Renting in Panama: the deposit goes to the ministry, and the contract is registered

Can you rent in Panama without a residence permit? Yes: for the registration of a rental contract a copy of your valid passport is enough, and the deposit is one month's rent. The finding at the source is where that deposit goes. Not to the landlord, but into custody at the Ministerio de Vivienda y Ordenamiento Territorial, MIVIOT, which also registers the contract; when you leave you claim the money back there, with an application both parties sign. The pitfall is a landlord who prefers to keep the deposit himself and does not register the contract: then in a dispute you stand without the counter the law has set up for you.

What does Law 93 of 1973 regulate?

Law 93 of 4 October 1973 is the Panamanian rent law, and MIVIOT implements it through the Dirección General de Arrendamientos. For residential renting there are two contract types: type A for a rent up to B/. 150 a month and type B for a rent above that. For a Dutch emigrant that is almost always type B. The contract is put on a prescribed form, typed or in legible handwriting, without crossings-out or correction fluid, and has a term of at least six months.

Element	What the source says
Contract type	B for a rent above B/. 150 a month
Minimum term	six months
Deposit	one month's rent; with a rising rent the last year's rent as the measure
Where the deposit goes	into custody at MIVIOT, cash up to B/. 100, above that by certified cheque in the ministry's name
Stamps	calculated over the term in months times the monthly rent
Identity of tenant	copy of a valid passport for foreigners
Landlord's ownership	current deed or certificate from the Registro Público
Certification of the contract	B/. 4 in stamps on the application

What does the landlord supply?

The landlord shows that he may rent out: a current title deed or a certificate from the Registro Público showing who owns the finca, and if he is not the owner himself, a notarised power of attorney. If there is a mortgage on the home, a letter from the bank goes with it; if the home belongs to the Banco Hipotecario and is not yet paid off, its consent with the finca number. If the home was rented before, a copy of the previous contract suffices if it concerns the same home and the same owner. An estate agent who comes to register the contract shows his licence.

Ask for those papers before you sign. The finca number on the deed is the same test as with a purchase: no finca number, no owner. How that works is in living, renting and buying in Panama.

How do you get the deposit back?

At the end of the tenancy there are three routes, and all three run through MIVIOT, Recaudación department. If tenant and landlord agree that the deposit belongs entirely to the tenant, the ordinary return follows. If they agree that part goes to the landlord, for unpaid days or damage, they submit an application together with the original deposit receipt, a copy of the contract, copies of both identity documents and an explanation signed by both with the division. If the landlord claims the deposit for damage, the tenant has to sign for it; if the tenant refuses, the landlord is left with a formal claim at the Dirección General de Arrendamientos.

Have the handover recorded. MIVIOT offers an inspection of an apartment handed over empty, at the request of tenant or landlord, with a copy of the contract as attachment. Anyone who has that inspection done on moving in and on leaving has an official report in a damage claim instead of a dispute of words.

What do you put in your own name?

The discounts on water, electricity and telephone that the law gives to pensionados apply only to bills in your own name. So agree on signing that the connections are transferred, and record who pays the building's service charges; the rent law regulates the deposit and the registration, not the division of those costs.

Anyone who later has to prove the contract somewhere, at a bank, the DGI or the immigration service, applies to MIVIOT for a certification: a written request with the contract number, the names and numbers of both parties, the address and the finca number, with B/. 4 in stamps. That is also the reason to register the contract and not just sign it. The whole journey, from the first temporary accommodation to the choice of a region, is in the step-by-step plan for Panama.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Panama or look inside the open plan first.