SANTO DOMINGO.– The new Congress, which began last Friday, August 16, will have to review the general bill on real estate rentals and evictions, which was approved on July 25 of this year, the last day of the First Ordinary Legislature, in its first reading by the Chamber of Deputies.
This is the second time the legislation, introduced by the Speaker of the Lower House, Alfredo Pacheco, has been approved. The first time was on May 24 of last year, also in its first reading and subsequently subjected to public hearings, with the participation of sectors involved in the issue.
On both occasions, the legislation has not progressed, expiring along with the legislature, and therefore must be reintroduced in the Chamber of Deputies. It would replace an old law regulating property income in the Republic, which was enacted in 1955 during the Trujillo dictatorship.
The purpose of this law is to regulate the legal relationships arising from the rental of real estate intended for housing or other uses. If approved by the National Congress, it would apply to all contracts, written or verbal, for the rental of real estate, regardless of location, and intended for housing or for the exercise of a commercial, industrial, artisanal, professional, technical, healthcare, cultural, educational, recreational, or public service activity.
Three key points of the law
According to Article 31 of the project, "it is prohibited to establish as a condition for renting housing the condition of not having children, being a foreigner, or to establish discrimination related to ethnicity, sex, creed, social condition, or other forms of discrimination.".
Article 19 also states that owners and managers of houses, apartments, buildings, offices and physical spaces for rent in urban and suburban areas; or of warehouses, industrial buildings and similar, will deposit in the Reserve Bank of the Dominican Republic the sums that they require from tenants as a deposit in the original contract.
Similarly, it establishes that the Justice of the Peace Court of the place where the property is located will be the court with jurisdictional competence to hear claims regarding rentals, as contemplated in article 39.
Real estate brokerage law
In the case of the bill that would regulate real estate brokerage in the country, it is being studied by the Justice Committee of the Chamber of Deputies and according to the actors in the sector involved in the issue, there is a high probability that the bill will be reviewed and approved by the deputies and senators.
The country has been considering proposals on this matter for over 20 years. This time, the aim is to secure its approval, taking into account the significant growth experienced by the real estate sector in the Dominican Republic, which urgently requires regulations governing its operations.
The president of the Association of Real Estate Agents and Companies (AEI) has stated that “the interest of our legislators, the judiciary, municipalities, state authorities, builders, developers, and Dominican and foreign investors is more than evident in the approval of this law.”.
In a statement sent to El Inmobiliario last July, he said that AEI, together with its members, "are united in one voice to achieve this goal, which will bring many benefits to our economy as it sends a message of safe and reliable investment.".
Three things about the law of agents
Article 6 of the bill states that the Dominican real estate market would be regulated and supervised by the Ministry of Housing, Habitat and Buildings (MIVHED).
Likewise, Article 34 of the proposal proposes the creation of an ethics committee through which complaints and violations not covered by the legislation will be resolved.
“The ethics committee of the Real Estate Brokerage Market will address and resolve, in accordance with the procedure established by regulation in the code of ethics of the real estate brokerage market, complaints and violations thereof that do not constitute the sanctions established in the following title,” highlights Article 35.
Similarly, Article 55 of the law establishes that real estate crimes that have "aggravating circumstances" will be punished with up to 10 years in prison and up to 100 minimum wages, taking as a reference what is paid in the public sector.
