If you are buying a boutique condo in Lima from Miami, the closest mental model is the Florida HOA — but only as a starting point. Lima’s eight-unit boutique buildings in Miraflores, San Isidro and Barranco operate under Peru property horizontal law, a regime that changed in 2024 when Legislative Decree 1568 replaced the relevant section of the 1999 Ley 27157. The new framework looks more like a hybrid between a Florida HOA and Spain’s comunidad de propietarios. For a US-Hispanic buyer, an expat or a Peruvian returning from abroad, the differences are not academic: they shape your monthly fees, your voting power and what you can actually do inside your own unit.

In this guide

• What Peru property horizontal law governs and why 2024 was a turning point
• Exclusive property vs common areas in an 8-unit building
• Participation shares: the percentage that drives your monthly bill
• Owners’ assembly: how it forms and what it decides
• Internal bylaws and the minute book your attorney must read
• Maintenance fees in a Lima Top boutique building
• Common disputes and how to resolve them outside court
• 2024 regime snapshot
• FAQs

What Peru property horizontal law governs and why 2024 was a turning point

Ley 27157, enacted in July 1999, did three things at once: streamlined building registration, simplified the construction record (declaratoria de fábrica) and created Peru’s first regime for buildings where exclusive units coexist with common property. For 24 years its Title III governed every multifamily building. Decreto Supremo 035-2006-VIVIENDA, the implementing rule, remains in force for the rest of Ley 27157 and for buildings constituted before the change.

On May 28, 2023 the Executive published Legislative Decree 1568 in El Peruano, repealing Title III of Ley 27157 and launching the new Peru property horizontal law regime. The decree took effect 180 days after the Ministry of Housing released its implementing regulation, which was published on July 13, 2024. Two regimes now coexist: the older Ley 27157 framework for buildings that registered their bylaws before the change, and the new DL 1568 framework for new buildings and for matters not covered by the original bylaws.

The 2023 reform tightened three areas. It modernized concepts that the 1999 law left vague (virtual sessions, the legal nature of the owners’ assembly), raised majorities for sensitive decisions (75% to dispose of common property) and codified rules that until then lived only in Sunarp’s registry case law. For a buyer comparing a boutique unit in Country Club to a Brickell condo, the practical question is which regime applies to the assembly you are about to join.

Exclusive property vs common areas in an 8-unit building

The framework draws a clean line. Exclusive property is the unit recorded in your name on the registry partida: the apartment, the storage unit and the assigned parking. Inside that, you decide alone — remodel the bathroom, take down a non-load-bearing wall, lease the unit. Any work that alters the building’s volume, architectural style or external appearance still requires prior approval from the assembly, a rule originally in Article 51 of Ley 27157 that continues to govern most existing bylaws.

Common property covers what the building shares: facade, lobby, stairs, elevator, water tank, roof, generator, planters, the structural walls, the fire system. In an 8-unit boutique building, that list is short and manageable; in a 60-unit tower it grows to dozens of items. That difference is exactly what makes the boutique format so appealing for premium buyers in Miraflores, San Isidro and Barranco — fewer neighbors, fewer variable costs, simpler voting math. Compared to a Coral Gables HOA with 200 units and a full amenity deck, a Lima boutique looks closer to a New York co-op without the board interview.

The detail that confuses almost every buyer: storage and parking

Your storage unit and parking spot can be registered as accessory exclusive sections (with their own registry code) or as common areas of exclusive use. The distinction matters when you eventually want to transfer them separately or sell them to another owner in the building. Pull the registry partida from SUNARP and verify how yours is recorded before you sign the minuta — this is one of the most common red flags surfaced in a serious due diligence on a Peru purchase.

Participation shares: the percentage that drives your monthly bill

The participation share (alícuota or porcentaje de participación) is the weight your unit carries over common property. In a building of eight identical units, the legal default is 12.5% each. In practice, very few buildings have identical units: there is usually a penthouse with a terrace, two duplexes on the second level, two flats overlooking the garden and three standard units. The internal bylaws set the share table using reasonable criteria — square meters, location, intended use, relative value.

