Pre-Construction Protection Checklist for DR Buyers
Before you reserve a pre-construction apartment in the Dominican Republic, review the land’s title, the permits — including the MIVHED licence if work has started — the fideicomiso and fiduciary if one is claimed, the contract (delivery, grace, penalties) and whose name is on the payment account. This list is information; it is not legal advice or a certification.
Finishing this list does not make the purchase “safe,” and it does not mean the project is approved by ObraCierta. It is a checklist — fideicomiso, licence, title, payment account and contract — so you arrive prepared at your lawyer’s office and at the official sources.
How to use this list
Check each item as you review it. Print the list or save it — if the site asks for an email so you can recover your progress, that is not legal protection and not enrollment in a custody service. Take it to an independent lawyer, not the seller’s. Do not reserve or wire on the same day you are handed a brochure.
The official starting point is the Ministry of Housing, Habitat and Buildings’ (MIVHED; older documents from the same ministry say MIVED) Guide to buying a home safely, checked on 12 November 2026. It sets out sixteen questions and ranks them by importance: among those it treats as the heaviest are the fideicomiso, title in the seller’s name or an authorization to sell, a legal status (estado jurídico) without litigious annotations, and the municipal permit. The guide itself says its information is informational and is not a guarantee, certification or recommendation by the Dominican State.
This tool builds on that guide and goes further on what it covers only lightly: the exact payee of each payment, written confirmation from the fiduciary, a reading of the constitutive act, a check on Inteligencia MIVHED, and independent inspections as a design — not as a service ObraCierta provides today. We do not copy the ministry’s questionnaire, and we do not take over its “guarantee” language about the fideicomiso or about associations. The official check on a fiduciary is the Superintendencia de Bancos list, the SIMV registry if there is a public offering, and, where it applies, the DGII.
If the title is missing, if work has already started without a MIVHED licence, or if you are asked to pay a personal account, I would not reserve in that project. Take those gaps to your lawyer before you wire. The broader context is in is it safe to buy pre-construction?.
The list
Money and the fideicomiso
Where your money goes matters as much as the word “fideicomiso.” The mechanics are in how a Law 189-11 fideicomiso works and how to verify the fiduciary; the comparison is in paying the fiduciary or paying the developer’s account.
The account name, the bank, and a match with the fiduciary or an identifiable company. Some platforms send your money directly to the developer’s account: always ask, in writing, whose name is on the account, before you wire.
A trade name, or a “we’ll formalize it later,” is not enough. Article 12 of Law 189-11 voids verbal trusts.
Check the current fiduciaries page on the day you are about to pay, and, if there is a public offering, the SIMV Securities Market Registry. That list is not a complete census: companies may exist under the DGII regime. If you cannot find the fiduciary, ask why and verify it with your lawyer.
Do not rely only on what the seller says. Ask them to confirm that your payments will go to an account in the fiduciary’s or the fideicomiso’s name.
Article 29, literal (b), requires the fiduciary to follow those instructions strictly. If the act lets funds out with little verification, the “fideicomiso” label protects less. Take it to your lawyer.
Articles 7 and 9 isolate the patrimony that actually enters the fideicomiso, subject to Article 10. If the money goes to another account, that separation is not working on your payment. If a promise is all you have, do not reserve.
Title and legal status
Title and the land’s legal status (estado jurídico) are, in the MIVHED guide, among the heaviest points. Your lawyer requests them at the Real Estate Registry, under Law 108-05 on Real Estate Registration (23 March 2005; text published by INVI, checked 12 November 2026). This list does not replace that inquiry.
Without that, it is not clear who can commit the property. Do not reserve against a verbal “it’s in process.”
It is worth seeing it without litigious annotations, and recent, not an old copy. The lawyer knows what to request and how to read it; this list does not interpret an extract for you.
The MIVHED guide includes this among the points to review. Confirm it with your lawyer and with the DGII; this page does not publish rates.
Permits and the MIVHED licence
The MIVHED guide counts this among the heaviest requirements. Ask for the document, not an oral reference.
The ministry’s guide states that once any phase of construction has begun, the work must have a licence from that ministry, and that its absence during execution exposes the project to suspension of the works. At a plans-only stage, the licence may still be in process.
The Inteligencia MIVHED platform lets you check permit status with the case number; ask the developer for it. This guide does not claim that you can search for any project by trade name alone.
Not every project needs them in the same way. Ask which ones apply to yours, and ask for the documents.
