SANTO DOMINGO.- An amendment to the Real Estate Rental and Eviction Law currently before the Chamber of Deputies was proposed by ACOPROVI, the Dominican Association of Housing Builders and Developers, suggesting that landlords could increase the rent when improvements are made to the properties.
The new article proposed by the builders' association, however, stipulates that the increase should not exceed 20% of the current rental price, and also orders that the increase for improvements be distributed proportionally when it is a condominium building.
In a letter sent to the Lower House, ACOPROVI argues that controlling the increase in rents through a law limits the right to property enshrined in Article 51 of the Constitution, which states that every person has the right to the enjoyment and disposal of their property, according to a publication by Diario Libre.
The union's reaction is in response to the proposal sent by the Ministry of Housing, Habitat and Buildings (MIVHED) which seeks to change several aspects of the current project and which ACOPROVI describes as "contradictory".
The association had made its suggestions to the document submitted by Alfredo Pacheco last year, where he advocated for it to be a modern tool that encourages investment in rental properties.
“What we need are clear rules, both for property owners and for those who rent the property, and this will allow the rental market to develop,” former President Jorge Montalvo told the newspaper Hoy in September of last year.
The architect stated that there is a culture of acquiring homes by people who hope to live off the rent in their old age, but there is no rental market because there are no legal guarantees.
ACOPROVI warns that, given the current situation, regulating rent increases by law would cause landlords to set high rental prices when drafting contracts, "trying to protect themselves from the risk" that the regulations would pose to their finances.
He opined that high rental prices would not be aligned with higher quality housing structures.
The builders' association points out that the Mived proposal wants to "over-regulate" aspects such as the content of rental contracts even though jurisprudence, custom and civil law "have resolved a good functioning in this aspect.".
The special committee of deputies studying the rental bill gives tenants and landlords the freedom to agree "as they see fit" on the end of a rental contract, while the Ministry of Housing, Land and Urban Development ( MIVHED) intends for the deadline for concluding the agreement to be communicated three months in advance.
At this point, ACOPROVI considers that this aspect limits the contractual freedom of the contracts between the owner and the tenant that Congress "reaffirms with reality and legal awareness".
Regarding the transitional housing suggested by MIVHED, the entity representing developers in the Dominican capital suggests creating a fund to provide transitional housing to those who demonstrate that they cannot afford rent and believes that the proposal should include limited periods for residing in the temporary housing.
He clarified that this proposal should be included in a new Housing Law, not in the congressional bill that seeks to regulate rents, since it is the State that is responsible for upholding the constitutional right to decent housing. The Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and Housing ( MIVHED) also seeks to establish a program to provide legal support to tenants.
The draft law on real estate rentals and evictions is currently under review by a special committee of deputies, chaired by Eugenio Cedeño. The initiative has already passed its first reading and, before its second reading, will be subject to public debate on June 27.
Sources: Diario Libre/Hoy.
