Selling an apartment in Lima from Switzerland or Europe

You bought in Miraflores, Barranco or San Isidro a few years ago. You now live in Geneva, Lausanne, Paris or Madrid, and you want to sell. Do you have to get on a plane?

In the vast majority of cases, no. This guide follows the whole path, from the decision to sell through to the funds arriving in a European account.

Can you really sell without going to Peru?

Yes. Peruvian law does not reserve the sale of a property to people present in the country. Three configurations exist, and they are worth keeping apart.

Being present on signing day is the simplest route on paper, but it means matching a plane ticket to a calendar you do not control: a buyer whose mortgage runs three weeks late, a certificate that takes its time, a mortgage to be discharged.

Signing through an attorney is the most common case, and the one this guide addresses. A trusted person signs the deed in your name, holding a power of attorney. The Peruvian Civil Code is strict here: to dispose of the principal's property, the mandate must be unambiguous and granted by escritura pública, on pain of nullity (article 156). A private power of attorney, even certified, does not allow a sale.

Acting yourself before a Peruvian consul is possible: Peruvian consuls exercise notarial functions and receive deeds intended to take effect in Peru, including for foreign nationals. In practice this route mainly serves to create the power of attorney, the sale itself being formalised by a single notary in Lima.

A power of attorney is therefore not a legal obligation in itself. It is the practical consequence of the fact that you will not be standing in front of the notary on the day.

First step: read the partida registral

Before setting a price and before any listing, request the registry extract. It is the least spectacular step in the process and the most profitable.

The partida registral is your apartment's page in SUNARP's Registro de Predios. Two documents reproduce it: the copia literal, a full reproduction of every entry, history included; and the Certificado Registral Inmobiliario (CRI), which summarises the current position, registered owner, description of the property, charges and encumbrances in force. Both can be requested online, often through your lawyer or your representative in Lima.

What you check: that the registered owner really is you, spelling, passport number and marital status included; that the description matches, in particular the status of the parking space and the storage unit, which may be independent units with their own partida; the absence of active charges, mortgage, attachment, precautionary measure, easement; any power of attorney already registered in your name, to be revoked or updated; and the registration of the co-ownership reglamento interno.

Why so early? Because a registry anomaly takes weeks or months to fix, never days: a mortgage repaid but never discharged, a parking space never separated out, a name misspelled at the outset, an inheritance not registered. And because it always surfaces at the worst moment, when a buyer is ready and starting to doubt.

A useful reminder: in Peru, ownership transfers by the mere agreement of the parties (article 949 of the Civil Code), registration being what makes the right enforceable against third parties and fixes its rank. This mechanism is set out in our guide to the pitfalls of buying property in Lima.

The documents to gather

Two categories, which are often confused.

What the law requires for the deed to be formalised and registered:

• proof of payment of the property tax (predial) for the current year, which notaries and registrars must require on a transfer, the requirement being limited to the tax year of the deed (article 7 of the Ley de Tributación Municipal);
• proof of payment of the Alcabala, which falls on the buyer;
• the minuta of sale, authorised by a lawyer, which the notary raises into an escritura pública;
• on income tax: if you are tax-domiciled in Peru, the constancia of payment or, where exempt, the "Comunicación de no encontrarse obligado"; if you are non-domiciled, the constancia of the withholding paid by the buyer and the SUNAT certification of recovery of invested capital;
• a valid and registered power of attorney, with a recent vigencia certificate;
• your identity document and, where relevant, the documents relating to your matrimonial regime.

What the law does not require but a serious buyer will ask for: the HR and PU forms of the year's autoavalúo, needed to calculate the Alcabala; the arbitrios receipts, bearing in mind that these service charges are not among the taxes covered by article 7 and that arrears do not legally block the transfer, only the negotiation; a statement of service charges and a no-debt certificate from the junta de propietarios; the reglamento interno, the plans, the parking and storage documents; the current lease and its registry status; and finally your escritura pública of acquisition and the evidence of the price paid, which will serve to calculate the tax.

