What ARE Renters' Rights under Dominican Law

DrChrisHE · #1 12-03-2007, 04:44 PM

I'm being given conflicting advice about renter's rights under Dominican law. Can someone point me in the right direction about what our rights are if we no longer have a lease (it expired and we don't like the terms of what is being proposed--neither does our lawyer)? I've heard on the one hand that if you pay your rent in the first week of the month, they can't kick you out. Then I've heard that they can kick you out for NO REASON with only 7 days notice.

ANYONE know what the REAL law is and how hard is it if you are a gringo/a with a Cedula to actually have the law enforced?

TIA!

SKY · #2 12-03-2007, 05:30 PM

If you have been renting for a decent amount of time and have all your receipts it could take a year or more to get you out. You just need a good lawyer to help.

This has been discussed in detail before. Use the search function and you will find what you need to know.

Robert · #3 12-03-2007, 05:52 PM

Renting an Apartment in the Dominican Republic

DrChrisHE · #4 12-03-2007, 06:12 PM

Thanks Sky & Robert! Yes, I have read the link thoroughly, but I'm still unclear as to our actual rights given that our contract has expired. We have our rental payment receipts. I did search the archives but wasn't able to locate this exact problem so maybe I'm not searching correctly.

If we pay our Dec rent and go away for Christmas, could we find our things on the street when we return?

Our landlady likes to just SHOW up unannounced at 10 or 11 pm at night (she lives in the Cap so it's not like she was in the neighborhood unexpectedly.) We only request a call. The concept of fixing things such as water heaters, electrical appliances all seems to be SUCH a foreign concept to her. It is as if she's NEVER heard of maintenance. The home we are in is getting older and has lots of things falling apart. We do our best to fix them (my dh has replaced the "guts" in all the toilets multiple times; gas lines; door handles; electrical sockets, etc.) It is almost as if WE care more about this property than she does.

Clearly this isn't a great situation but until we find a better one, we'd like to know that we are in the legal clear as far as not being thrown out onto the street.

Thanks for any and all assistance!

Robert · #5 12-03-2007, 06:45 PM

You have 2 choices. Do you want to be Gringo or Dominican about the situation?

If it's Gringo, then start looking for a new place to rent. Make sure the place is clean and tidy before you leave and don't forget to replace any broken light bulbs.

If it's Dominican, ignore any requests to get out, keep putting the rent into the Banco Agricola account until the landlord turns up with the cops/army or local DA to evict you. You should be able to string the landlord out for at least 6 months. This will give you plenty of time to look for a place and go back to being gringo again

Oh yeah, don't forget to take all the light bulbs and fittings on the way out.

You are not going to get thrown out on the street. The laws here are heavily biased in favor of the tenant.

Now you know why Dominicans prefer to rent to foreigners

miguel · #6 12-03-2007, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robert

If it's Dominican, ignore any requests to get out, keep putting the rent into the Banco Agricola account until the landlord turns up with the cops/army or local DA to evict you.

But what if the landlord is a bigger pain in the axx and decides to move his family and his belonging BEFORE he moves out, so they can live together as a "happy family"?.

I know landlords in the DR that if you wait too long to move AFTER they tell you, and your lease is up, even if you put the rent in the bank, they would play hardball with you, just like the person is playing with them.

Me, as a no-nonsense landlord, I advice you, DrChrisME, NOT to "burn your bridges" and move as fast as you can......SOME landlords CAN make your life a living hell.

Besides, why do you want to stay in a place where things are falling apart and the landlord fixes NOTHING?.

Don't be a Dominican. Move......Because you never know, you may find yourself a landlord like me!!. wink, wink!.

Hillbilly · #7 12-03-2007, 08:09 PM

Take everything you have fixed with you, including door handles and johnny innards.

Like i told you, just deposit the rent in the Banco Agricola, keep a receipt and send a photo copy to the owner and her lawyer....

Like they told you you can have up to a year or so if you want to play hardball.

Get someone to house sit for you during your trip away....perhaps an armed guard would be a good investment....

And get on the horn to MommC and Matilda....

HB

DrChrisHE · #8 12-03-2007, 08:52 PM

LOL--I love the bipolar responses. We normally pay our rent to a property manager and she pays the rent to the landlady. So, how does this Banco Agricola thing work?

I've already PM'd both Matilda and MommC (and JRR) that we need another place.

As WHY we are still here...we have the lowest rent in Metro (and it's not thru the Metro CC office) and my dh is convinced that our family be irreparably harmed if we move out. I, on the other hand, am not so convinced. I think that the "security" and safety of Metro is overstated; BUT I could be wrong. So, there is the sticking point. The friend, whom my dh trusts implicitly, swears that we'll be miserable outside Metro (meanwhile we feel like the poorest folk here while living here) and something terrible will happen to our children or me if we move out. After driving to the orphanage through canefields, having breakdowns in the middle of SPM & various hwys, I'm really not so sure about the danger being greater. Someone could just as easily hop over the Metro wall (or in our case--we only have barbed wire where our 100lb golden retriever can fit through and horses stick their heads through) and enter our home. We don't have a lot of valuables--the house is furnished (although impractically so with tons of nicknacks given that we have 3 kids).

It's quite a dilemma. As of right now, we are very actively looking for a place so we can get out of here in January. I don't want to live somewhere that we are not wanted. Being a foreigner and a homeowner (in the US), I feel a sense of responsibility to the place I'm living. So, that tells you, we couldn't possibly take the lightbulbs, toilet innards, door handles (my dh would rather die first)...the NYer in me says "We paid for them!" And, yes, we've been married 21 years!

Chris · #9 12-03-2007, 09:49 PM

Make peace with the landlady I think. Its fine to do the Banco Agricola thing, until the landlady and her minions start making your life a misery.

Think a little .. make an offer on the property .. offer something in order to get a new rental contract. Does she think she has the short end of the stick? Does she think you can pay/do more? The Dominican Way on Rentals is cool if you're prepared for crazy eventualities. I would not play hardball. I'll negotiate a longer rental period, give a little, and find a way out to another property.

And take every last lightbulb with me. If you don't, you'll just be the dumb gringa.

miguel · #10 12-03-2007, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris

Make peace with the landlady I think. Its fine to do the Banco Agricola thing, until the landlady and her minions start making your life a misery.

Think a little .. make an offer on the property .. offer something in order to get a new rental contract. Does she think she has the short end of the stick? Does she think you can pay/do more? The Dominican Way on Rentals is cool if you're prepared for crazy eventualities. I would not play hardball. I'll negotiate a longer rental period, give a little, and find a way out to another property.

And take every last lightbulb with me. If you don't, you'll just be the dumb gringa.

BUUUUUT Christa, why would ANYBODY stay at a place where NOT only the landlord wants you out, BUUUUT things are falling apart and the landlord doesn't fix them?....Did you read all the problems with that place?.....INSANE.

Btw: That woman is lucly the OP is NOT Dominican.