High prices for building materials
During the first ten months of the year, the prices of construction materials continued to rise, with increases ranging from 7 to 300% in some cases, a situation that caused housing prices to rise by up to 40%.
Complaints, grievances, and protests from apartment project buyers were quick to follow, demanding that the prices of their projects be raised to the original prices, in projects where the contract did not have clauses that provided for such an increase.
Hundreds of complaints were generated at Pro Consumidor from buyers of housing units dissatisfied with the measure, many of which cases are still being heard in the governing body for consumer protection.
Promulgation of the Territorial Planning Law
On December 22nd, President Luis Abinader enacted Law 368-22, on Territorial Planning, Land Use and Human Settlements, a mandate of article 194 of the Constitution of the Republic that had been pending compliance since 2010.
This is a legal instrument that will regulate land use and create the legal and administrative tools for the formulation of territorial planning plans at the national, regional and municipal levels, which must be consistent with environmental, cultural and sustainable development interests.
Among the new features of the law is the classification of land into urban, developable and non-developable, placing within the latter those linked to agricultural or forestry activities, protected, environmentally or culturally, or when it has been the subject of a mining concession,” the document states.
With regard to human settlements, the regulation stipulates that, from now on, these may only be carried out on titled land, where municipal land use regulations allow it.
The law also provides for a sanctioning regime under the responsibility of municipal governments, which, among other aspects, administratively punishes the failure to comply with the duty to conserve land classified as non-urbanizable.
One-stop shop for construction
Last September, MIVED, the Ministry of Housing and Buildings, launched what was a recurring demand from the construction sector because it will reduce the processing of licenses and permits, streamline the route that builders go through when undertaking a project, and offer greater transparency to the procedures.
This is the "Single Window for Construction" (VUC) , an integrated system that modernizes the processing and obtaining of licenses and permits for the benefit of the construction sector; in order to expedite and facilitate, in one place, the necessary accreditations for the development of works.
According to Vice President Raquel Peña, speaking at the launch event, the Single Window for Construction (VUC) was strengthened with the addition of the urban manager, who will be responsible for conducting the legally required technical review before obtaining permits to begin construction. Meanwhile, the private technical supervisor is the specialist who will carry out the consulting and technical supervision work for a construction project.
ACOPROVI Market
ACOPROVI Market was a platform launched this year by the Association of Housing Builders, which will streamline the purchasing processes of actors linked to the construction sector, who now have the opportunity to save time, acquiring their products, in virtual mode in keeping with the technological era that humanity is experiencing.
Jorge Montalvo, president of the organization, assured during his speech at the inauguration ceremony that the association has all the necessary actors for the platform to function.
“ACOPROVI Market will reduce sales management times, marketing and promotion costs, and at the same time, maintain the connection between companies,” he explained.
This modality is a valuable digital tool that allows companies to save time and money by enabling them to conduct tenders to address their supply processes.