The Tourism Promotion Council and Law 158-01 are the framework; the resolution is what your lawyer should see. A CONFOTUR classification does not replace a fideicomiso or a licence. Have your lawyer confirm whether it applies to your unit.
The contract
What you can demand if there is a delay or a halt sits mainly in your contract. What usually happens if construction stops helps you read it; it does not replace your lawyer, and it does not invite you to stop paying the same day.
From which milestone, whether it is estimated or firm, and which documents go with it. Get it in writing, not verbally.
A grace period is a negotiated clause, not a fixed statutory period — including in Punta Cana. Look at who it benefits, what triggers it, and what happens if you want to terminate or assign your position. Do not sign an extension amendment the same day, under pressure, without advice.
Size, finishes, parking, what is included and what is charged separately. What is not in the contract is harder to demand later.
This list organizes questions; it is not an opinion on your case. Take the contract, the planned receipts, and the unchecked items.
The developer and track record
The MIVHED guide includes track record among the points to review. Ask for concrete references, not a brochure. This page does not publish “typical” delivery times or default rates.
Plans, under construction, or finished: that stage changes which permits should already exist, and what you can go and see on the lot.
The MIVHED guide includes them, and ranks them at a lower level as to the legality of the purchase. They are worth asking about; do not put them above title, the licence and the payment destination.
Inspections and the release of funds
A sound design ties release to milestones that can be checked, and states in writing what happens if a milestone is missed. That is not a mandate of Law 189-11, and it is not a service ObraCierta provides today.
ObraCierta is building a model in which the buyer’s money sits with a licensed fiduciary and is released after independent inspections; that service is not yet in operation. Completing this list does not enroll you in that model, and a verbal “we inspect” is not that service. If you want to be told when it is available, you can leave an email: that is not enrollment in a custody service, which does not yet exist.
If you are buying from abroad
Being a foreigner does not, by itself, stop you from buying in the Dominican Republic. Whether you can buy is useful context; the payment destination and the title are checked the same way.
Its scope, its form, and whether it is enough for that transaction are for a lawyer in the country to confirm, not this list.
The same rule: the payee should be the fiduciary, the fideicomiso or an identifiable company, not a personal account. Time limits and any specific registration requirements are for your lawyer to confirm; this page does not state them.
What this list does not do
It is not a legal opinion, not an insurance policy, and not the custody service ObraCierta is building. It does not certify projects, guarantee delivery or returns, or replace professional due diligence. A checked item does not mean the document is valid; it means you asked for it and took it to the person who should read it.
It also does not replace the general consumer-protection framework — Law No. 358-05 and Pro Consumidor exist — and it does not tell you which concrete remedy applies to your case. This guide does not cite individual articles of that law.
If a seller presses you to reserve “today, or the unit is gone,” use this list anyway: the documents do not depend on a one-day discount. The other guides on this site go deeper on each block; this tool sums them up so you can use them.
Frequently asked questions
What should I check before reserving a pre-construction unit in the DR?
Before you reserve a pre-construction apartment in the Dominican Republic, review the land’s title, the permits — including the MIVHED licence if work has started — the fideicomiso and fiduciary if one is claimed, the contract (delivery, grace, penalties) and whose name is on the payment account. This list is information; it is not legal advice or a certification.
How do I verify the fideicomiso?
Ask for the fiduciary’s exact legal name and the trust’s name, look them up on the Superintendencia de Bancos list and, if relevant, in the SIMV registry, and confirm in writing with the fiduciary itself that this project is under its administration. Funds should go to an account in the trust’s or the fiduciary’s name, not a personal account.
How do I verify the construction licence?
Once construction has started, the MIVHED guide states that a construction licence from that ministry is required; its absence during works exposes the project to suspension. Check the file in Inteligencia MIVHED, and also ask for the municipal permit and, where they apply, environmental and tourism permits. At a plans-only stage, the licence may still be in process.
Does this checklist replace a lawyer?
No. This tool organizes questions and documents so you arrive prepared at your lawyer’s office and at the official sources. It does not certify a project, guarantee an outcome, or replace professional due diligence. ObraCierta is building a model of funds held by a licensed fiduciary and released after independent inspections; that service is not yet in operation.
What to do with your results
When you finish the list, read how a fideicomiso works and who gets paid, and take the gaps to an independent lawyer. ObraCierta is building a model in which the buyer’s money sits with a licensed fiduciary and is released after independent inspections; that service is not yet in operation. This tool is free. The planned model is that the buyer does not pay for that protection; the developer does.
This list is information; it is not legal advice or a certification; it does not certify the project.