Property
Ley 108-05 with a Torrens register and specialist land courts
Ley 108-05 on registro inmobiliario established a Torrens-style system in which the certificado de tÃtulo issued by the Registro de TÃtulos is conclusive proof of ownership. Disputes are heard by specialised Tribunales de Tierras, divided between original jurisdiction for first registration and appellate jurisdiction. Foreign buyers face no general restriction on owning land, and the transfer tax is charged on the assessed value.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — National; Registro de TÃtulos and the Tribunales de Tierras
- Deadline — Transfer tax: paid within six months of the contract of sale to avoid surcharges
- Deadline — IPI property tax: due annually in two instalments, in March and September
Governing law
- Ley 108-05 de Registro Inmobiliario
- Ley 51-07amending Ley 108-05
- Ley 344expropriation
- Ley 18-88property tax, IPI
In practice
The critical distinction is between land already covered by a certificado de tÃtulo, where the register can be relied on, and land still held under older possessory documents such as a carta constancia, where the boundaries and the extent of ownership may not be settled. Buying the latter without completing the deslinde survey and first registration process is the most common source of Dominican property litigation.