The financial institution would pay interest on the sums received in deposits, at a rate similar to that established for savings accounts, which would be added to the initial deposit, the legislative piece states.
SANTO DOMINGO - The bill on real estate rentals and evictions, introduced yesterday before the Chamber of Deputies, proposes the Banco de Reservas as the governing entity where owners would deposit the sum of money they require from tenants as a deposit in the contract.
The proposal, prompted in yesterday's session by its depositor Alfredo Pacheco, suggests that the financial institution would pay interest on the sums received in deposits, at a rate similar to that established for savings accounts, which would be added to the initial deposit, the legislative document states.
“Owners and managers of houses, apartments, buildings, offices and physical spaces for rent in urban and suburban areas; or of warehouses, industrial buildings and the like, will deposit in the Reserve Bank of the Dominican Republic the sums they require from tenants as a deposit in the original contract, to guarantee the payment of rents or the fulfillment of any other legal or conventional obligation derived from the contract,” says Pacheco, current president of the Chamber of Deputies.
The document specifies that the deposit must be accompanied by an original and a copy of the rental agreement, and that it must be delivered within a period of no more than thirty days from the date of entry into force.
The Dominican Republic's Reserve Bank will maintain a record of the deposited contracts and send a copy to the municipality corresponding to the property's address. This will be an essential requirement for receiving payment of the guarantee, the document states.
“If the deposit is not made within the indicated period, the owner will pay a surcharge of twenty percent for each month of delay during the first five months, and one percent from the sixth month until the contract is registered. The amount of this surcharge will be collected by the Reserve Bank of the Dominican Republic, which will transfer it to a special fund for the promotion of real estate market development, which will be administered by the Ministry of Housing and Buildings (MIVED),” the bill states.
The document explains that as soon as the rental contract ends and the landlord is due to return the deposit or part of it, the tenant must obtain a certificate from the landlord or manager of the rented property, stating that the deposit can be released to him, and, in view of said certificate, the Reserve Bank will deliver the full amount or the corresponding proportion to him.
It states that if differences arise between the tenant and the owner for the definitive termination of the contract, the tenant will deliver said property, by communicating to the nearest office of the Banco de Reservas de la República Dominicana designated to receive guarantee and said entity will have to notify the owner, and within a period of no more than seventy-two hours will proceed as established in this article.
Real estate commission
In the bill submitted to the lower house on the 26th of this month and presented yesterday in the chamber, the owner may not in any case demand advance payment of more than one month's rent, except by agreement of the parties.
Regarding the real estate commission, it states that this must be paid and that the responsibility for its settlement will correspond to the owner or their legal representative, provided that the latter has contracted the brokerage management.
Contract termination
In the event of unilateral termination of the contract by the tenant before the stipulated term, the tenant will be obliged to pay the landlord twenty percent of the rental price for the remaining time until the expiration of the contract, suggests the author of the project.
“When the owner decides not to renew, he will give the tenant six months' notice before the end of the lease if the property is occupied by a commercial or industrial establishment, and three months' notice if that is not the case.”.
In cases of annulment of marriage, divorce or legal separation, unless there is another agreement between the owner and the spouses, the judge handling the process will determine which of them will continue with all the rights and obligations of the rental agreement, the legislative piece states.
The project excludes from the scope of the rental law unimproved urban and suburban land, rural properties, boarding houses and lodging establishments that prove their registration with the competent authority, temporary occupations of spaces and stalls in markets and fairs or on the occasion of festivities, parks or companies in free zones that operate under Law No. 8-90, leases of real estate for short or long stay intended for visitors and users of real estate tourism projects, rental of parking spaces, advertising spaces, State property given for rent or lease or any commercial activity governed by special law
