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11. Real estate and land: Dominican Republic

Real estate and land in the Dominican Republic: equal rights for foreign buyers, the State guaranteed title register and first registration, purchase and off plan contracts, transfer tax and closing costs, the annual IPI, tax on gains since June 2026, rental tax and ITBIS, the 2025 lease law, short stays, condominiums, zoning under Ley 368-22, building licences, the coast, protected areas, water, agrarian parcels, expropriation, land courts and cash limits, each tied to the official text. For the Argentine side of a purchase, sale or transfer of funds, see The Argentine Thread guide.

Investor view. A State guaranteed title system, free rents under the 2025 lease law, no foreign ownership limit in general and the phase out of mortgage registration tax give the Dominican Republic a market friendly base for property investment and construction growth.

• Buying and owning property in the Dominican RepublicForeigners buy on the same terms as Dominicans, with no permit, and ownership passes against third parties only when the deed is registered. The buyer pays a 3% transfer tax within six months and file
• Foreign ownership and the border zoneThe Dominican Republic has no general limit on foreign ownership of land: the Constitution gives foreigners the same rights as nationals unless a law says otherwise. The one constitutional carve out i
• Title registration and due diligenceThe Dominican registry follows the Torrens system: the State guarantees the certificate of title, the register is presumed exact, and no hidden charges exist on registered land except from the water a
• Unregistered land, constancias anotadas and deslindeLand that was never registered enters the system through saneamiento, a court process that ends in a first certificate. Much land is still held by constancia anotada, a share of a parcel with no defin
• Purchase contracts and off plan purchasesA promise of sale with agreed thing and price counts as a sale, and arras let either side walk away at a cost. Off plan units can be registered before the building exists, with a note on the title unt
• Transfer tax and closing costsBuyers pay 3% of the property value to DGII within six months of the act; acts on unregistered land are outside the tax. Registering a mortgage costs 2% in 2026, 1% in 2027 and nothing from 2028. Nota
• Annual property tax (IPI) for ownersIndividuals pay 1% a year on total real estate holdings above RD$10,695,494 for 2026, and trusts pay 1% on the full value. Companies are outside the IPI, but their real estate counts in the 1% asset t
• Selling property: tax on gainsSince June 2026, an individual seller pays a final 10% on the real estate gain, due within six months of the sale. Reinvesting the whole amount in a new habitual home within six months exempts the gai
• Rental income taxRent is taxable income from a Dominican source. A company or sole proprietor paying rent to an individual now withholds 15% as a final tax, up from a 10% advance, under Ley 30-26. Rent paid to a non r
• ITBIS on real estateThe Dominican VAT, ITBIS, is built on movable goods and services, so a sale of land or a building falls outside its transfer rules. Housing rent is exempt, and commercial rent carries 18%. ITBIS paid
• Residential and commercial leasesLey 85-25 of 2025 ended the old rent control decree. Rent and term are free, a housing deposit is capped at two months, and a landlord needs 90 days notice for housing and 180 for commercial space bef
• Short term rentalsNo dedicated law for Airbnb style rentals is in force. Tourist stays of up to 90 days are outside the lease law, income tax applies as for other rent, and ITBIS treatment is unsettled. The Ministry of
• CondominiumsFlats and offices are owned under Ley 5038 and Ley 108-05: each unit has its own title and a share of common parts, and the land is common. A consortium of owners with legal personality runs the build
• Zoning and land useLey 368-22 and its regulation, Decreto 486-25, make municipal plans the source of land use. Towns classify land as urban, urbanizable or non urbanizable, and issue a land use certificate within two mo
• Building permits and subdivisionThe Ministry of Housing, MIVHED, issues construction licences through a single window, with the town and environment authorities first. Service sheets give up to 60 working days for simple projects an
• Beaches, coast and public domain landBeaches and coasts are public, open to all, and cannot be sold or acquired by possession. The maritime strip runs 60 meters inland from high tide, and Ley 64-00 lists it as public domain. Titles and b
• Protected areas and environmental permitsProtected areas are national patrimony. Their limits can be cut only by a law with a two thirds vote. Private titles registered before Ley 64-00 are recognized, but the State has a right of first purc
• Water rightsWater is a strategic national asset that cannot be sold or lost by prescription. The owner of land may sink an ordinary well for household or stock use, and may tap groundwater on the land if public o
• Rural land and agrarian reformNo foreign limit applies to rural land, but two rules matter to anyone buying a farm. Holdings above set sizes count as latifundio under a 1972 law, with sugar and privately irrigated land excepted. R
• Expropriation of landProperty can only be taken for public utility or social interest, with prior payment of fair value, set by agreement or by a court. The procedure in Ley 344 of 1943 moves quickly, with a hearing withi
• Land court disputes and removing occupantsThe Jurisdicción Inmobiliaria has sole power over disputes on registered rights. An owner can remove an intruder through the Abogado del Estado in two 15 day stages, then up to 30 days to evict, witho
• Low cost housing and real estate trustsLey 189-11 offers real tax relief to a developer who builds low cost housing through a construction trust: full exemption from income, asset, transfer and construction charges, plus a housing bonus fo
• Tourism and retiree property incentivesTwo laws cut property taxes for specific buyers. A first buyer directly from the promoter of a tourism project classified under Ley 158-01 shares its exemptions, and later resale buyers do not. Retire
• Cash limits and AML rules in property dealsPaying more than RD$1,500,000 in cash for real estate has been banned since the September 2025 update. Notaries must see proof of payment, and acts must state how each payment was made. Real estate ag

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