Registering Property in Haiti

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

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Property Value: HTG 1,392,753
City: Port au Prince

	Procedure	Time to complete:	Cost to complete:
1	Obtain authorization to conduct a property survey	10-20 days	no cost
*2	Survey of property	50-70 days (simultaneous with procedure 3)	HTG 5250
*3	Notary public prepares the sale agreement	10-90 days (simultaneous with procedure 2)	2% of notary fees
4	Obtain avis de cotisation and pay for registration	1 day	3% of property price (enregistrement) + 1% of property price (transcription)
5	The sale agreement is recorded and transcribed at the Tax Authority (DGI)	60 days + 9 months	already paid in previous procedure

* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.

Procedure 1.: Obtain authorization to conduct a property survey
Time to complete:: 10-20 days
Cost to complete:: no cost
Name of Agency:: Local Civil Tribunal
Comment:: To conduct the property survey required in Procedure 2, it is necessary to obtain an authorization from the dean of the civil tribunal of the commune where the property is located, and the authorization of the “Commissaire du government”. This is obtained after presenting a complete file that will include the bill of sale of the property as well as the previous survey.

Procedure 2.: Survey of property
Time to complete:: 50-70 days (simultaneous with procedure 3)
Cost to complete:: HTG 5250
Name of Agency:
Comment:: A survey of the property is required if the last survey dates from 5 years or more. The survey in question is done by a public surveyor for a specific commune. Because of the issues related to possession and ownership of real estate in Haiti, most buyers choose to have a survey of the property they are purchasing. All persons whose property shares a common border with the property will be invited to witness the survey. Any person present can request a "Referé" which is a quick procedure before a special judge of the civil tribunal who decides on all matters considered urgent. If such a request is made then the survey is suspended.

Procedure 3.: Notary public prepares the sale agreement
Time to complete:: 10-90 days (simultaneous with procedure 2)
Cost to complete:: 2% of notary fees
Name of Agency:
Comment:: The titles are deposited with the notary public, who will prepare the bill of sale.
By law, notary fees are set to 1%. However, the ASNOP (Notary Association of Port-au-Prince) normally charges 2% of sale price.
The notary collects the fees and taxes and directly pays the different State Agencies.
The added value tax (VAT) is paid by the seller, but it is held by the notary public until the notary decides to transfer the amount to the “Direction Générale des Impôts” (DGI).

VAT is according to the following categories:
-For the sale of property by a limited liability corporation (Societe Anonyme), the rate is 15% of the sale price
-For the sale of land without building or house, the rate is 10%, after applying a discount of 25 % on sale price.
-For the sale of any property were construction was built after the land was bought the rate is 2.5% of the sale price.
-For the sale of land from an allotment the rate is 4 %.
-For the sale of any property including land and building were improvements or transformations have been made, the rate is 10% after applying a discount of 50 % on the sale price.
-For the sale of building or house built on state land when sailing according to the laws, the rates is 2.5% of the sale price.

Procedure 4.: Obtain avis de cotisation and pay for registration
Time to complete:: 1 day
Cost to complete:: 3% of property price (enregistrement) + 1% of property price (transcription)
Name of Agency:: Tax Authority
Comment:: In order to submit the sale agreement for registration, an “avis de cotisation” is prepared by the DGI, calculating and writing manually on the side of the sale Act the amount to be paid. The sale act should be handwritten, but the DGI accepts copies written with a PC with the “handwritten” style (for transfers between individuals or firms).
The avis de cotisation is typed with a typewriter on an official form (3 copies). The top of the form is kept by the notary, and the bottom is left to the DGI. The fees are the following:
- Montant principal: Droit fixe: 2 gourdes; droit d’enregistrement: 3% of sale price; droit de transcription: 1% of sale price; droit d’ecriture: 6 gourdes per each group of 25 lines (or fraction)
- droit de certificat: 2.5 gourdes
- taxe suplementaire: 1% of the amount paid in droit d’enregistrement and droit de transcription + 1 gourde
- droit special ad-valorem: 0.2% of the montant principal

Once the avis is prepared, the notary pays the amount at the BRH (Banque de la Republique d’Haiti) in the DGI, and the Avis de cotisation is signed by the bank.

Procedure 5.: The sale agreement is recorded and transcribed at the Tax Authority (DGI)
Time to complete:: 60 days + 9 months
Cost to complete:: already paid in previous procedure
Name of Agency:: Direction Generale des Impots
Comment:: The 3% + 1% fee is set in article 142 of the « loi du 28 septembre 1977 sur l'enregistrement et la conservation fonciere ». The notary has received the funds for the procedure before and does the follow up. A one-month frame is established by law for the notary to transfer said funds collected on behalf of the state to the Direction Generale des Impots.

With the avis de cotisation signed by the bank, the notary can submit the dossier to be recorded at the records office of the Direction Generale des Impots. The registrar will write with a pen on the Acte de vente: the Number of the avis de cotisation and the date of payment. The notary keeps the original of the avis de cotisation.
The transfer is then registered by hand in a book (“Repertoire d’entrée”). The sale act is later sent to the Bureau de Transcription, where employees copy by hand the sale act into books. Once the sale act has been copied, it is returned to the notary.

Local branches of the DGI in the country (“bureaux deconcentres”) send the information to the central office for registration.