Countries › Dominican Republic › Guide › 11. Real estate and land › Rural land and agrarian reform

Rural land and agrarian reform

Last verified: 2026-10-30 · Status: Stable

No 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. Reform parcels from the Instituto Agrario Dominicano cannot be sold until the farmer has full title, and a 1975 law bans acquiring them by any route.

USD figures use the Banco Central de la República Dominicana reference selling rate of RD$60.9007 per US dollar for 29 October 2026, the latest row in its published rate file on the verification date, rounded to the cent.

Key facts

Latifundio threshold, first class land	1500 tareasLey 314 de 1972 art. 1, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Sale of agrarian reform parcel	Barred without Instituto consent until full ownership Ley 5879 art. 39, as of 2026-10-30 · in force

The rule

1. The dedication of land to useful ends and the gradual elimination of latifundio are of social interest, and agrarian reform is a main goal of social policy.Constitución de 2024, art. 51 numeral 3, 2024-10-27 official text · verified 2026-10-30

2. Rural land of one individual, company or undivided estate over 1,500 tareas of first class, 2,100 second, 4,000 third, 8,000 fourth, 15,000 fifth, 25,000 sixth or 45,000 seventh class is latifundio. Sugar land and land under private irrigation systems are excepted.Ley 314 de 1972, art. 1, 1972-04 official text · verified 2026-10-30

3. A special commission can review plantations in top condition whose yields benefit the economy, and set the fair size.Ley 314 de 1972, art. 2, 1972-04 official text · verified 2026-10-30

4. The Instituto Agrario distributes parcels by conditional sale.Ley 5879 de Reforma Agraria, as amended by Ley 55-97, art. 37 and art. 38, 1962-04-27 official text · verified 2026-10-30

5. The conditional sale must bar sale, lease, mortgage or other disposal without written consent of the Instituto, until the parcel holder has full ownership.Ley 5879 de Reforma Agraria, as amended by Ley 55-97, art. 39, 1962-04-27 official text · verified 2026-10-30

6. A parcel handed over under the reform is free of all charges, and any contrary claim is settled by the State in money, not against the title.Ley 5879 de Reforma Agraria, as amended by Ley 55-97, art. 40, as amended by Ley 55-97, 1962-04-27 official text · verified 2026-10-30

7. Ley 145 bars anyone from acquiring reform parcels by purchase, donation, lease, mortgage enforcement or usufruct. FAOLEX record, full text not read.Ley 145 de 1975 (FAOLEX record), Summary, 1975-04-26 official text · verified 2026-10-30

8. Rural land in farming is outside the IPI base.Ley 253-12, Ley 18-88 art. 2 paragraph IV as restated, 2012-11-09 official text · verified 2026-10-30

9. Rural land and farm real estate are outside the asset tax base.Ley 11-92, Código Tributario, Title V, art. 402, 1992-05-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30

10. Rural estates are excluded from Ley 85-25, so farm leases sit under the Civil Code.Ley 85-25 sobre Alquileres de Bienes Inmuebles y Desahucios, art. 2 numeral 1, 2025-08-15 official text · verified 2026-10-30

Land class	Tareas
First	1,500
Second	2,100
Third	4,000
Fourth	8,000
Fifth	15,000
Sixth	25,000
Seventh	45,000

Latifundio thresholds (Ley 314 de 1972 art. 1)

Worked example

An agribusiness assembles 3,000 tareas of first class land for RD$150,000,000 (about US$2,463,025.88). That passes the 1,500 tareas line, so before investing it reviews the sugar and irrigation exceptions, or the art. 2 commission route.

Step by step

Ask if the land came through the reform.
Check for a definitive title, not a provisional paper.
Classify the land.
Check water rights and survey.

Common traps

Agrarian parcels are often sold informally. An act against Ley 145 gives no safe title.
Ley 314 says what latifundio is; this guide did not find an active program applying it to private buyers, but the Constitution keeps the goal.
Ley 5879 is dated 27 April 1962 by FAOLEX and the Instituto, and 14 July 1962 by the MAP profile.
The Ley 314 copy is an old gazette scan, so verify the numbers against a clean copy for a large deal.

Sources

← Water rightsExpropriation of land →

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