 2024 and it carries bulletin number 17.006-01. It entered the Chamber of Deputies and went to the Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development Committee. The Executive submitted amendments in October 2024.

As of late September 2026 it is still in that committee, at the first constitutional stage, with no vote on its general principles. On 2 March 2026 the previous government gave it immediate-discussion urgency, which lapsed without a vote, and that same month the new government announced it would resume the bill. In September 2026 the Ministry of Agriculture appeared before the committee and raised alternatives such as rural villages with basic services; the committee's chair asked the Executive for substantial changes or a new bill, and the ministry said it is working out the way forward with the Housing Ministry and the Ministry General Secretariat of the Presidency. At that date the Executive had not submitted any new amendments. In other words: it is not law, it has no voting date and its text can still change.

What would change if it passes

The text of the bill, with the Executive's amendments, proposes these main changes:

• Half a hectare stays, but lots resulting from dividing a rural property would have to be used exclusively for farming, livestock or forestry.
• The rural residential complex is created, a new figure in the General Urban Planning and Construction Law for housing projects in the countryside. Each lot would have a minimum of 5,000 m², or whatever the inter-municipal zoning plan sets, with at least 70% for farming, forestry or conservation, up to 20% for common use and up to 10% for the home.
• One single-family home per lot, up to two storeys, with approved drinking water and sanitation and access to a public road, plus internal bylaws.
• More authorisations. A complex would need authorisation from the regional Agriculture office, with a SAG report and a favourable report from the regional Housing office. The municipal Works Department would approve the subdivision and could not authorise the sale of lots until the enabling works have been approved.
• A presumption. Any subdivision project with six or more adjoining lots, where no individual lot exceeds three hectares, would be presumed to be a residential complex. The Executive's amendment raised that threshold to seven lots and expressly allowed evidence to the contrary.
• Notaries and Registrars as a filter. They would have to reject deeds showing signs of residential use outside the new figure.
• Fines of up to 1,000 UTM, which could be applied every year while the breach is not corrected.
• A transitional rule for those who already bought. For three years, anyone who acquired a lot from a subdivision certified before the law could request authorisation to build a single-family home.

Does the bill ban buying 5,000 m² plots?

No. It is one of the most repeated questions, and the short answer is that no article of the bill prohibits buying or selling plots that already exist. What the bill does is tighten control over new subdivisions intended for housing and create a specific figure for them.

Other initiatives that appear in the news do not ban it either. A private member's bill proposing to raise the minimum to five hectares was rejected by the Senate in July 2023, and the other private members' bills on the subject have not become law.

What it means if you already bought a plot

If your lot comes from a subdivision certified by the SAG and registered, it is still yours and you can sell it. The practical question is a different one: what you can build. Today the law allows the owner's home and the workers' homes in the countryside, with a permit from the municipal Works Department, as we explain in how many houses you can build on 5,000 m². If you are thinking of cabins or tourist rentals, read what the law says about cabins on a rural plot.

If the bill is approved as drafted, there would be a three-year transitional window for those who bought lots from subdivisions certified before the law to request authorisation to build their home. Until it becomes law, that rule does not apply.

What it means if you want to subdivide

Until the bill passes, subdivision follows Decree Law 3,516, with the stricter review the SAG has applied since 2022. The decree's exceptions, including Ley Sabag, remain in force. We explain the whole procedure in how to subdivide agricultural land in Chile, and if your case is transferring a lot to a child, you can check the requirements with our Ley Sabag test.

What we do advise is not to design a subdivision today that looks like a housing estate: internal streets, shared gates, identical lots or advertising before certification. Those are exactly the signs the SAG checks, and they would also be the ones that trigger the bill's presumption if it becomes law.

Before buying a plot today

• The SAG subdivision certificate and the plan filed with the Property Registrar. Without them, the lot you are offered may not legally exist.
• That the lot on the ground is the lot on the plan. A land survey confirms the boundaries and the area. If a neighbour's titles overlap with yours, read what to do when property titles overlap.
• Access. The lot has to reach a public road or have a registered easement; we explain it in the right-of-way easement.
• Water. A plot without water rights or with an unregularised well is an expensive problem; read what to check about water before buying.
• That it is not in a flood zone, as we explain in how to tell whether land is in a flood zone.
• That you are buying a lot and not a percentage of a larger property.

How we can help

We handle subdivisions before the SAG with the survey plan included, and check beforehand whether the design will pass the current criterion. That is our rural subdivision service. Before you buy a plot we review the titles, the SAG certificate and the plan through our title review service, and if the lot has no title, we assess whether title regularisation applies. We follow the bill's progress and will update this article if it is voted on.

Frequently asked questions