The power of attorney from Switzerland or Europe

This is the centrepiece of a remote sale. Two routes coexist.

Route A, the Peruvian consulate. The power is granted as an escritura pública before a consular officer, at the request of a Peruvian or foreign national, the latter presenting their passport. The procedure is published by the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: send the draft, appointment, signature, payment of the fees. The Peruvian consulate in Geneva and the consular section in Bern are among the posts connected to the electronic transmission of deeds to SUNARP, which shortens the delays; connections evolve, so confirm the state of the service at the time. One particularity: a consular power can only be filed with the registry by the person designated by the consul.

Route B, a notary in your country of residence. The document must then be apostilled (Switzerland and Peru are both parties to the Hague Convention) and drafted in Spanish or translated by a sworn public translator. Practical advantage: anyone can then file it with the registry.

In both cases, registration. The power is filed with SUNARP's Registro de Mandatos y Poderes, for a fee of around 20 soles. The notary handling the sale will then require a recent vigencia de poder certificate, generally less than thirty days old.

On drafting. Article 156 does not impose a sacramental formula but an unambiguous mandate: a general power to "manage my affairs" will not allow a sale. The acts usually listed are negotiating the price, signing the minuta and the escritura pública, the ability to receive the price or not, the tax and municipal formalities, and the application for registration. The exact wording, however, is not a translation exercise: it is for the Peruvian notary or lawyer who will use the document to settle it. Ask them for the draft before your appointment at the consulate or with the Swiss notary, not after. Finally, set a duration, and be aware that a revocation must itself be registered to be enforceable.

Who should hold it?

Three roles exist and nothing requires them to be combined. The person who markets the property (local agent or manager) organises viewings, holds the keys and answers buyers: none of that requires a power of disposal. The person holding the legal power, most often a Peruvian lawyer, sometimes a relative, will sign the deed. The person who formalises it, the notary, is nobody's agent. One caution: avoid giving the power to sell to the person earning a commission on the sale, and even more so to anyone connected to the buyer.

Marketing the property from Europe

The price. The risk specific to distance is not negotiating badly, it is starting from a false reference point. Prices shown online are asking prices, not concluded prices; the micro-market varies from one street to the next; and the state of the common areas, the view, the noise, the floor, the layout and the parking weigh as much as the neighbourhood price per square metre. A seller who sets a price from a screen, eight years after their last visit, almost always errs in the same direction. Our guides on negotiating the price of an apartment in Lima and on what your budget actually buys give the current reference points.

Viewings require a named person on the ground, key management, agreed time slots and an honest report after each visit. A continuous, unedited video is worth more than a flattering reel.

If the apartment is let, Peruvian law makes the fate of the lease depend on its registration (article 1708 of the Civil Code): if the lease is registered, the buyer must respect it and steps into the landlord's shoes from acquisition; if it is not registered, the buyer may terminate it, unless they undertook to respect it. The corollary is often forgotten: when the lease ends because of the sale, it is the landlord who answers for the damage caused to the tenant (article 1709). Ending an unregistered lease is therefore not free for you.

In practice, selling with vacant possession widens the market, because a share of Lima buyers buy to live in the property; selling with a tenant in place preserves income until the deed and suits an investor buyer. In both cases, plan for the security deposit, the meter readings and the handover of keys. If the property is on short-term rental, close the calendar early enough: a confirmed booking on signing day is a problem nobody wants to handle from 10,000 kilometres away.

From offer to deed

Not every sale follows the same sequence, but most go through these stages: offer and negotiation; arras, whose characterisation is not cosmetic since it determines what happens to the deposit if one party walks away; minuta de compraventa, signed by the parties or their attorney and authorised by a lawyer; checks (up-to-date partida, municipal taxes, tax documents, powers and vigencia, means of payment); escritura pública before the notary; registration with SUNARP on the basis of the parte notarial.

Some sales skip the arras stage. Others stretch out, in particular when the buyer finances through a Peruvian mortgage: the bank then imposes its calendar, its own valuation and often its notary, and releases the funds after signature. Between signature and registration, the bloqueo registral reserves the rank in the registry for sixty working days. It protects the buyer, but it also secures the seller's timetable.

