Registering Property in Dominican Republic

This topic examines the steps, time, and cost involved in registering property in Dominican Republic.

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Standardized property

Property Value: DOP 7,690,856
City: Santo Domingo

Registration Requirements Summary:


  Procedure Time to complete: Cost to complete:
*1 Obtain a non-encumbrance certificate from the Registry 15 - 20 days (simultaneous with procedure 2) ROD 10
*2 Site inspection to establish the exact location of the property 2 days (simultaneous with procedure 1) ROD 5,000 – 12,000
3 Notarization of the sale purchase agreement 1 day 0.25 – 1% of the property price
4 Request the valuation of the property at the Dirección General de Impuestos (Tax Authority) 1 day no cost
5 An inspector of the Tax Authority verifies the value of the property 14 days no cost
6 Payment of taxes at the Dirección General de Impuestos (Tax Authority) 1 day 3% of property value (transfer tax)
7 Payment of taxes at the Dirección General de Impuestos (Tax Authority) 20 - 30 days ROD 50 (Stamp duty)
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.

Registration Requirement Details

Procedure 1.
Obtain a non-encumbrance certificate from the Registry
Time to complete:
15 - 20 days (simultaneous with procedure 2)
Cost to complete:
ROD 10
Name of Agency:
Property Registry
Comment:
A non-encumbrance certificate ("Certificado del Estado de la Propiedad") must be obtained from the Property Registry in order to ensure that the property has no liens and there are no other conflicts related to it.
The time varies in each district. In Santo Domingo it takes about 15-20 days, while in the interior of the country it is faster.
Fees have been increased by the Resolución nr. 9-2009.
Procedure 2.
Site inspection to establish the exact location of the property
Time to complete:
2 days (simultaneous with procedure 1)
Cost to complete:
ROD 5,000 – 12,000
Name of Agency:
Surveyor (agrimensor)
Comment:
A surveyor ("agrimensor") inspects the site in order to establish the exact location of the property.
This is not mandatory, but a way the buyer has to protect against potential problems.
Procedure 3.
Notarization of the sale purchase agreement
Time to complete:
1 day
Cost to complete:
0.25 – 1% of the property price
Name of Agency:
Comment:
After the agreement is reached and the documentation has been exchanged by the parties, the sale purchase agreement must be notarized by the public notary.
The notary freely establishes its fees.
Procedure 4.
Request the valuation of the property at the Dirección General de Impuestos (Tax Authority)
Time to complete:
1 day
Cost to complete:
no cost
Name of Agency:
Tax Authority (Dirección General de Impuestos Internos)
Comment:
The parties must submit an application to the Tax Authority (Dirección General de Impuestos) for the valuation of the property.
The tax authority decides which cases will need a valuation, and then an appointment for the inspection of the property is scheduled. The valuation will be used in the calculation of taxes.
Procedure 5.
An inspector of the Tax Authority verifies the value of the property
Time to complete:
14 days
Cost to complete:
no cost
Name of Agency:
Comment:
An inspector of the Tax Authority visits the property in order to verify its value.
Procedure 6.
Payment of taxes at the Dirección General de Impuestos (Tax Authority)
Time to complete:
1 day
Cost to complete:
3% of property value (transfer tax)
Name of Agency:
Tax Authority (Dirección General de Impuestos Internos)
Comment:
After the inspection is over and the value of the property is calculated, stamps and taxes must be paid at the Dirección General de Impuestos (Tax Authority) before registering the transfer.
The following obligations must be paid according to the fiscal reform introduced by the new Ley Nº 173-07 de Eficiencia Recaudatoria:
Transfer tax: 3% of property value (if there is a difference between the property value indicated in the purchase agreement and the one estimated by the Internal Revenue Department upon valuation, the higher value will be the one considered as valid for calculation of this transfer tax).

Procedure 7.
Payment of taxes at the Dirección General de Impuestos (Tax Authority)
Time to complete:
20 - 30 days
Cost to complete:
ROD 50 (Stamp duty)
Name of Agency:
Property Registry ("Oficina de Registro de Titulos")
Comment:
After all payments have been made and all documents are ready, the buyer will apply for registration of the property under his name at the Property Registry.
The registrar will analyze the documentation and, if everything is correct, will register the property under the name of the buyer, issue a new Certificate of Title in the name of the buyer, cancel the old Certificate and will set the date for giving the new title to the buyer.
Because of the higher workload, this procedure takes longer in Santo Domingo and Santiago than in other provinces.
The new Ley de Registro de la Propiedad Inmobiliaria, passed on March 2005 to replace the previous law from 1947, introduced changes into the system seen up to now. The registrar has no more than 15 days to qualify the transfer.
The land registry operates with the Torrens title system and is being digitalized since 2005. All new transactions are completed digitally, but all titles created before 2005 are not computerized yet. The registry has consultation room units (“Departamento de sala de consultas”) where the registry’s electronic database is available.

The documentation shall include:
Notarized sale purchase agreement (obtained in Procedure 3)
Receipts of property tax and stamp duty payments (obtained in Procedure 6 & 7)
Copy of identity documents for seller and buyer companies