"Forcing builders to deliver homes at a loss could ruin the construction and real estate sectors, and consequently the financial sector, the economy, and the stability of the country.".
SANTO DOMINGO.- Representatives of the construction sector expressed their disagreement yesterday with Pro Consumidor's interference in setting housing prices, asserting that the agency should not disregard agreements made between developers and property buyers.
Fermín Acosta, former president of the Dominican Association of Housing Builders and Developers (ACOPROVI), and Melchor Alcántara, coordinator of the National Observatory of the Construction Industry (ONI), believe that Pro Consumidor should be careful with the measures taken and should not prevent the clauses included in contracts as a means of ensuring that apartments are delivered from being eliminated.
“The Consumer Protection Agency should not disregard what has been contractually agreed between developers and home buyers; ignoring this clause undermines the country's legal security,” stated Acosta, president of Constructora Crisfer.
He argued that forcing builders to deliver homes at a loss could ruin the construction and el inmobiliario sectors, and consequently the financial sector, the economy, and the stability of the country.
Acosta recommended that Pro Consumidor "be very careful with these decisions since they are very delicate for the entire economy of the Dominican Republic," he stated.
For his part, Melchor Alcántara, a businessman in the construction sector and coordinator of the ONIC, expressed his opposition to Pro Consumidor dictating the prices at which builders must sell their properties.
He explained that the construction sector uses a pre-sale model and delivers properties one to two years after the agreement is signed. “During that time, the buyer is aware that prices and interest rates may fluctuate. It is precisely this awareness of price variations that has allowed the sector to maintain its current dynamism, thus ensuring the builder's profit margin.”.
“This part,” the lawyer explained, “is stipulated in clauses of the contract, where the client is informed that, based on increases in the cost of materials, they must assume a portion of those costs.” He added, “A more complicated way to resolve things would be to claim that both the construction company and the client lost money because the increases made it impossible to finish the project and they went bankrupt. However, that's not the case because in the Dominican Republic, builders have freedom in the contracts they enter into when selling their properties.”.
“Pro Consumidor cannot set property prices, nor prevent the clauses included in contracts as a means of ensuring that apartments are delivered from being removed,” Alcántara explained, adding that this violates the will of the parties who freely enter into contracts when signing them.
Almánzar said that “Pro Consumidor doesn't lower or freeze prices in supermarkets, it doesn't freeze vehicle prices when they go up, nor does it freeze the prices of construction materials when they are rising. Why not freeze cement prices? Why not freeze the price of steel?”
He added, “It is not true that builders will arbitrarily accept these clauses. As an organization, ONIC opposes these measures because they directly threaten the development of the construction sector.”.
