Law No. 189-11 on the Development of the Mortgage and Trust Market has been in force for eight years and has created a unified legal framework to promote the development of the mortgage and securities market in the Dominican Republic. So far it has allowed companies in the Real Estate sector to develop an autonomous, separate and independent patrimony of their assets. At the same time it offers facilities to Dominicans looking to build and acquire a home for the first time at a low cost.
The main objective of this regulation is to promote the creation or strengthening of legal entities that fairly regulate the Dominican mortgage market in order to develop a culture of voluntary or mandatory savings for long-term financing of housing and construction in the country in general.
What is a Fidecomiso?
Article 3 of Law No. 189-11 defines a Fidecomiso as:
“The act by which one or more persons, called Settlors, transfer property rights or other real or personal rights, to one or more legal persons, called Trustees, for the constitution of a separate estate, called Trust estate, whose administration or exercise of the Trust shall be carried out by the Trustee or Trustees according to the instructions of the Settlor or Settlors, in favor of one or several persons, called Trustees or Beneficiaries, with the obligation to return them upon the extinction of said act, to the person designated therein or in accordance with the law“.
In other words, under this regulation there are three figures that fulfill relevant functions in the development of the process:
– Trustee. These are the persons in charge of transferring assets or rights to create a separate estate.
– Fiduciary. This is usually the financial entity that receives the assets and works for the administration of the assets.
– Beneficiary. The individual or legal entity that receives the benefits of the trust.
The advantages or benefits of this regulatory framework include:
– Agility, flexibility and speed.
– Lower incorporation and execution costs.
– Maximizes collateral utilization.
– The same assets can guarantee future operations without the need to re-establish a trust.
– Trust rights may be negotiable.
Now that you know in general terms the Law Nº 189-11 and the participants of this legal process, it is time to know the main steps to agree the enjoyment of this benefit and acquire a construction project in the Dominican Republic.
How to apply the Trust Law in a Dominican construction project?
In our country it applies to construction projects with homes with a value of up to 2 million 400 thousand pesos. To do so, you must approach a project under construction in the Dominican Republic that is being carried out through the trust. You can consult our available housing options developed under this modality in our web page Noriega Group.
Subsequently, it must be ensured that the project is recognized as low-cost housing by the National Housing Institute (INVI). Demonstrate that as an applicant for this benefit, he/she is not the owner of another property. Empower the trustee to reserve the amount to be granted by the Dominican State.
You can learn more about the requirements to qualify for the benefits of the Trust Law by reading Rule 01-15.
Benefits of the Trust for the Dominican Financial Sector
In a document published by the Association of Commercial Banks of the Dominican Republic (ABA), it is stated that the entities of the financial system will be able to offer their clients all the trust modalities introduced by Law No. 189-11; adding that “the transfer of credits to the trust will allow financial entities to obtain a new source of funding, stimulating long-term credit. In addition, they will be able to choose which instruments and risks they wish to keep on their balance sheets and which they do not, allowing them to be distributed through the market“.
