DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Law and Practice Contributed by: Fabio Guzmán Ariza, Julio Brea Guzmán, Alfredo Guzmán Saladín and César Calderón, Guzmán Ariza
sue for specific performance and damages, as well as for eviction; remedies available to landlords do not differ depending on whether the nature of the lease is commercial or residential. The customary procedure to evict a defaulting tenant is to sue in court. The process is very time-consuming for two reasons: • before suing, the landlord is required in many cases to go through an administrative procedure that usually grants the tenant grace periods of six months or more; and • eviction orders by lower courts are subject to appeals to two higher courts, which lengthens the process to three or more years if the tenant retains the services of a savvy lawyer; evictions cannot be enforced while appeals are pending. General contract law applies to the lease but is lim - ited by various statutes that protect the tenants. For example, if there is no escalating clause for rent in a lease, the landlord cannot raise it unilaterally without undertaking a lengthy administrative procedure. 6.22 Termination by a Third Party No third parties are allowed to initiate the termination process of a lease agreement. However, the govern - ment can initiate an expropriation process against the property, by following the due process. 6.23 Remedies/Damages for Breach The most common form of security the landlord holds against the tenant in the event of failure to meet its obligations is the deposit made by the tenant in advance of the commencement of the lease. The pro - vision of a third-party guarantor can also be agreed between the parties, and/or that failure to comply with any of the obligations agreed upon shall result in the termination of the agreement.
• the fixed price system, which gives the owner of the project a comprehensive idea of the final cost of the project, establishing a fixed fee for the con - struction process; and • the construction management system, in which the project owner only pays the contractor a construc - tion fee and the owner covers the cost of construc - tion materials and labour. 7.2 Assigning Responsibility for the Design and Construction of a Project The parties are free to establish the conditions that govern their relationship, allowing any scheme to be developed for assigning responsibility for the design and construction of a project, but with the caveat that plans must be executed by a licensed architect or engineer. 7.3 Management of Construction Risk Construction risk is usually managed contractually through provisions and the establishment of penalties (agreed in the event of delays), performance bonds and insurance cover, among other things. The Dominican Civil Code establishes a warranty on structural and hidden damages in a property, enforce - able against architects and contractors for up to ten years. In practice, this timeframe is usually limited by the parties. 7.4 Management of Schedule-Related Risk These types of risks are managed contractually through provisions and the establishment of penal - ties in the event of delays; it is also common to ask for a performance bond from the contractor issued in favour of the owner and/or developer. 7.5 Additional Forms of Security to Guarantee a Contractor’s Performance Owners or developers often require the contractor performing the work to provide security in the form of monetary compensation through available finan - cial tools, should they be unable to deliver the work on time or meet the quality standards for which they have been paid. These risks are usually managed contractually by means of warranties, indemnity provisions, retention
7. Construction 7.1 Common Structures Used to Price Construction Projects The most commonly used structures are:
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