What the notary checks, and what they do not

The Peruvian notary is a private professional, chosen by the parties, who gives public faith to the deed. They identify the parties, with biometric fingerprint verification against RENIEC where the service is available in their district (article 55 of Legislative Decree 1049); they check the powers and their vigencia; they require proof of payment of the predial and the Alcabala as well as the income tax documents; they record in the deed the means of payment used, verify the supporting document and insert a copy, it being specified that if the client refuses to produce it, the notary does not give faith to the operation and files a suspicious operation report with UIF-Perú; and finally they raise the minuta into an escritura pública and transmit the title to the registry.

What they do not do: value your property, audit the building, negotiate for you, or defend your interests against the other party. For a non-resident seller, that is the role of an independent lawyer. It is the most frequent misunderstanding among European owners.

Capital gains tax

First question, before any other: are you domiciled or non-domiciled for Peruvian tax purposes? An owner living in Europe is normally non-domiciled. Status is determined on facts, notably time spent in Peru, and a change only takes effect on 1 January of the following year. Check it before organising the sale: the whole mechanism depends on it.

If you are non-domiciled

The rate is 5% on the capital gain from the disposal of a property (article 54 b of the Income Tax Law, since 1 January 2017). The 30% rate still found in older articles reflects the previous state of the law.

It is the buyer who withholds and pays the tax, on a final basis (article 76-A). Before the notary can raise the minuta into an escritura pública, the buyer must present the constancia of payment of that withholding.

And here is the point that decides the amount. For the withholding to bear on the gain rather than the price, you must hold the SUNAT certification of recovery of invested capital, the document that recognises your acquisition cost. The rule is explicit: the deduction does not apply to payments made before the certification is issued (article 57 of the Regulations). Article 76-A opens an alternative, proving that more than thirty working days have elapsed since the request was filed without a response from SUNAT. The practical consequence fits in one sentence: the request must be filed, with its supporting documents, before you receive the price.

The request (procedure 49 of SUNAT's TUPA) is filed through the virtual mesa de partes or at a taxpayer service centre. It comprises a written application signed by you or your representative, your identity details, a migratory movement certificate, the details of your representative in Peru with the document establishing their capacity, and the documents evidencing the acquisition cost.

Two caveats. First, the tax is determined in soles, not in dollars: conversion uses the buying rate published by the SBS, and the two prices are converted into local currency on different dates, so the gain in soles can diverge appreciably from the apparent gain in dollars. Second, whether the cost recognised for a non-domiciled seller benefits from the same index-based adjustment as that of a domiciled seller is not absolutely clear: to be confirmed with a Peruvian tax adviser.

If you are domiciled in Peru

A different regime in form, very close in result: 5% of the gain, the gain being the sale price less the acquisition cost adjusted by the monetary correction index published each month by the Ministry of Economy and Finance for the month and year of acquisition. Payment is made with form 1662 (tax code 3021) and the return with virtual form 1665, by the month following receipt of the price. The constancia is handed to the notary.

The cases where nothing is due

• The property was acquired before 1 January 2004. The gain is not taxable, and SUNAT has confirmed that this transitional rule also applies to non-domiciled sellers. If your purchase deed predates that date, it is the first thing to check, before any calculation.
• The sale price is equal to or lower than the cost.
• The property is your casa habitación. The definition is more restrictive than its name suggests: ownership for at least two years, no exclusive use for commerce, industry, an office, a warehouse or a garage, and above all, where the seller owns several properties meeting those conditions, only the one that remains as their sole property after the others are sold qualifies. An investment flat held alongside a home in Europe therefore almost never falls within this framework, and whether properties located outside Peru count in that test deserves to be put to a Peruvian adviser rather than settled by analogy.

