Real Estate Regulations in the DR

Law 108-05 on Real Estate Registration regulates the clearing and registration of all real property rights in the Dominican Republic. This law establishes key principles: for example, it declares that the State is the original owner of all land and that every registered right is imprescriptible and enjoys the “absolute protection and guarantee of the State.” In practice, this means that the Title Registry offices – supervised by the National Directorate of Registry – must issue Title Certificates that prove who the true owner of each property is. According to Articles 103–104 of the law, registry information is public, and only the property owner may request official certifications attesting to the legal status of a property. Thus, any formal sale must be executed in a public deed before a notary and then registered, so that the buyer can obtain a new Title Certificate in their name.

Additionally, there are other important complementary regulations. For example, Law 189-11 (Mortgage Market and Trusts) introduced the trust as a legal structure for the real estate sector. A trust allows assets (such as land or pre-sale apartments) to be transferred to an administrator (trustee), creating separate estates. This provides greater protection for investors, since the developer cannot freely dispose of the entrusted funds.

In summary, the Dominican legal framework demands transparency – notarized contracts, public property registration, and instruments such as trusts – to ensure that buyers, sellers, and investors operate on solid and secure grounds.

Sources: Dominican legislation (Laws 108-05, 189-11, 140-15, 33-91), Real Estate Registry website, DGII (Property Tax and Transfer Taxes), case law, and statements from Pro Consumidor regarding fraud.