SANTO DOMINGO.- Although the Constitutional Court has paved the way for homeowners to evict bad tenants, the main obstacle causing this situation is the obsolescence of the law governing tenancy in the Dominican Republic.
“I believe the country should update its rental laws with new legislation that reflects the times. It’s healthy to seek a balance in protecting both parties, the tenant and the real estate investor,” states Regis Jiménez.
The veteran agent asserts that most of the rentals he has handled as a real estate agent since 2002 have been successfully completed. “In my 19 years in the real estate business, I have heard very few stories of negative experiences with tenants where the landlord has had to resort to legal action.”.
Jiménez adds that in all rental cases where due process was followed, including thorough vetting, signing with a good guarantor, and drafting a fair contract that was understood and interpreted by both parties, a successful rental agreement has always been achieved.
Glauco González, of Premium Real Estate, believes that cases where tenants refuse to leave properties are due to the fact that the law protects the tenant and not the owner; although he adds that many do not want to move to new apartments because it represents an increase in their expenses.
In his opinion, it is not about the vetting done by the agent, but about whoever manages the property and the owners making sure that whoever they bring to manage their house can offer them guarantees about their property.
In his case, says the leader of Premium, he has experienced processes in which the tenant has refused to leave the property, a situation that he has resolved through the conciliation of the parties.
Two experts on tenancy law speak
Maridalia Rodríguez Padilla and Denisse Härtling are two lawyers who are experts on the subject and understand that the main problem regarding rentals and housing needs is the dispersion of the regulations that govern it and how outdated they are to meet the needs of today's society.
“A clear example can be seen in the process of renting real estate, provided for in Law No. 43-14, which regulates the provision and application of values in tenancy, a rule that dates from October 20, 1945 and its most recent modification was made 32 years ago, on February 5, 1988.”.
In the research “Rental and Eviction Law: legal proposals for a balanced housing stock”, they argue that the regulations on matters pertaining to tenancy are outdated and their subsequent modifications do not harmonize with the existing housing problem in the country.
“Given this scenario, we want to take this opportunity to highlight the potential contributions that can come from a well-protected rental market, especially given its potential to balance our housing stock,” the experts point out.
They emphasize as a main point the need to improve the procedures that govern the operation of rentals, from a legal balance, since they understand that both owners and tenants must be protected and effective solutions must be provided to the controversies that arise in these contractual relationships.
“Our country needs to update the rules that govern real estate rental negotiations, because currently these are governed according to the needs and circumstances of an old society,” wrote Rodríguez Padilla in an article published in 2019 on the Acento website.
Regarding the Tenancy Law
Since the beginning of 2018, the National Congress has been studying the need to reform the law regulating the real estate rental market in the Dominican Republic. The proposal reviewed by the Permanent Justice Committee is the so-called "General Law on Real Estate Rentals and Evictions," submitted by Representatives Henry Merán and Demóstenes Martínez, which was approved on its second reading by the Chamber of Deputies.
A project that, according to Rodríguez Padilla, has received countless criticisms from the various groups that make up the real estate sector and especially from investors in the rental property market.