Who pays what

Your costs as a seller, in orders of magnitude, all variable:

Item	Usually borne by	Order of magnitude
Agency commission	Seller	3 to 5% of the price, plus 18% IGV, negotiable and unregulated
Lawyer (file review, minuta, follow-up)	Seller, for their own adviser	Varies with the firm and the complexity
Notary and registration	By custom, the buyer	Negotiable, to be written into the contract
Power of attorney	Seller	Consular fees or notary's fees, apostille, sworn translation, SUNARP registration around 20 soles, vigencia around 25 soles
Registry certificates	Whoever requests them	Copia literal from around fifteen soles, CRI around 69 soles
Mortgage discharge	Seller	Bank fees, notary, registration
Banking and foreign exchange	Seller	International transfer, correspondents, FX spread, ITF at 0.005%
Capital gains tax	Seller	See previous section

When a cost depends entirely on the provider, as with lawyers' or notaries' fees, ask for two quotes rather than relying on a percentage read somewhere. For the mirror image on the purchase side, see our guide to the total cost of buying in Lima.

If the property is still mortgaged

The sale remains possible but it has to be structured. The usual pattern: the bank states the exact balance at a given date, part of the price is applied to repaying it, the remainder goes to the seller, and the bank then issues the document allowing the discharge of the mortgage, which must be formalised and then registered with SUNARP. The friction point is timing: banks take several days to a few weeks to issue the discharge deed, and registration comes after that. Buyers therefore often accept signing before the discharge is effective, protected by the undertakings in the deed and, where appropriate, by a bloqueo registral. It is the first thing to set in motion when selling a financed property, before even looking for a buyer.

Receiving the price, then transferring it to Europe

In Peru, payment must go through the financial system. Law 28194 requires the use of a means of payment: account deposit, transfer, payment order, card, or a cheque bearing the no negociable clause. Since 1 April 2022, the threshold applicable to the creation or transfer of real rights over immovable property is one UIT, that is 5,500 soles in 2026, which in practice covers every apartment sale. The notary records the means used and attaches the evidence. A cash payment is not merely imprudent, it is irregular, and it undermines the whole file afterwards, including for tax purposes.

Two forms dominate: a bank transfer to the seller's Peruvian account, and a non-negotiable cashier's cheque handed over at the notary's office on signing day. The timetable varies: everything at the escritura, or part at the minuta and the balance at signature, or a release after the deed if the buyer is borrowing. There is no single arrangement. What matters is that the trigger for each payment is written down, and that you do not part with the property before you are certain the funds are identifiable.

Then on to Europe. Peru applies no exchange controls: the Constitution guarantees the free holding and free disposal of foreign currency (article 64), and free convertibility is guaranteed by Legislative Decree 668. Repatriation is therefore not a question of authorisation, it is a banking question.

• Route: a USD account in Peru, a dollar-to-dollar SWIFT transfer, then conversion in Europe if you want francs or euros. The route almost always passes through a US correspondent bank.
• Costs: sending fees, correspondent fees, receiving fees, ITF at 0.005% on the debit, and above all the FX spread, the heaviest item on property-sized amounts. Our guide on transferring funds between Switzerland and Peru details these costs in the other direction; they are symmetrical.
• Compliance: your European bank will apply its anti-money-laundering obligations. On an amount of this size, the source-of-funds question is not a hypothesis, it is a certainty. Prepare the file beforehand, not afterwards.

Can the price be wired straight to a Swiss account?

Nothing in Peruvian law prohibits paying a non-resident seller abroad. But three practical obstacles compound: the buyer, and above all their bank, prefers a domestic payment that can be verified immediately; the notary must record a means of payment and see its evidence on the day of the deed; and an international wire that has to arrive on signing day introduces a risk nobody controls. Receiving into a Peruvian account and then transferring is slower on paper, and almost always simpler in reality. If you have no Peruvian account, that is one of the things to arrange months ahead.

And on the Swiss side?

For as long as you own the property, it belongs in your tax return, under wealth, together with the rental income and any mortgage debt. Our guide on Swiss taxation of a Peruvian property covers that part in detail.

