Quintana Roo’s Real Estate Crisis: Illegality Fuels Eco Damage

QUINTANA ROO, Mexico — In response to pressure from citizens and the environmental movement in Mexico, institutions such as the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (PROFEPA) and some state and municipal agencies have undertaken administrative procedures that result in fines and closures of real estate developments in states like Quintana Roo. In recent years, cases of construction have increased under the protection of illegality, impunity, and influence peddling, as it is otherwise inexplicable that private individuals, however powerful, would operate outside the law under the noses of authorities who fail to notice the irregularities.

A review of PROFEPA’s closure procedures in Quintana Roo for 2024 and 2025 reveals a large number of cases where developers, shielded by impunity, begin to clear land, destroy the natural environment, and start construction. By the time authorities take notice, the projects are already well advanced, and reaching a demolition order requires years of bureaucratic litigation for the same government agencies.

This week, it was reported that due to a lack of permits and for posing a risk to the conservation of the natural environment, federal and municipal authorities closed ten irregular developments by the real estate group Colorines, known as “VíaMarina,” which are being built in a high environmental conservation zone within the Cancún tourist development.

Federal and Municipal Operation

Personnel from the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (PROFEPA), the State Attorney for Environmental Protection (PPA), and the Benito Juárez municipality participated in this closure operation. These authorities intervened following a citizen complaint, through which they became aware of the irregularities in the Colorines projects. The complaint alerted to the absence of the necessary licenses and authorizations for any urban development at the municipal, state, and federal levels.

The closed real estate developments are planned for an area not suitable for urbanization, lacking basic infrastructure and guaranteed urban services, such as access to potable water, electricity, roads, and drainage—fundamental elements for any legally authorized human settlement.

A Pattern of Violations Across the State

PROFEPA in Quintana Roo has been closing multiple real estate developments for lacking environmental permits or for exceeding authorized limits. In Puerto Morelos, seven projects were closed between June and July 2025; six for lacking environmental impact authorization and one for exceeding the permitted surface area and green spaces.

In Holbox, two developments were closed in July for being built without permits in protected areas. In Tulum, the State Attorney for Environmental Protection (PPA) closed ten developments on the cenote route in August 2025 for the same lack of environmental documentation.

In June 2025, in Puerto Morelos, PROFEPA closed seven real estate developments in the coastal zone during an operation conducted between June 16 and 24, in response to citizen complaints about environmental damage. Six of the projects were suspended for lacking the environmental impact authorization from SEMARNAT, while the seventh, “Bella Mare,” was closed for exceeding the authorized surface area and failing to comply with established green space requirements. Among the closed projects are “Vilma,” “Musa del Puerto,” “Uva de Mar,” “Sole Blu,” “Soulam,” and “Bella Mare.”

In Holbox, last July, the same federal agency temporarily closed two real estate developments located within the Yum Balam Flora and Fauna Protection Area for lacking the required environmental impact authorization. On one property, the opening of paths through mangroves and signage for lot division was detected, and on the other, the construction of a temporary warehouse and 46 concrete piles for foundation was identified.

In May of this year, in Cozumel, PROFEPA closed two other real estate developments, “Nativo” and “Nala Cozumel,” for not having the environmental impact authorization from SEMARNAT, with both projects located within or adjacent to Protected Natural Areas.

Judicial Order for Demolition

In mid-August, the Eighth District Court ordered PROFEPA to intervene and demand the demolition of the Adamar Development in Bahía Solimán, in the municipality of Tulum, Quintana Roo, after the Federal Judiciary sentenced the developers to demolish the construction for having been carried out without the corresponding permits and outside regulations.

The federal judge's arguments consist of the fact that the structure must be demolished to guarantee that the habitat in which it was built is returned to its original state. The court order also explains that PROFEPA has been negligent by not following up on the closure and subsequent actions, as a result of a judicial sentence issued since last year.

The aforementioned sentence was issued in response to an injunction filed by a citizen of Tulum, setting a precedent that allows other people to demand that authorities fulfill their duty in environmental defense, stated Mónica Huerta, a member of the Civil Association “Right to a Healthy Environment.”

The “Adamar” real estate development began construction illegally, which is why, through a court order, PROFEPA had to close it in 2024; however, construction continued, and it now has seven built levels. The environmental activist reported that the responsible company, “Desarrollos Tulum Dieciséis, S.A.P.I. de C.V.,” did not comply with the ruling from both the judge and PROFEPA to restore the area to its original condition, nor did it pay the two imposed fines, totaling one million 400 thousand pesos.

Now, PROFEPA must demand payment of the fines and verify the rehabilitation of the 731-square-meter area to its original state, meaning the built structure will have to be completely demolished.

A Culture of Permissiveness

In Tulum, it became customary for real estate developments to be built without permits, much less in accordance with environmental and urban development regulations; afterwards, they pay fines, which are derisory, and simulate compliance with the laws.

For example, an internal SEMARNAT report from 2021 revealed that 232 businesses were detected operating without a permit in the Federal Maritime Terrestrial Zone (ZOFEMAT) of Tulum, and operations resulted in 12 closures for activities such as vegetation clearing, wetland filling, and beginning constructions without authorization. Among the reported establishments are hotels, restaurants, and condominiums such as Papaya Playa Project, Hotel Bahía Príncipe, Dreams Tulum Resort and SPA, and others located even within the Tulum National Park.

If impunity and influence peddling did not exist in Quintana Roo, no private individual would dare to violate environmental law.