SANTO DOMINGO. – In this fifth part of the series in which El Inmobiliario thoroughly examines the bill that creates the Superintendency of Condominiums, it is appropriate to review chapters VII and VIII, which cover articles 28 to 47, which accumulate a conflict of 50%.

In this part of the piece, which contains 20 articles, 17 of them show some kind of confrontation and although it does not show the high levels of institutional risk, identified in the previous sections, in this case the articles contain areas of normative friction that deserve attention, around the creation of parallel registries or degree conferral faculties.

These two chapters of the project, presented in October by Deputy Tobías Crespo, regulate issues such as real estate intermediation, the obligations of construction and development companies, the protection of the buyer, governance in condominiums and the relationship with municipalities.

In all cases, the proponents intend to organize sectors where a diversity of practices currently exists. However, several provisions overlap functions with existing institutions or duplicate processes and registries that currently operate under other frameworks.

Real Estate Intermediation: A Duplicated Sectoral Registry.

Chapter VII proposes the creation of a regulatory frameworkfor construction companies, developers, real estate agents, and sales agencies, with one of its central points being a new mandatory sectoral registry administered by the Superintendency.

Although it seeks to regulate the sector, this requirement would be equivalent to incorporating an additional process to that already complied with by entities supervised by MIVHED, CODIA, Pro Consumidor and the DGII.

Articles 30 and 31 establish controls, guarantees and obligations that partially coincide with the powers of Pro Consumidor and with the provisions of Law 189-11 for fiduciary developments.

Registration, periodic renewals, and technical supervision also overlap with the verifications currently carried out by MIVHED in construction matters, CODIA in professional certification, and Pro Consumidor in the advertising and sale of projects.

Buyer protection: stricter controls, overlaps.

The project introduces measures such as the mandatory use of escrow accounts or trusts, certified work plans, information dossier prior to signing the promise and a five-day reflection period, practices that coincide with standards applied by formal developers.

Its regulation by a new superintendency could duplicate functions currently dispersed among the Consumer Protection Agency (Pro Consumidor), the Internal Revenue Service (DGII), and the fiduciary entities supervised by the Superintendency of Banks.

Furthermore, the sectoral sanctions regime in Article 34 incorporates measures that partially overlap with the sanctions provided for in the Consumer Protection Law, creating potentially parallel disciplinary pathways.

Governance and Transparency: Mandatory Registration and Expanded Supervision.

Chapter VIII regulatescondominium boards,accountability, alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, as well as issues such as security, accessibility, sustainability, and digitalization. Although these articles do not affect constitutional powers, they do introduce mechanisms that could alter the internal governance of condominiums.

Article 37 establishes that all condominium boards must register with the Superintendency and that failure to register will limit the validity of their decisions with respect to third parties. This requirement adds an additional administrative layer to bodies that, under Law 5038-58, operate primarily through their assemblies and internal regulations.

On the other hand, the mediation and arbitration mechanisms provided for in Article 39 coexist with existing structures within the Judiciary and specialized centers for alternative dispute resolution.

Relationship with municipalities: overlaps in local powers.

Several articles assign condominiums obligations regarding security, order, solid waste management, community relations, and noise control. While these requirements do not present severe conflicts, they may overlap with municipal functions established in Law 176-07.

Article 46 further defines the Superintendency as the liaison between condominiums and municipalities, a role that must be harmonized with the powers already granted directly to local governments by municipal law.

Moderate risks, no severe conflicts.

Overall, articles 28 to 47 present low to medium risks, with areas of regulatory duplication, additional registries, and overlapping competencies with specialized entities.

However, none of these provisions reach the level of conflict identified in the chapters analyzed earlier, especially regarding registration functions, property titling, or the creation of structures parallel to the Real Estate Registry or tax entities.

The critical points in these chapters are concentrated in the mandatory sectoral registration for companies and agents, the duplication of technical and consumer controls, the expanded oversight of condominium boards, and the areas where municipal powers and Superintendency guidelines overlap.

A review of Chapters VII and VIII reveals that half of their content, 10 out of 20 articles, presents significant regulatory conflicts, with four of these being high-risk and six medium-risk.

The most problematic articles are 29, 34, 40, and 44, and six others present a medium alert level due to duplication of functions or parallel processes (30, 31, 32, 33, 37, 39). The defining articles (28, 35, 36, 38) do not present any conflict.

With this installment, El Inmobiliario continues to break down the regulatory implications of the project, offering readers a complete view of how each chapter could impact the real estate sector, coexistence and the management of condominiums in the country but, above all, alerts legislators to the need to scrutinize and discuss this project in depth with the sectors involved.

Real estate intermediation, buyer protection, governance and transparency.Relevant conflicts, chapters VII and VIII