Can foreigners buy property in Kandy?A heritage city sets limits on what you build.
What this means for youBefore you pay a deposit, ask the Urban Development Authority which zone the plot is in and what may be built or altered there. We do not hold the height and design limits.
Read the detailClose
The rule on who may own is national, not local. Across Sri Lanka a foreigner cannot take a transfer of land. A foreigner can buy an apartment on any floor if the whole price is paid from abroad through a bank before the transfer deed is signed, or can lease land for up to 99 years.
What is specific to Kandy is planning control. UNESCO, the United Nations body for culture, lists the Sacred City of Kandy as a World Heritage property. Building and land use in the city council area fall under the Urban Development Authority, and its development plan for 2021 to 2030 sets the zoning and building guidelines. The area around the Temple of the Tooth is a declared sacred area.
The Authority told evaluators from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Japan's government aid agency, in 2022 that it can enforce the heritage guidelines only on new buildings, and that restoring an old heritage building is left to the owner, at the owner's cost. The same JICA evaluation notes that the Authority's law lets it take private property without public consultation and without paying compensation in advance.
From: Parliament of Sri Lanka, Land (Restrictions on Alienation) Act No. 38 of 2014 and Amendment Act No. 21 of 2018 (national rule); UNESCO World Heritage Centre; Urban Development Authority; Japan International Cooperation Agency