Three markers for the sale. The convention between Switzerland and Peru, signed on 21 September 2012, in force since 10 March 2014 and applicable since 1 January 2015, gives Peru the right to tax income from immovable property situated there (article 6), the wealth it represents (article 21 paragraph 1) and gains from its disposal (article 13 paragraph 1). In exchange, Switzerland exempts that income and that wealth, while being able to apply to the remaining items the rate that would have applied without the exemption (article 22 paragraph 2 letter a): that is exemption with progression. Domestic law points the same way upstream, since unlimited liability in Switzerland does not extend to immovable property situated abroad (article 6 paragraph 1 of the Federal Direct Tax Act).

As for the gain itself, federal law provides that capital gains realised on the disposal of private assets are not taxable (article 16 paragraph 3 of the Federal Direct Tax Act), and the cantonal real estate gains tax targets properties located within the canton. But the characterisation of your activity, your canton's practice and your personal situation can change that reading, and the proceeds of the sale will in any event enter your taxable wealth. We will go no further: the Swiss tax treatment depends on your situation and must be confirmed with your cantonal tax administration or a specialist.

After the sale: the checklist

• Confirm the registration of the new owner with SUNARP and obtain the evidence. Until it is effective, the operation is not finished.
• File the deregistration declaration with the district municipality or the SAT, by the last working day of the month following the sale (article 14 of the Ley de Tributación Municipal).
• Remember that the predial for the current year remains your liability: the buyer only becomes the taxpayer on 1 January following. Settle it and keep the receipts.
• Settle the arbitrios and the service charges, and request a no-debt certificate from the junta de propietarios.
• Terminate or transfer the utility contracts, electricity, water, gas, internet, with dated meter readings.
• Close the relationship with the letting manager: final statement, return of the tenant's deposit, keys, inventory.
• If the property was on short-term rental, close the listings, collect the platform's final payouts and download the history before the account is closed.
• Cancel the home insurance.
• Archive the whole file, scanned and backed up.

Case study: Sophie, in Lausanne

Sophie has owned a one-bedroom flat in Miraflores since 2018, let on a long-term basis, and wants to sell without travelling to Lima.

She starts with the copia literal: the parking space appears on a separate partida, which she did not know. Her acquisition date, 2018, is after 1 January 2004: the gain will be taxable. She has the property valued by a local professional, on actual transactions. Her lawyer in Lima sends her the draft power of attorney, which she signs at the Peruvian consulate before registration with the Registro de Mandatos y Poderes, excluding the ability to receive the price. She organises the tenant's departure, whose lease is not registered, bearing article 1709 in mind. Then, without waiting for a firm buyer, she files the SUNAT certification request.

The rest is standard: arras, minuta signed by her attorney, documents assembled by the notary, escritura, price wired to her Peruvian account, registration of title, deregistration declaration at the municipality, settlement of predial and arbitrios, then transfer of the funds with the supporting file ready.

None of these steps required her presence in Lima. Two of them, the SUNAT certification and the power of attorney, required starting early.

Seven mistakes to avoid

Summary table

Step	Doable from Europe?	Who is involved
Consulting the partida registral	Yes	Owner, lawyer or representative
Valuing the property	Partly	Local professional
Viewings and key handover	No	Trusted person on the ground
Granting the power of attorney	Yes	Peruvian consulate, or local notary then apostille
Registering the power of attorney	No, it happens in Peru	Attorney or designated person, SUNARP
Negotiation and arras	Yes	Seller, buyer, lawyer
SUNAT certification request (non-domiciled)	Yes, with a representative in Peru	Seller and representative, SUNAT
Signing the escritura pública	No, but through an attorney	Notary and attorney
Paying the capital gains tax	Withheld and paid by the buyer	Buyer, SUNAT, notary
Paying the Alcabala	Not applicable to the seller	Buyer
Registering the transfer	No, it happens in Peru	Notary and SUNARP
Municipal deregistration declaration	Yes, or through an attorney	Seller or representative, municipality or SAT
Transferring the funds to Europe	Yes	Banks