SANTO DOMINGO.- The real estate services included in the bill that seeks to regulate real estate services and brokerage contracts would be under price control in the modality of "supervised freedom", under the responsibility of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and MSMEs.
Article 12, related to price control in real estate intermediation, states: “The real estate services referred to in this law will be under price control in the form of monitored freedom, under the responsibility of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and SMEs.”.
The preliminary bill submitted last week to the Chamber of Deputies and sent to the justice committee also proposes the following steps as requirements to obtain a real estate company license :
- Be registered in the Commercial Registry.
- Your general manager or principal must hold a real estate broker's license.
- Directors and officers who perform the functions of a real estate broker or agent on behalf of a real estate company must have their real estate broker or agent license issued by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and MSMEs.
- Certification from the General Directorate of Internal Taxes (DGII) stating that the applicant is up to date with all their tax obligations.
- Pay a sum equivalent to two current public sector minimum wages for license application for each person who performs the function of broker or agent.
- Provide a civil liability insurance policy corresponding to the real estate broker according to the level of risk and coverage required and keep it valid for the amount determined by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and SMEs.
Regarding registration, Article 17 states that issuing a license to operate as a real estate intermediary entails establishing a public registry of real estate intermediaries under administrative control. "To practice this profession of real estate intermediation, it is mandatory to be registered in said registry," it states.
It adds that to operate, it is necessary to have an establishment open to the public or a physical address in the case of providing services electronically or telematically.
“Intermediaries must take out a civil liability insurance policy with permanent validity that guarantees the exercise of the mediation activity during the time in which it is exercised,” specifies the latest proposal submitted to the Lower House by a group of deputies.
On today's agenda
Forthis Wednesday, March 19, the justice commission, chaired by the deputy for La Romana, Wandy Modesto Batista Gómez, placed on the agenda the knowledge of the preliminary bill submitted last week by the deputies Braulio Espinal, Indhira de Jesús, Edward Cruz and Charles Mariotti.
As detailed in the legislative document, the law "aims to protect the legal relationship between the proposer and the real estate broker or their agents.".
