It's the conversation we have most often with property owners in Costa Rica: "I have an apartment — should I put it on a long-term lease or on Airbnb?" The honest answer is: it depends — on the area, the apartment, your risk tolerance, and how involved you want to be.
What we can do is put both options side by side, with real numbers from the Costa Rican market and with what the law actually says — because in Costa Rica, the legal difference between a tenant and a guest is enormous, and almost nobody weighs it before deciding.
The comparison at a glance
| Long-term rental | Airbnb | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly income | Fixed and predictable | 30-70% higher in high-demand areas, but variable — slow months exist |
| Payment | Monthly, with non-payment risk | 100% secured at check-in |
| Upfront investment | None — can be rented unfurnished | Full furnishing and equipment |
| Utilities | Paid by the tenant | Paid by you (power, water, internet) |
| Contract | 3-year legal minimum (Law 7527) | No contract — per-night reservations |
| If they don't pay / there's a problem | Eviction: lawyer, judge, months or years | Reservation gets cancelled, no law protects the guest |
| Use of your property | Ceded to the tenant for the whole contract | Block dates and use it whenever you want |
| Condo amenities | The tenant enjoys them | You enjoy them too |
| Property condition | Unknown until the tenant leaves | Inspected and maintained at every cleaning |
| Damage protection | Security deposit (1 month) | AirCover: up to $3M USD |
| How you find an occupant | Real estate agent + commission | Airbnb's algorithm brings guests |
| Effort | Low | High solo — or zero with professional management |
Let's develop each point.
Income — the difference is real, but not automatic
Take a well-located 1-bedroom apartment in La Sabana or near Sabana Norte:
Long-term rental: between $650 and $900 per month depending on finishes and building. Fixed, twelve months a year. And that's precisely its value: for an owner who needs a stable, identical income every month, a long-term lease delivers.
Well-managed Airbnb: between $900 and $1,400 per month on annual average, at 70-80% occupancy. In high season it can comfortably exceed $1,500; in slow months it can approach long-term rent levels.
The key phrase is well-managed. An Airbnb with phone photos, slow responses, and one fixed price all year performs 30-40% below its potential — and there, the advantage over a long-term lease shrinks or disappears. The income difference isn't generated by the platform: it's generated by the operation.
And you have to compare apples to apples: in a long-term lease, utilities are paid by the tenant; on Airbnb, power, water, internet, and streaming are on you, plus the upfront investment in furnishing and equipping. A serious analysis subtracts those costs before comparing — even after subtracting them, short-term wins in high-demand areas, but the margin is smaller than it first appears.
If you want to estimate numbers for your specific property, our ROI calculator uses real Costa Rican market data.
The contract — the law shields the tenant, not you
Here's the difference that surprises first-time landlords the most.
In Costa Rica, housing rentals are governed by the General Urban and Suburban Leasing Law (Law 7527). Its Article 70 establishes that no housing lease can last less than 3 years — and if you sign one for less, that clause is null: the law treats it as a 3-year contract anyway. The tenant is shielded.
And if they stop paying? The tenant can keep living in your property while you keep covering costs. To recover it you need to start a legal eviction process: hire a lawyer, wait for a judge to rule, and only then execute the eviction with police. That can take months — or years. All that time is income you don't receive and legal fees you do pay.
With Airbnb, the scenario is the opposite. Stays are short and the guest is transient by definition. The stay's payment is secured 100% from check-in — Airbnb releases it automatically; you never depend on the guest "paying you." And if a guest breaks your property's or the condominium's rules, cancelling the reservation — by you or by Airbnb — is enough to require them to leave. In fact, Law 7527 itself excludes stays of up to 30 days from its scope: there is no tenancy law that entitles a guest to remain in your property.
Use of your property and amenities — the factor nobody weighs
When you sign a long-term lease, your property passes to the tenant's exclusive use for the entire contract. That includes something that stings in condominiums with good common areas: the pool, the gym, the rooftop — the tenant enjoys them, not you.
With Airbnb, the property never stops being yours. You block dates on the calendar and use it whenever you want: a weekend, a vacation week, visiting family. And while you're there, the condo amenities are yours too. For owners who bought in a building precisely for its amenities, this point alone can settle the decision.