That share governs three things at once: how much you pay every month (an 18% share pays 18% of the budget), how much your vote weighs at every assembly meeting and your stake in any indemnity or sale of common property. Before closing, ask the developer or the seller for the bylaws and the share table — verify exactly where your unit lands. In a boutique, a poorly calculated share can mean paying 22% on the smallest apartment in the building.

What you actually pay in Lima Top: maintenance ranges

Monthly maintenance fees in boutique buildings across Miraflores, San Isidro and Barranco range roughly from S/400 to S/1,500 per unit (about US$110 to US$400 at May 2026 rates), depending on amenities, 24/7 doorman presence, elevator type, landscaping and service level. An 8-unit building with a daytime doorman and a 9-passenger elevator typically closes annual budgets between S/60,000 and S/110,000 (US$16,000 to US$30,000).

Owners’ assembly: how it forms and what it decides

The junta de propietarios is the collective body of all unit owners — closer to a Spanish comunidad de propietarios than to a US HOA board, because every owner sits on it directly rather than electing a small board. It comes into being by law the moment the internal bylaws are recorded in Sunarp. In your 8-unit building, you are one of eight members with voice and vote. The assembly elects a president, designates an administrator (internal or external) and approves the annual budget.

Under the DL 1568 regime and its 2024 implementing rule, sessions can be held in person or virtually and are validly installed with the quorum the bylaws require. Day-to-day matters (budget, contracts, minor repairs) need only a simple majority of the percentages present. But the law requires qualified majorities for high-impact decisions:

• Amending the internal bylaws: more than 50% of the total participation shares.
• Disposing, selling or encumbering common property: at least 75% of the shares over common property, unless the bylaws require a higher majority or unanimity.
• Modifying the share table itself: a qualified two-thirds majority under applicable registry case law.

In an 8-unit boutique, that means leasing the rooftop to a cell antenna operator requires at least six qualifying votes; converting the doorman’s room into a sellable storage unit, the same. The threshold protects minority owners and absentee investors — the Miami buyer who only spends two months a year in Lima. This rule appears in nearly every boutique building in Barranco or Miraflores with a stable residential profile.

Internal bylaws and the minute book your attorney must read

The internal bylaws (reglamento interno) are the building’s constitution. They describe each exclusive section and each common asset, set the share table, govern use of common areas, list owner rights and obligations, define how the assembly is convened, set majorities for each type of decision and lay out penalties for non-compliance. Once recorded on the building’s master registry partida, the bylaws bind every current and future owner.

The minute book (libro de actas) is the physical or, under the new rule, electronic record of every session. It must be notarized and, under Article 153 of DS 035-2006-VIVIENDA, the administrator is responsible for keeping it current. Each entry should record the date, owners present, percentages represented, agenda, decisions adopted and signatures. If you are buying a unit and the minute book has a three-year gap, that is not a minor detail: it is a red flag that the assembly has been dormant or noncompliant.

Before signing, ask the seller for a copy of the recorded bylaws and the last six minute entries. Your attorney should verify whether the assembly is current with municipal property taxes, with the management company and with vendors. A delinquent assembly transfers headaches to the incoming buyer. The same logic applies to the SUNARP partida lookup: any encumbrance or precautionary measure on file complicates the closing.

Maintenance fees in a Lima Top boutique building

The annual budget of an 8-unit Miraflores boutique splits across four buckets. Personnel (doorman, gardener) accounts for 35% to 45%, especially with 24/7 coverage. Common services (lighting, water, elevator, fire system, security, lobby internet) take 25% to 30%. Preventive and corrective maintenance (water tank cleaning, elevator service, paint, gardening, pest control) another 20%. Reserves for contingencies and scheduled improvements, 10% to 15%.

