Many state institutions already have digital systems for uploading documents and tracking them, but these systems often do not show the most recent updates to the files.
Escarlin Pozo
El Inmobiliario
PUNTA CANA.-The construction sector in the eastern part of the Dominican Republic faces a growing challenge: the constant delay in issuing permits for real estate projects.
This situation has generated concern among construction companies, who say that the progress of their works has been affected by the slowness of the authorities.
Daniel Cordero, director of the Morada development company, stated that this situation hinders the progress of the area and could damage its reputation due to the constant delays in project deliveries.
“If we don’t have a shared responsibility among the authorities regarding permits, it’s impossible for us to develop this area. This area has lost prestige, for example, due to the many late deliveries by numerous developers,” he stated.
Cordero asserted that this scenario is largely due to delays in the issuance of permits by various state institutions.
In an interview with El Inmobiliario, he pointed out that several ministries that have taken a central role in this situation have affected the progress of real estate projects.
To explain the causes of this stagnation, he explains that one of the reasons that aggravates the delays is the lack of synchronization in the digital platforms and the frequent changes in the staff in charge of the processes.
As he explained, these changes generate confusion and lack of coordination among institutions.
As an example, he illustrated that when one entity changes its management system or digitizes its platform, other institutions do not do so at the same pace, which makes managing files difficult.
Daniel and Arnold Cordero. (External source).
Delay in the delivery of your projects
Daniel stated that the average delay in his projects is approximately one year, due to problems with permitting.
However, he clarified that this postponement does not affect all works, as some have been sold more recently and are still within the planned delivery deadlines.
The main impact is reflected in the 25% of older projects, where delays are due to delays in obtaining permits.
On the other hand, he specified that, under normal conditions, a license can take between two and three months to be issued, provided there are no setbacks.
Among the explanations provided by officials, he added that they justify the delays by citing an excessive workload. However, he emphasizes that the real problem is the lack of staff to handle the volume of incoming requests.
Other obstacles and proposed solutions
Arnold Cordero, deputy director of the developer Morada, explained another critical consequence of the permitting delays: the inability to formally hand over the properties to clients, even when the homes are completely finished.
He pointed out that without the required permits, the property cannot be legally transferred to the buyer. This not only affects the client but also the construction company, as the buyer cannot settle their debt with the company.
Arnold added that many clients rely on bank loans to complete their payments, but banks won't provide financing if the property lacks the necessary permits. This creates a cycle of delays, affecting both developers and buyers.
The deputy director also emphasized the need to automate processes within government institutions. He pointed out that many current procedures are outdated and require printing documents and reviewing them manually, when digital tools already exist that could streamline the work.
Cordero emphasized that many state institutions already have digital systems for uploading documents and tracking them, but these systems often do not show the most recent updates to the files.
In some cases, employees review old documents, ignoring new versions that were submitted months later, which creates confusion and further delays the approval of permits.