Who occupies your property — months of vetting vs verification + prepayment
With a long-term lease, choosing the right tenant is a long process of faith: criminal record certificate, employment letter, recommendation letters, credit check... and at the end, a contract with a promise of monthly payments. All the vetting in the world doesn't guarantee that month 14's payment arrives.
With Airbnb, every guest arrives verified by the platform (identity, payment method), and a good property manager adds their own filter: reviews from past stays, history, questions before accepting. But the fundamental difference is this: whoever arrives has already paid their stay in full. There's no payment promise — there's secured money before the door ever opens.
Property condition — constant inspection vs a box of surprises
This is the hidden cost of long-term rentals almost nobody talks about.
With a long-term tenant, your property's real condition is unknown for years. Did they drill holes in the walls? Paint them another color? How's that leak they never reported? Unless you have an exceptionally communicative tenant — they're rare — you find out when they leave. And frequently, the one-month security deposit isn't enough to cover the real repairs.
With a well-managed Airbnb, the opposite happens: the property is cleaned and inspected after every guest. Any damage is detected in hours, not years. Constant maintenance — part of the service at Sereno — keeps the property in optimal condition over time, because every issue gets fixed as soon as it appears. And if a guest causes damage, AirCover covers up to $3 million USD in host damage protection at no additional cost — coverage no security deposit comes close to matching.
How you find the occupant — commission vs algorithm
With a long-term lease, finding a tenant usually means a real estate agent — with their commission (typically one month's rent) — or publishing and filtering dozens of contacts yourself. And every time a tenant leaves, the cycle starts over: possible months of vacancy between contracts.
With Airbnb, the platform's algorithm works for you every day: millions of travelers search for stays in San José and Airbnb shows your property to the ones who fit. No placement commission, no agent dependency. That said — the algorithm rewards well-operated listings: professional photos, fast responses, good reviews, and dynamic pricing. That's where good management makes the difference between showing up first or on page three.
Effort — the variable that decides it for most people
A long-term rental is almost passive. You sign, collect monthly, handle the occasional issue. That's why its returns are lower: you're not operating a business, you're lending an asset.
A self-operated Airbnb is a part-time job. Messages at all hours, turnover cleanings, price adjustments, restocking, emergencies. Many owners try it for three months and quit — not because of the numbers, but the burnout.
Airbnb with professional management changes the equation. A management company handles everything — communication, cleaning, pricing, maintenance — for a commission. In Sereno's case, from 12% per booking with VAT included, no hidden fees. The owner receives higher income than a long-term lease with comparable effort: zero.
When long-term rental is the right call
Honestly, there are profiles and properties where a long-term lease is the better decision:
- You need an identical amount every month, with no room for variability — for example, to cover a tight mortgage. Stability has real value, and for many profiles it outweighs maximum returns.
- You don't want (or can't make) an upfront investment. A long-term lease can start unfurnished and unequipped — and without paying utilities, which are on the tenant.
- Areas without short-term demand. No tourists, corporate travelers, or airport transit means an Airbnb has no one to host — and there, slow months aren't the exception but the norm.
- You prefer truly zero involvement. Even with professional management, Airbnb involves occasional decisions (upgrades, replacements, base rates) that a long-term lease never asks of you.
- Condominium bylaws prohibit short-term rentals. Check before any decision.
When Airbnb is the right call
- A location with diverse demand: San José and the Greater Metropolitan Area receive corporate travelers, medical tourists, transit visitors, and tourists — year-round demand.
- You want to use your property — and its amenities — without waiting out a 3-year contract.
- You don't want exposure to a bad tenant shielded by tenancy law.
- A furnished property, or budget to equip it well.
- Professional management, or a real commitment to operating it — the middle ground is where the numbers fall apart.
The middle path few consider
If you're unsure, it's not an irreversible decision. Many of our owners came from long-term leases with a simple plan: try Airbnb for 6 months with professional management, compare the real numbers against what the fixed lease generated, and decide with data. With no lock-in contracts, going back to a long-term lease always remains an option — but in areas with demand, almost nobody goes back.
If you're evaluating the switch, message us on WhatsApp with your property's location and we'll tell you — with numbers from comparable properties — what it could generate short-term. No commitment, no fluff.
Want to go deeper? Estimate your property's potential with the ROI calculator or read the complete guide to listing your apartment on Airbnb in Costa Rica.
