SANTO DOMINGO.- In presenting the bill on real estate rentals and evictions, which he introduced in yesterday's session, the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Alfredo Pacheco, called on legislators to understand the importance of the legislation, because it will contribute to boosting real estate development in the country.
"So this matter needs to be addressed, legislation needs to be passed, work needs to be done on this issue that will boost real estate development in the Dominican Republic, so I am making this call because this is an important law," said Pacheco, who submitted the bill on August 26, although it was only yesterday that he made it known in the chamber.
After the piece was presented, a special commission was created to study the project and expedite its understanding and prompt approval.
Pacheco gave credit for the initiative to former deputies Henry Merán and Demóstenes Martínez, who had introduced the project in 2018 under the name "General Law of Real Estate Rentals and Evictions".
“Former congressman Henry Merán, Demóstenes Martínez, and we have been working on this initiative for many years, but Mateo Espaillat has also been interested in and working on this project
He stated that he spoke with the President of the Republic, Luis Abinader, who agreed with the approval of the bill.
Pacheco commented that since the governments of former President Joaquín Balaguer, there have been attempts to approve this piece, however, the "obstacle" has always been that several governors proposed that the Agricultural Bank should be the governing body in matters of rental and evictions.
However, he said that the figure of the Agricultural Bank is not found in the current piece he presented.
The president of the legislative body highlighted that the Dominican Republic has had spectacular real estate development, but pointed out that it is currently being governed by a package of legal monstrosities, such as decrees, resolutions and others that make it impossible for someone who owns property in the country to want to rent or lease it.
He added that this situation makes renting homes more expensive, because if the owner does not have legal security, he sets whatever price he wants.
He argued that in the past, the Executive Branch always wanted the aforementioned law to be regulated by the Agricultural Bank, and that in the project he is presenting, that is not the case.
“Because the Agricultural Bank, which we all sympathize with, has other sources of financing. Therefore, we must protect rental agreements and evictions so that rent is more affordable for the working class, but also so that landlords feel secure in being able to recover their property,” the congressman pointed out.
Pacheco informed the plenary session that in today's session he will announce the members of the Special Commissions that will study both the tenancy bill and the General State Budget Bill for 2022.
ACOPROVI
Pacheco said that the Dominican Association of Housing Builders and Promoters (Acoprovi) and other sectors related to the rental of goods and real estate have shown their interest in the initiative being made known and approved.
“Acoprovi recently requested the National Congress to approve a bill that defines a system for renting real estate, and this is a bill that the Dominican Republic needs,” the president of the deputies stated.
During the Seventh Housing Roundtable, held in December of last year, Acoprovi raised the need to update the law that regulates rentals, for a modern regulation, adapted to the new times and that offers legal certainty to all parties.
Speaking at the seventh edition of the Housing Roundtable, the president of the organization, architect Jorge Montalvo, explained that updating Law 4314 on rentals would promote investment in the real estate sector for rental purposes.
“Access to decent housing doesn’t necessarily mean being able to buy one; renting is also a way to access shelter, and in some countries it even represents up to 70% of those who live under that arrangement. In this country, the law governing rentals dates back to the 1950s, and we need modern regulations,” Montalvo stated.
