Tenants vs. landlords: Who wins and who loses with the possible new Rent Law?

Santo Domingo.- During her participation in the program El Sol de los Sábados, broadcast by Zol 106.5 FM of the RCC Media group, the president of the National Organization for Consumer Protection (ONPECO), Altagracia Paulino, expressed her support for the new Rental Law project, highlighting its potential to balance the relationships between tenants and landlords.

“For the first time, I agree with a law. The spirit of this legislation implies a new exercise in coexistence for both parties,” Paulino stated.

The expert emphasized the need to review abusive contractual clauses and proposed that the law incorporate a social component, including affordable rental plans as part of a decent housing policy.

He also suggested setting reasonable limits on late payments and promoting training for those involved to avoid contentious evictions.

For his part, attorney Blas Minaya noted that leasing regulations have been included in the Civil Code since 1804, in addition to Law 43-17 and a 1959 decree. However, he criticized the fact that the new bill repeats previous provisions without providing real solutions.

“The only real problem is the judicial delay. Eviction proceedings take years unnecessarily,” said Minaya, who also warned against involving mayors’ offices in enforcing the law.

Both experts agreed that, while the law has good intentions, its success will depend on the fair, clear, and efficient application, as well as adequate training of judges and parties involved.

Meanwhile, attorney Jean Cristofer Pérez also expressed his support for the study of the Rental Law project.

However, he warned that the split between commercial and residential rents could hurt landlords .

“What happens when these leases are separated? Obviously, they will be transferred to the ordinary procedure of the Court of First Instance, which would impede the speed of the proceedings.

This could be interpreted as a detriment to commercial property owners,” Pérez explained.

What the project says

Property owners or landlords, lawyers, and bailiffs who carry out or execute evictions without complying with the formalities stipulated in the  Real Estate Rental and Eviction Law,  currently being approved, will be punished with three to five years in prison and a fine of ten to twenty times the public sector minimum wage.

The bill, authored by the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Alfredo Pacheco, has already been approved on first reading and is scheduled for public hearings next Thursday. It empowers magistrates’ courts to handle disputes between tenants and landlords in the first instance, but they must prioritize conciliation between the parties first.

The chairman of the special committee studying the bill, Representative Amado Díaz, in his statement to the CD Plenary, highlighted the fact that the regulations prohibit lawyers and property owners from carrying out arbitrary evictions without court orders, a practice that has been widely used until now.

It also establishes sanctions for inattentive judges in cases of denial of justice, among other provisions, since the Dominican Republic relies on a decree issued 66 years ago by dictator Rafael Leónida Trujillo.

Punishes abuses

Owners, landlords, lawyers, and bailiffs who carry out or execute evictions without complying with the formalities established in this law shall be punished with three to five years in prison and a fine of ten to twenty times the public sector minimum wage.

The court of first instance is empowered to hear any claim, response, or dispute that constitutes a reckless exercise or abuse of the law.

He warns that the Supreme Court of Justice, the Attorney General’s Office, and the Dominican Bar Association will be informed of the reckless actions of lawyers and bailiffs.