In 2021, the Justice of the Peace Court of the first district, located in Ciudad Nueva, in the National District, was seized of 310 cases requesting the eviction of tenants and 84 so far in 2022.
SANTO DOMINGO.- An average of 909 eviction lawsuits for non-payment of rent are filed by property owners each year before the country's justices of the peace, which ruled on 5,458 cases in six years, according to today's edition of Listín Diario.
Most of those claims, submitted in the period 2015-2020, were accepted, with a total of 3,916, equivalent to 71 percent.
The remaining 1,453 were rejected, and 89 received other, unspecified solutions. The statistics were provided by the Judiciary through its Office of Free Access to Public Information, at the request of LISTÍN DIARIO.
Judge Edward Augusto Abreu, of the First Circuit of the National District, explains that eviction lawsuits for non-payment are among the most frequent in that jurisdiction, along with those for alimony.
In 2021, the Justice of the Peace Court of the First District, located in Ciudad Nueva, in the National District, received 310 requests for the eviction of tenants, and 84 so far in 2022, the morning paper reports today in a story by journalist Wanda Méndez.
Judge Abreu noted that in that jurisdiction, around 75 percent of the lawsuits are accepted and the court orders the eviction.
He says that although they are quickly identified in the Justice of the Peace Court, the entire legal process is usually delayed when the tenant appeals the decision.
That ruling can be appealed to the court of first instance, where the process is slower due to postponements. Then, that decision can be appealed to the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) through a cassation appeal
“Here in the court, a lawsuit can be heard in three months, from the beginning to the sentence, but if the tenant appeals that decision, he will not benefit from the speed of the Justice of the Peace Court,” he said.
Magistrate Abreu clarified that the lawsuits are known even if the tenant does not attend and that in that case it can be concluded up to the same day it is known.
He stated that the statistics for tenant absence from hearings are high, hovering around 60 percent of cases. He noted that the tenant doesn't appear at the hearing, but does appeal the ruling.
“We try to issue rulings as quickly as possible, but appeals delay the eviction processes,” emphasized Abreu, a justice of the peace since 2018.
The main complaint from landlords at the hearings is that they are not being paid rent, he noted.
Meanwhile, the tenants defend themselves by saying that they were unable to do so due to various problems.
Legislation.
Judge Edward Augusto Abreu favors the approval of a law regulating tenancy, perceiving that Decree 4807, which currently governs rentals, was issued to protect tenants during the Trujillo dictatorship and in an emergency situation.
Balance.
“Legislation must be passed that maintains a balance,” said Judge Abreu, who also noted that Law 4314 on the deposit of rentals in the Agricultural Bank is also outdated.
