The initiative expired on July 26 and has not been reintroduced so far
By Yamalie Rosario
El Inmobiliario
SANTO DOMINGO.- Because the general bill on real estate rentals and evictions has not been reintroduced during the current extraordinary legislative session, "everything indicates," according to the predictions of PRM deputy Eugenio Cedeño, that the bill will not be considered during this period of congressional work.
President Luis Abinader, through decree 335-23, requested the National Congress to extend the extraordinary legislative session from Thursday, July 27th until August 15th of this year.
The aforementioned project expired on July 26th.
When interviewed about the matter by El Inmobiliario, Representative Eugenio Cedeño, president of the special commission for the bill on real estate rentals and evictions, stated that because the bill has not been reintroduced by its proponent, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alfredo Pacheco, "this indicates that it will not be studied in this legislative session, during this extension. It will have to be considered in the next legislative session because I am sure that the Speaker will reintroduce it. That (Alfredo) Pacheco will reintroduce it," he said.
The legislator emphasized that he and the other members of the committee worked on the bill with great dedication.
He revealed that, although the bill had expired, he convened a meeting with the commissioners last Monday to continue working on the study of that piece together with some lawyers from the Chamber of Deputies.
He stated that the congressmen are waiting for the proponent of the bill to reintroduce it into the National Congress.
"But that reintroduction has not happened, so the project is not on the agenda and will not be on the agenda for the time being," he said.
He stressed that the congressmen will have to wait for the bill to be reintroduced before resuming their study.
When reminded that congressmen have the constitutional power to take legislative initiatives, the PRM deputy specified that "The (unwritten) copyright of the projects must be respected.".
Because the study of the aforementioned bill has not been formally resumed, Cedeño assured that after the next ordinary legislative session begins in less than two weeks, the favorable report for its sanction would be ready and that no later than next September the Plenary of the Chamber of Deputies would approve it in the first and second reading.
After completing these legislative procedures in the Lower House, the bill must be reviewed and approved in two readings in the Senate.
The congressional route
The bill on real estate rentals and evictions was introduced in the Chamber of Deputies last August by its president, Alfredo Pecheco. It passed its first reading in the lower house last May and aims to regulate property rentals in the country.
On June 28, several representatives involved in the issue attended the National Congress for public hearings, where they expressed their opinions on the bill that has generated diverse opinions among the population.
Its objectives state that the project seeks to determine and regulate the legal conditions arising from the rental of real estate intended for housing or other uses.
Some positions
The Association of Real Estate Agents and Companies (AEI) said that the draft law on real estate rentals and evictions is a piece of legislation that is not in the best interest of either the investor or the tenant.
“We are working to ensure the law is exemplary. Not the one they are currently proposing, which is not beneficial for either the investor or the tenant,” stated Alberto Bogaert, president of the organization.
For its part, ACOPROVI, the Dominican Association of Housing Builders and Developers, suggests that landlords may increase the rental price when improvements are made to the homes, limiting the increase to no more than 20% of the current rental price, and also orders that the increase for improvements be distributed proportionally when it is a condominium building.
The Ministry of Housing, Habitat, and Buildings (MIVHED) also proposed that rental prices not exceed 1.5% of the property's market value and that, in all cases, the price be regulated by the Ministry, using construction input costs, changes in macroeconomic conditions, and the minimum wage as benchmarks. The Ministry also stated that it will implement regulations to define the percentage of price adjustments annually, based on the intended use of the rental agreements.
