By Gissel Taveras
elinmobiliariodo@gmail.com
SANTO DOMINGO.- After 20 years since the first proposal of the bill on real estate rentals and evictions in the Chamber of Deputies, to date it still remains an initiative, reintroduced by Deputy Alfredo Pacheco on August 21 of last year.
Currently, legislators have not yet reached a consensus that determines the balance of rights and duties of the two sides involved: the tenant and the landlords.
In that sense, Congressman Luis Henríquez believes that this project is very important to adapt the conditions and agreements between tenants and landlords to current times in relation to property rentals.
“The National Congress has taken over the project twice by creating committees, but the latest decision was to appoint a new committee that is already working on resuming the project and presenting a report,” the legislator told El Inmobiliario.
The deputy stressed that this new commission must present its study in this or the next legislature.
“This piece of legislation is essential to strengthen the right to property and create the conditions for people to access safe housing at a good price,” he stated.
Furthermore, it allows owners to have a law to rely on when they have a legal problem.
What have been the drawbacks?
Most lawmakers agree that this bill is of utmost importance to the housing and real estate rental sector, but they have not yet been able to reach an agreement for its final approval.
One of the problems raised is the objection from some sectors involved, including the Association of Real Estate Agents and Companies (AEI), the Association of Housing Builders and Promoters (Acroprovi), the Institutionalism and Justice Foundation (Finjus) and others.
Sectors suggest that the bill should be modified to strengthen it and create a more equitable and transparent instrument that will boost real estate investment and the economy.
They believe the project would establish a balance between the rights of landlords and tenants.
Likewise, some argue that the Agricultural Bank should continue to receive deposits for rental contracts, while others suggest that it should be the Reserve Bank.
Similarly, the Institutionalism and Justice Foundation (Finjus) understood that the bill should be improved because it established bureaucratic protocols that would affect the productive sector and harm investment.
What does the draft law on real estate rentals and evictions propose?
One of the points raised by the project is that the tenant only pays the deposit of one month, deposited in the Reserve Bank instead of the Agricultural Bank, the entity currently in charge.
Furthermore, the initiative prohibits discrimination based on having children, being a foreigner, belonging to an ethnic group, sex, creed, social status, or other causes (Article 31) and proposes that disputes over the deposit be resolved in the first instance in the justices of the peace of the jurisdiction to which the property corresponds (Article 22).
The law also aims to take commercial rentals into account to make the project more comprehensive.
What would this new law allow if passed?
One of the nightmares for any landlord today is finding a tenant who doesn't pay, but also doesn't decide to leave the property on their own; in some cases, the legal proceedings to evict them take years.
On that point, the new bill proposes to create a specialized jurisdiction that will allow evictions of tenants who do not pay to be carried out within a maximum period of two months.
On the other hand, some tenants complain that they have to have up to four deposits to be able to rent a home, so the law proposes that it should only be one.
This project was supposed to be approved before the end of January of this year, 2024.
