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1,000 real estate fraud cases in Quintana Roo this year: seven checks before you pay for a condo

4 min readReaLaw legal team

Quintana Roo's attorney general told the state Congress in October that his office had opened about 1,000 criminal investigations for real estate fraud so far in 2026. Playa del Carmen, Cancún and Tulum have the most cases. Separately, the state urban development agency, Sedetus, has identified at least 121 irregular developments, mainly in Tulum, Isla Mujeres, Playa del Carmen and Cancún.

In late October, Sedetus and the Playa del Carmen council published a notice saying two developments being marketed in Playa del Carmen, Aldea Calakmul and La Ceiba, do not have the opinions, permits and authorisations the law requires, and asked the public not to buy, sell, sign a promise to buy or rent units in them.

Behind those numbers are buyers who paid deposits, sometimes the full price, for units that were never built, never delivered, or built without the permits that let them be sold. Most of them did nothing reckless. They trusted a sales office, a brochure and a contract nobody checked.

What the cases have in common

  • Presales with no permits. Units are sold off-plan before the developer has a construction licence or land-use approval, then the works are suspended or closed.
  • Land sold more than once. In July, President Claudia Sheinbaum said some plots in Quintana Roo had been sold "six or eight times", some of them federal land.
  • Payments to the wrong account. Deposits go to a personal account or a company that is not the one in the contract.
  • Unregistered intermediaries. The person who sold the unit is not a registered real estate agent and disappears after the sale.
  • Condominium funds. Business groups in Playa del Carmen have also asked prosecutors to look into how some condominium management companies handled owners' fees.

Seven checks before you pay anything

  1. Permits, verified at the source. Ask for the construction licence and land-use approval from the municipality and, where the project needs one, the federal environmental impact authorisation. Do not accept copies alone: confirm them with the issuing authority. Then search the development by name in Sedetus's two public registries: irregular developments and regular developments.
  2. Who owns the land. A certificate of liens (certificado de libertad de gravámenes) from the Public Property Registry shows the registered owner and any mortgage or seizure. The owner must match the seller, or there must be a documented chain between them. Be especially careful with land that was ever ejido.
  3. A contract registered with Profeco. Under the federal standard NOM-247-SE-2021, anyone who sells homes to consumers must use a contract model registered with Profeco. Ask for the registration number. Check the developer in Profeco's Buró Comercial for complaints.
  4. A registered agent. Quintana Roo's Ley de Prestación de Servicios Inmobiliarios requires real estate agents to hold a state registration (matrícula) issued by Sedetus. Ask your agent for the number and verify it in the Sedetus agents registry. A certified agent is not a guarantee, but an unregistered one is a warning.
  5. Where the money goes. Pay only into an account in the name of the company that signs the contract, or into an escrow or trust arranged for the transaction. Every payment should have a tax receipt (CFDI).
  6. Your own notary. The final deed is signed before a notary public. You may propose one. State authorities reported six open investigations against notaries this year, so choose one you or your attorney know.
  7. Everything in writing. Delivery dates, finishes, penalties for delay and what happens if the permits fall through belong in the contract, not in a WhatsApp from the sales office.

If you already paid and the date has passed

Do not sign a new delivery date, an "addendum" or a release before someone reviews it: some of these documents quietly waive your claim. Keep every receipt, the contract and its annexes, and the messages with the developer.

A civil claim to recover what you paid and a criminal complaint for fraud are different routes and can run at the same time. Limitation periods apply to both, so time matters. We explain the options in our FAQ on claims against developers, and you can book a consultation with one of our attorneys.

General information, current on the date shown. It is not legal advice for your situation, and the law and the facts reported may have changed since.

Sources

  1. Consulta de desarrollos irregulares (Registro Estatal de Desarrollos Irregulares) — Sedetus, Gobierno de Quintana Roo
  2. Consulta de desarrollos inmobiliarios regulares — Sedetus, Gobierno de Quintana Roo
  3. Padrón de asesores inmobiliarios — Sedetus, Gobierno de Quintana Roo
  4. Fraude inmobiliario: 1,000 carpetas de investigación en QRoo — Clic Noticias, October 27, 2026
  5. Detectan 118 desarrollos inmobiliarios irregulares en Quintana Roo — Por Esto, March 7, 2026
  6. Ley de Prestación de Servicios Inmobiliarios del Estado de Quintana Roo — Justia México

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