Goodbye deposits

[JD Jones]

Trying to pass a law outlawing more than 1 month deposits on rentals:

¿Qué dice el proyecto de ley de alquileres sobre el cobro de depósitos a inquilinos?

La Cámara de Diputados sancionó la pieza en primera lectura y ahora deberá aprobarla en segundaEl proyecto luego pasará al Senado

www.diariolibre.com

What does the rent bill say about collecting deposits from tenants?​

The Chamber of Deputies approved the piece in the first reading and must now approve it in the second
The bill will then go to the Senate.
Wilder Paez
Santo Domingo - May. 25, 2023 | 06:08 p.m. | 3 min read
One of the approaches of the project is that the legal expenses on the occasion of the rental or rental contract, will be in equal parts on behalf of the landlord. ( ARCHIVE )
The favorable report with modifications rendered by the Special Commission on Rental of Real Estate and Evictions of the Chamber of Deputies on the Project of the General Law on Rental of Real Estate and Evictions of the Dominican Republic indicates in Article 10 sole paragraph that the owners of homes may only charge a deposit to their tenants.
In the country, whoever is going to rent a property must generally have two deposits on hand plus a monthly payment in advance.
"In every rental contract, an advance payment is presumed to be stipulated as a deposit equivalent to the minimum amount of one month's rent," the aforementioned sole paragraph establishes.
The Chamber of Deputies approved this Wednesday in the first reading of this bill that seeks to regulate the rental of real estate in the country and that establishes a series of novelties, obligations, and requirements for the owners and tenants mentioned in the project.
Article 9 of the initiative determines that the income will be the one freely stipulated by the parties. The payment of the rent will be for periods of one month unless otherwise agreed. Payment will be made at the place and through the procedure agreed upon by the parties.
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They approve a bill to regulate rental housing in the DR​

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The sole paragraph of article 11 indicates that the legal expenses on the occasion of the rental or rental contract, will be equally borne by the landlord and the tenant. The tenant assumes the obligation to restore the property if he has left it in poor condition.
Article 22 of the regulations imposes obligations on the owners such as guaranteeing the legitimacy of their rights, delivering the property to the tenant with all its facilities and basic services in good condition, not disturbing the tenant, not hindering the use of the property, and carrying out the necessary repairs.
Likewise, it states that when the tenant wishes to terminate the contract, he must do so one month in advance and adds that this conclusion of the agreement does not alter the responsibilities of the owner.

What do you propose in case of evictions​

Article 35 says that any procedure for eviction for non-payment, violation of the contract, and termination of the contract, will begin with the summons or complaint to the other party, the interested party will communicate the summons or complaint document to the secretary of the inspector of the Justice of the Peace corresponding to the purposes of summons for knowledge in conciliation of the demand in question.
In view of this document, the secretary will set the date for conciliation and summon the party intimidated or denounced in writing before the inspector to the conciliation hearing within five business days of receipt.
This bill needs one more approval in the Lower House to then go to the Senate of the Republic where it must be approved twice and then go to the Executive Power for its promulgation.

 

[Kricke87]

Where I'm from, there are no deposits you have to pay before you move, you just pay the monthly rent in advance, that's it.
As a tenant I can really understand why this would be beneficial.
In short I'm currently forced to stay at my current location solely because I don't have 60000-75000 pesos which it would cost to move to another apartment for the 3 months rent you have to pay before even moving. Then you have to add the cost of actually just moving.
So unless you have around 100k you're not moving...
Then on top of that, are you guaranteed to get those deposits back?
As my wife has explained it, the ONLY way to actually get the deposits back are by actually NOT paying rent for 2 months before you leave, and that's what we've always done.
I have NEVER received any refunds on any deposits.

However, will this change anything?
Honestly, No, I highly doubt it.
Landlords will still have their requirements, and if you mention that it's illegal they'll look for someone else to rent the property.

 

[JD Jones]

I have NEVER received any refunds on any deposits.

FWIW, I've received mine back every time with the exception of one where the owner specifically told me not to pay the last two months rent.
She came to visit me a couple of times at my request so she could see how I treated her home, and I returned it in much better condition than she gave it to me.

 

[XQT]

Do the legislators have the intelligence to state,

Last months rent does have to be paid.
The damage deposit cannot be used in lieu of paying the last months rent.

The owner would have no hold back in case of damage.
The one month deposit in most cases does not cover potential damage, which then can only be recuperated through litigation,
If at all.
Any owner knows repair and material costs, which have skyrocketed.
Due to the incompetent government water supply it is also difficult/impossible in many communities to fill cisterns to supply water to rental properties.
No amount of complaints to Coraplata have solved this.

Many foreign owners have lost any faith in DR government and infrastructure.
They are leaving the DR, tourists and snowbirds are not coming back.
Better options are available in the developed world.
Progress in the DR is non-existent to minuscule.

Only Punta Cana Tourism works.
DR Gov. and legislators will have to do much better to generate tax income from potential foreign investors.
No basic infrastructure, no Bridge, just empty promises.

 

[El Hijo de Manolo]

Do the legislators have the intelligence to state,

Last months rent does have to be paid.
The damage deposit cannot be used in lieu of paying the last months rent.

