SANTO DOMINGO.- Two legislative initiatives are currently before the National Congress that, if approved, would strengthen the real estate and construction sectors in the Dominican Republic, and which will represent part of the challenges for both sectors in 2023, due to their importance.
This refers to the rental law, which would provide the country with an updated instrument, given that the existing one dates from 1955, later modified in 1988; the second piece is the one that would give the country for the first time a rule to regulate the real estate market in the Dominican Republic.
In both cases, the focus should be on providing the country with two modern instruments that adapt to new market models and meet its current needs.
Alfredo Pacheco, president of the Chamber of Deputies, submitted the bill on real estate rentals and evictions in August of last year; while the second proposal is a draft bill presented by Deputy Lourdes Aybar de Serulle and seeks to regulate real estate services and the work of agents, through the issuance of a license that endorses the work they perform in the country.
In introducing the piece on tenancy, Pacheco encouraged his colleagues to give it importance, arguing that there is currently no regime in the country that regulates rentals and evictions, also commenting that "this matter is loose right now in the Dominican Republic.".
“ACOPROVI recently requested that the National Congress approve a bill defining a real estate rental system, and this is a bill that the Dominican Republic needs,” Alfredo Pacheco stated
He explained that he submitted the project himself, but that it is an initiative that has had various authors over the years. Law 4314 of 1955 regulates the provision and application of values in tenancy agreements in the country, as amended by Law 17-88 of February 5, 1988.
“Former congressman Henry Merán, Demóstenes Martínez, and we have been working on this initiative for many years, but Mateo Espaillat has also been interested in and working on this project,” Pacheco explained.
In both cases, ACOPROVI, the Association of Housing Builders and Developers, has taken its contributions to the lower house.
“We were working on a draft bill from scratch, but after we saw Pacheco's, we noticed that he had adopted many of the proposals we had put forward before the previous bill expired. So we met with him and gave him a few additional suggestions to add to the bill, but we basically agree with his; it would just be a matter of enriching it a bit, and that's why we preferred to push one that was already in Congress,” Jorge Montalvo, president of the builders' association, explained to El Inmobiliario .
AEI and three aspects
Although it understands that the bill to regulate real estate services and brokerage contracts in the country is a very comprehensive piece, the AEI, Association of Real Estate Agents and Companies, noted three aspects of Serulle's proposal.
Alberto Bogaert, the president, declared last year that these suggestions, presented by a delegation from the entity that visited the justice committee of the lower house, do not alter the nature of the original in any way, as he affirms that it is a document that meets the needs of the real estate sector.
“Where it talks about the general provisions, article 3 should state to promote the development of real estate brokerage activities of associations duly registered with the corresponding state bodies that in their actions have regular training, a code of ethics and have a minimum of five years operating as an association, we believe that an association that wishes to be part of it must have at least five years of operation,” requested the entity that represents real estate agencies and brokers.
The second amendment proposed by the AEI refers to the chapter on transitional provisions, which states that “members who, as of the effective date of this law, are affiliated with a legally constituted and registered chamber or association of real estate brokers with more than one year of operation will have their knowledge validated and will be exempt from the obligation to complete any training and/or evaluation to obtain a license.” The institution believes this should be changed to those who have been operating for five years.
Finally, they requested a change from 500 to 120 hours in the article that states a person must have 500 hours of study to be eligible for the license. “We are asking for 120 because we have the experience to know what is needed and we know that this time is sufficient for a person to train and obtain their license,” the AEI explained.
rental law commission
It is chaired by Representative Eugenio Cedeño Areche, along with his colleagues Rafael Castillo, Mateo Espaillat, Máximo Castro Silverio, Benedicto Hernández, Danny Guzmán, Ana Mercedes, Tulio Jiménez, Saury Mota, and Luis Henríquez Beato. Also included are Nicolás Hidalgo, Dulce Quiñonez, José Miguel Cabrera, José David Pérez, Franklin Martínez, and Leonardo Aguilera.
Both projects represent part of the challenges that the construction and real estate sector will have to continue to face in 2023, given that they are two key instruments in strengthening the industry.
