Buying land or a house in the Dominican Republic: title certificate, survey and 3% transfer tax
In the Dominican Republic a plot only legally exists once it has been surveyed and is in the register, with a title certificate guaranteed by the State. Buying part of a larger plot first requires a demarcation before the land court. The buyer pays 3% transfer tax, within six months, and building your own house is only possible with a building licence from the Ministry of Housing.
5 min read
Written and checked by Auke on , against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.
A piece of land or a house in the Dominican Republic is only yours once it has been surveyed and is in the register in your name. The proof is the Certificado de Título, the title certificate. The buyer pays 3% transfer tax, and anyone who wants to build also needs a building licence.
| Item | What | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Survey of the plot | approved by the Dirección Regional de Mensuras y Catastro | Ley 108-05 |
| Certificate of legal status | charges and attachments, RD$ 1,000 | Registro Inmobiliario |
| Part of a larger plot | first a deslinde, a demarcation before the land court | Ley 108-05 |
| Transfer tax | 3%, paid by the buyer, within six months | DGII |
| IPI (annual property tax) | 1% above RD$ 10,695,494 (2026); rural farmland exempt | DGII |
| Building | building licence from the Ministry of Housing (MIVHED) | Ley 160-21 |
| Gain on sale | 10%, exempt when reinvested in a new own home | Ley 30-26 |
Who keeps the register?
The property register law, Ley 108-05, places everything with a single jurisdiction: the Jurisdicción Inmobiliaria. It consists of the land courts, the Registro de Títulos (the register), the survey and cadastre service (Mensuras y Catastro) and a commission. It has jurisdiction from the moment someone applies for a survey, and for as long as the plot exists.
Registration is constitutive: only then does your right exist. What is in the register is presumed correct. A registered plot carries no hidden charges that are not in the register, except what follows from the water and mining laws. The State issues and guarantees the title certificate. The original stays with the Jurisdicción Inmobiliaria; you receive a duplicate.
What does that mean for land outside the city?
Every property you want to register must rest on a survey, a levantamiento parcelario, approved by the Dirección Regional de Mensuras y Catastro. Each plot receives its own cadastral designation from that service.
If you buy part of a larger plot, for example 1,000 m² of a farm, that part must first be demarcated as a plot of its own. That demarcation is called a deslinde. Ley 108-05 treats it as an adversarial procedure before the Tribunal de Jurisdicción Original, the land court of first instance. According to the Registro Inmobiliario, you hire a surveyor, an agrimensor, for the technical part. Ownership of part of a plot without its own cadastral designation is called a constancia anotada. Since Ley 108-05 the register no longer issues new ones.
Do not buy land of which only a constancia anotada exists, expecting the demarcation to follow later. Have the seller complete the survey and the deslinde first, so that you get a title certificate of your own.
Before you sign, request a certificación de estado jurídico, the certificate of legal status. It shows the charges and attachments on the plot and costs RD$ 1,000, at the counter or through the Oficina Virtual and the RI Móvil app.
Which tax do you pay on the purchase?
The buyer pays the Impuesto sobre Transferencia Inmobiliaria, the transfer tax of 3%. The DGII, the tax authority, wrote in June 2024 that it must be paid within six months of the deed.
Under Ley 30-26 the 2% levy on the other entries in the mortgage register drops to 1% in 2027 and disappears from 2028.
What does land cost per year?
The annual property tax is called the IPI. For individuals in 2026 there is an exemption up to RD$ 10,695,494 of total property; on the part above that you pay 1%. Exempt are, among others, rural land used for farming or livestock, and the only home of someone aged 65 or older. You file a return in the first 60 days of the year and pay on 11 March and 11 September.
May you build a house yourself?
Yes, with a licence. The law that created the Ministry of Housing, Hábitat y Edificaciones (MIVHED), Ley 160-21, gives that ministry the task of issuing building licences for public and private buildings. It arranges the procedure together with the municipalities. For this the ministry has a Ventanilla Única de la Construcción, a desk for building applications, with appointments for submitting drawings.
Which documents the municipality and the ministry ask for a rural home is not on the ministry's pages. Ask in writing before the purchase, together with what may be built on that plot. According to Ley 108-05, a building with approved drawings does not need to be surveyed again.
What does the pensionado law save you?
Ley 171-07 gives pensionados and rentistas, and their partners, three benefits once their residence has been approved: no transfer tax on their first property, half of the IPI and the mortgage tax while the residence is valid, and half of the tax on the gain on a later sale. You first request every exemption from the Ministry of Finance (Hacienda); the DGII only recognises what Hacienda approved. So anyone who wants that benefit buys only after the residence; see the residence routes.
What if you sell later?
Since June 2026 an individual pays 10% on the gain from selling property, within six months. Anyone who puts the proceeds of their own home into a new own home within six months is exempt, and for those aged 65 and over the gain on their own home is exempt. Renting first? Read renting in the Dominican Republic.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Ley 108-05 on the property register, articles 2, 3, 90 to 92, 108, 109, 129 and 130 (text published by the Consultoría Jurídica del Poder Ejecutivo) — consultoria.gov.do
- Registro Inmobiliario — frequently asked questions on the title certificate, constancia anotada, deslinde and the certificate of legal status — ri.gob.do
- DGII — ruling of June 2024 on the 3% transfer tax and the six-month deadline — dgii.gov.do
- DGII — guide to the Impuesto al Patrimonio Inmobiliario (IPI), 2026 — dgii.gov.do
- Ley 160-21, article 12 — the Ministry of Housing (MIVHED) issues building licences (text published by the Consultoría Jurídica del Poder Ejecutivo) — consultoria.gov.do
- MIVHED — Dirección de Tramitación, Tasación y Licencias and the Ventanilla Única de la Construcción — mivhed.gob.do
- Ley 171-07, articles 13 and 14 — the property benefits for pensionados and rentistas (text published by the DGII) — dgii.gov.do
- DGII — ruling on Ley 171-07, exemptions first through the Ministry of Finance — dgii.gov.do
- Ley 30-26 of June 2026, articles 14, 16 and 59 — capital gains on property and the mortgage tax (text published by the DGII) — dgii.gov.do
Read on
- Dominican RepublicAankomst in de Dominicaanse Republiek5 min
Renting in the Dominican Republic: the new 2025 tenancy law, rule by rule
Since August 2025 one law governs renting in the Dominican Republic: Ley 85-25. The deposit for a home is at most two months' rent, without an agreement the landlord may not raise the rent by more than 10%, and if he wants you to leave at the end, he gives at least 90 days' notice. Holiday rentals of up to 90 days fall outside it.
Updated 15 October 2026
- Dominican RepublicAankomst in de Dominicaanse Republiek4 min
Bank and payments in the Dominican Republic: your pension must demonstrably come in
For a pensionado or rentista a Dominican bank account is no luxury: when renewing your residence card you show that your pension or income came into the country. On every transfer to someone else the bank withholds 0.15% tax. You declare cash above US$ 10,000 at the border. And an account that lies dormant for three years becomes inactive.
Updated 15 October 2026
- Dominican RepublicAankomst in de Dominicaanse Republiek4 min
The first weeks in the Dominican Republic: thirty days for the migration service, and what comes next
With the residence visa from The Hague you have 30 days after arrival to report to the migration service. Then come the residence card, the cédula, the tax number, health insurance and a bank account, in a fixed order. Plan it wrongly and you stand with a valid visa but no card at a desk that asks for the card.
Updated 15 October 2026