SANTO DOMINGO- The number of people in the Dominican Republic who have benefited from the low-cost housing bonus over 10 years amounts to 30,775, according to records from the General Directorate of Internal Taxes (DGII).
According to documents reviewed by El Inmobiliario on the DGII website, from 2013 to 2017 the number of beneficiaries was 5,979, although the report does not specify the amount; in 2018 the beneficiaries were 3,101 for a total of RD$ 442,603,603.14 paid in bonds by the Dominican government.
According to information posted on the institutional website of the aforementioned entity, in 2019 the number of people who benefited amounted to 5,540 for a total paid of RD$817,989,641.91.
The low-cost housing bonus is a benefit offered by the Dominican government to people who wish to purchase their first home in low-cost housing projects, as certified by the National Housing Institute (INVI), now the Ministry of Housing, Habitat and Buildings (MIVHED). It can be used to complete the down payment or applied to the outstanding balance of the loan, if the purchaser has already made the down payment.
In 2020, the government disbursed RD$706,982,278.68 in first home bond payments, with a total of 4,484 beneficiaries; while 2021 was the year that the DGII recorded with the highest number with 7,059 people favored for a total of bonds paid of RD$1,156,474,105.46.
According to the DGII report, in 2022, 4,612 people benefited from the first home bonus, for a total of RD$844,681,058.96 paid.
Law that creates the bond
This public policy was established with the objective of facilitating access to "decent housing" for families, through Law 189-11 for the Development of the Mortgage Market and Trust in the Dominican Republic, which establishes tax incentives for housing projects considered low-cost.
Its price will be adjusted annually for inflation based on the Consumer Price Index, calculated by the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic and will have the participation of the public and/or private sectors, whose units will have a sale price equal to or less than 2 million pesos.
Until 2019, its price remained at RD$2 million and a bit, rising that year to RD$3.5 million, and then to RD$3.8 million. Law 338-21, approved in 2021, modified articles of Law 189-11, establishing a price of RD$4.5 million for low-cost housing.
In January 2023, the DGII stipulated that the limit for low-cost housing would henceforth be 4.8 million pesos, due to inflationary adjustment, representing an increase of 7.82%.
In its first resolution of this year 2024, number DDG-AR1-2024-00001, the tax collection agency, complying with Law No. 189-11 on the Development of the Mortgage Market and Trusts in the Dominican Republic, dated July 16, 2011, increased the current price of low-cost housing in the country to RD$5,025,380.75.
To apply
Homebuyers who purchase homes as part of a low-cost housing project, when applying for financing from financial intermediaries, may request a direct bonus or subsidy from the Ministry of Finance equivalent to the amount of the ITBIS (Value Added Tax) paid during the construction process. The financial intermediary will submit the bonus application, and the bonus, as a subsidy, will be given to the intermediary to be applied to the approved loan amount.
According to a decree issued in 2015, housing projects will be considered as such when they include at least eight housing units.