The owner would have no hold back in case of damage.
The one month deposit in most cases does not cover potential damage, which then can only be recuperated through litigation,
If at all.
Any owner knows repair and material costs, which have skyrocketed.
Due to the incompetent government water supply it is also difficult/impossible in many communities to fill cisterns to supply water to rental properties.
No amount of complaints to Coraplata have solved this.

Many foreign owners have lost any faith in DR government and infrastructure.
They are leaving the DR, tourists and snowbirds are not coming back.
Better options are available in the developed world.
Progress in the DR is non-existent to minuscule.

Only Punta Cana Tourism works.
DR Gov. and legislators will have to do much better to generate tax income from potential foreign investors.
No basic infrastructure, no Bridge, just empty promises.

I whole heartedly agree except on one item. The rental contract dictates the terms and I have signed a few "gringo" contracts in my time here. Meaning two months' deposit up front plus the first month ahead, not at the end of the month. The "loose" Dominican style is as XQT says, one month deposit up front and you're clear for 30 days where you pay for the month "lived". This is the bane of landlords. Plain and simple, folks will destroy your property in 6 months and one lousy deposit won't even begin to cover these costs. Not to mention they pull the ole dine and dash at the month end ie "living" out the petty one months deposit (again, as XQT has said). If you are renting a property, never rent under this traditional Dominican model, you will be crying in your beer end of day. Actually in SD, you need to be well backed up with guarantors, credit score etc. And they will and do go after the guarantors!

 

[Father Guido]

When I rented my apartment, 4 years ago, I was presented with this 2+1 deposit 'req', I told the owner I'll give him 3 months' rent in advance plus a half month rent deposit, he accepted and we've lived 'happily ever after' since, he replaces or fixes broken items almost immediately and keeps his property immaculate.

 

[Father Guido]

I whole heartedly agree except on one item. The rental contract dictates the terms and I have signed a few "gringo" contracts in my time here. Meaning two months' deposit up front plus the first month ahead, not at the end of the month. The "loose" Dominican style is as XQT says, one month deposit up front and you're clear for 30 days where you pay for the month "lived". This is the bane of landlords. Plain and simple, folks will destroy your property in 6 months and one lousy deposit won't even begin to cover these costs. Not to mention they pull the ole dine and dash at the month end ie "living" out the petty one months deposit (again, as XQT has said). If you are renting a property, never rent under this traditional Dominican model, you will be crying in your beer end of day. Actually in SD, you need to be well backed up with guarantors, credit score etc. And they will and do go after the guarantors!

Just had an ex-GF ask me to be a 'guarantor" on a 27K/momth apartment in SD, she makes 35K/month salary, which she said would gave her plenty of money left over for luz, water, gas, cable, internet, food, and all of life's necessities, I politely declined.

 

[drstock]

I am an apartment landlord and my rental contracts that the deposit can not act as the last month's rent.

 

[El Hijo de Manolo]

I am an apartment landlord and my rental contracts that the deposit can not act as the last month's rent.

I don't know what your experience has been, but the issue here is they beat you on that last month, now you have to get them to a magistrate. If they show up, maybe the second time, the magistrate will ask them if they can make a payment plan. Then they don't make the payment, and now you have to go back and get another cita.

 

[drstock]

I don't know what your experience has been, but the issue here is they beat you on that last month, now you have to get them to a magistrate. If they show up, maybe the second time, the magistrate will ask them if they can make a payment plan. Then they don't make the payment, and now you have to go back and get another cita.

I have only once had a client who said he couldn't pay the last month's rent and I regretted letting him get away with it. Once or twice I have agreed with clients that they can use the deposit as the last month's rent, but only if I know they have looked after the place, which is the case with most of my clients.

 

[El Hijo de Manolo]

I have only once had a client who said he couldn't pay the last month's rent and I regretted letting him get away with it. Once or twice I have agreed with clients that they can use the deposit as the last month's rent, but only if I know they have looked after the place, which is the case with most of my clients.

Well, just like a company, you carefully select your tenants and this mitigates risk. Many are very desperate or anxious to rent the property and fail to do their due diligence!

 

[Buffness]

I am an apartment landlord and my rental contracts that the deposit can not act as the last month's rent.

...really depends on the landlord tenant relationship IMO ...

When we used to rent ...back in the 2010s ...our Dominican abogada friend told us that it is very rare that a Dominican landlord will give you back your deposit ...and to ... " be prepared for your deposit to be your last month's rent" ....

She was right ...twice!.....

First time... contract did not have a "deposit cannot be last month rent" clause ....the 🤬 landlord came to the house to ask us to move out ....knowing quite well he had no intention of giving the deposit back ..... when we we asked for the deposit ...he pretended he had no clue😡... so we stayed until our deposit ran out ...he tried to cause all sorts of drama...but all the drama was on him .🤷

Second time ....contract had a "deposit cannot be last month rent" clause .... we assumed the position ...but the landlord never mentioned a deposit refund ...so we stayed an extra month in lieu ...clause or no clause ... Peaceful 😌