The assembly approves the budget at its annual ordinary session and sets monthly fees based on each owner’s share. A 14% share on a S/96,000 (US$26,000) annual budget pays S/13,440 a year — about S/1,120 (US$300) a month. Compared with a 60-unit tower, where each owner absorbs less than 1.7% but the absolute budget runs five to eight times larger because of amenities and staff, the boutique trades scale for predictability and control. This monthly fee is non-deductible and separate from the Alcabala transfer tax you paid at closing.

What happens when an owner does not pay

The bylaws usually provide for late-payment interest (typically the maximum SBS rate for non-commercial transactions) and the assembly can collect through the courts via a streamlined enforcement proceeding. If delinquency persists, registry case law admits the preventive recording of the debt on the delinquent owner’s partida — a warning to any future buyer. In a boutique where one delinquent owner can represent 10% to 18% of the budget, the impact lands hard. Always check the building’s payment history before committing.

Common disputes and how to resolve them outside court

Disputes in small buildings follow a predictable pattern. The top-floor owner wants to build on the rooftop; the ground-floor owner wants to convert the parking spot into a studio; someone runs the unit as an Airbnb and the rest object to noise and strangers in the lobby; the assembly fails to gather quorum to approve the budget. Both Ley 27157 and DL 1568 set rules for nearly all of these scenarios, but enforcement through the courts is slow.

The first venue is the assembly itself. If conflict persists, the next step is mandatory pre-judicial mediation (conciliación extrajudicial), a precondition for filing in civil court. Indecopi has residual jurisdiction when the management company delivers substandard service. Only when all that fails do you reach a civil judge — a process that in Lima rarely closes under 18 months. Sunarp publishes Tribunal Registral resolutions that interpret Peru property horizontal law in analogous cases; review them before litigating.

For Airbnb and similar platforms, the bylaws can prohibit or regulate commercial use of the units. Without that express provision, registry case law has been inconsistent. If you are buying with short-term rental income in mind, read the bylaws first; without that authorization, you risk a later restriction passed by simple majority. Your Miraflores real estate advisor should flag this point before the closing.

2024 regime snapshot

• Current rule: Legislative Decree 1568 (May 2023) and its implementing regulation (DS published July 13, 2024) for buildings constituted under the new regime.
• Prior and supplementary rule: Ley 27157 (1999, Title III repealed) and DS 035-2006-VIVIENDA.
• Ordinary majority: simple majority of percentages present at a validly convened session.
• Bylaw amendments: more than 50% of total participation shares.
• Disposing, selling or encumbering common property: at least 75% of shares over common property.
• Core documents: internal bylaws recorded in Sunarp, notarized minute book, approved annual budget.
• Boutique maintenance range in Lima Top: S/400 to S/1,500 (US$110 to US$400) per unit per month.

Frequently asked questions

A final thought

Buying into an 8-unit boutique in Lima Top is also buying a permanent seat at a table for eight. The quality of your next 15 to 20 years depends on who the other seven are and on what rules they wrote before you arrived. Peru property horizontal law gives you the framework; the internal bylaws give you the fine print; the assembly gives you the actual coexistence. No real estate agent can compensate for poorly drafted bylaws or an assembly captured by a dominant owner. Legal due diligence on the building, not just on the unit, is what separates a smart purchase from a recurring headache.

This content is informational and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Every case must be reviewed by a licensed Peruvian attorney or accountant. Peruvian regulations may have changed since publication; always verify the latest version with SUNAT, SUNARP, the Ministry of Housing (MVCS) or the relevant official source. Maintenance fee figures are indicative as of May 2026 and depend on the building, the management company and contracted services.

If you are evaluating a boutique building purchase in Miraflores, San Isidro or Barranco — particularly buying from abroad — and want a thorough bylaws review before signing, write to us at hola@penthouse.pe. We coordinate the legal read with a property horizontal law attorney and the financial due diligence on the building before closing.

Penthouse.pe Editorial Team. Specialized coverage of luxury real estate in Lima’s premium districts. Inquiries: hola@penthouse.pe