Three questions decide whether anything else matters: can you own it, does the register hold, and is your deposit protected. Here are the answers for Dominican Republic, each with the law or source it rests on. The answers are written for EU and EEA citizens; where rules differ for other nationals, the ownership answer says so. As of September 2026.
The core answers
Can you buy property here as an EU citizen?
Full ownership without restriction by nationality.
Legal basis: Ley 108-05 de Registro Inmobiliario
Is your deposit protected by law?
No mandatory escrow; a fideicomiso under Ley 189-11 is possible but voluntary; unsecured prepayment is common
Source: attydr.com · 2025
Residence
Permanent residence through CONFOTUR property from USD 500,000; cheaper through USD 200,000 of business or passive income
Source: henleyglobal.com
First thing to check
- Whether the title is held in the modern Registro Inmobiliario. Old, unconverted titles and double registrations are common.
All 24 dimensions
Scale 0 to 100, higher is better. Each value shows where it comes from: tied to a published index, own research with a source on file, or approximated from comparable countries.
Law and register
| Dimension | Score | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Property rights | 35 | Index |
| Register | 52 | Research |
| Deposit protection | 25 | Research |
| Rule of law | 38 | Index |
| Freedom from corruption | 35 | Index |
| Political stability | 75 | Index |
Money and market
| Dimension | Score | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase costs | 66 | Index |
| Tax burden | 70 | Index |
| Entry price | 68 | Index |
| Rental yield | 71 | Research |
| Price development | 39 | Approximation |
| Demand pipeline | 43 | Index |
Residence and access
| Dimension | Score | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Residence | 90 | Research |
| Exit | 43 | Index |
| Currency | 34 | Index |
| Accessibility | 34 | Research |
Place and building stock
| Dimension | Score | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Climate | 42 | Index |
| Natural hazards | 6 | Index |
| Utilities | 34 | Index |
| Build quality | 65 | Research |
| Construction cost | 70 | Research |
| Quality of life | 40 | Approximation |
| Healthcare | 44 | Index |
Researched individually
These entries do not come from an index but from research for this country. The source is given with each.
Residence
Permanent residence through a CONFOTUR property from USD 500,000; cheaper via USD 200,000 of business or passive income
Source: henleyglobal.com · 2026
Deposit protection
No mandatory escrow; a fideicomiso (trust) under Ley 189-11 is available, but voluntary; unsecured advance payment is customary
Source: attydr.com · 2025
Accessibility
7,867 km great-circle distance from Munich
Source: Grosskreisentfernung Muenchen-Hauptstadt · 2026
Build quality
BQCI 13/15 (WB Doing Business 2020) + WGI Government Effectiveness 52,79 (2024), Gewicht 35/65
Source: archive.doingbusiness.org · 2019
Place and building materials
What to check in the Dominican Republic
Derived from the four weakest dimensions of this country - statistically, that is where buyers lose money.
- Natural hazards. Exposure to earthquake, storm, flood and wildfire at the specific site, not the national average.
- Deposit protection. Whether your deposit is protected by law - escrow account or bank guarantee - or goes straight to the developer.
- Accessibility. How often you can realistically get there - and whether a site inspection is possible in one day.
- Utilities. Whether power, water and internet actually reach the plot and who pays for the connection.
Developers and projects in the Dominican Republic
The developer index records 18 projects and 3 developers in the Dominican Republic without rating them, each entry with source and retrieval date. An excerpt:
| Project | Place | Developer | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oceana Hotel Wyndham | Bávaro | Noval Properties | on sale |
| Marea Golf & Spa Residences | Cap Cana | Noriega Group | on sale |
| Aria Suites & Residences | Downtown Punta Cana | Noriega Group | under construction |
| Kasa Punta Cana Residences | Downtown Punta Cana | Noriega Group | completed |
| Kasa: Art of Living | Downtown Punta Cana | Noriega Group | on sale |
| Aquamarine - INNSiDE by Meliá | Juan Dolio | Noval Properties | on sale |
| The Reef | Las Terrenas | Noval Properties | under construction |
| Cana Cove | Punta Cana | Noval Properties | completed |
| Cana Pearl II | Punta Cana | Noval Properties | completed |
| Coral Bahia | Punta Cana | Noval Properties | completed |
| Maison 77 | Punta Cana | Noriega Group | completed |
| Ocean Bay | Punta Cana | Noval Properties | completed |
Individual project pages are currently in German; they contain the recorded data, the source and the retrieval date.
All 18 projects and 3 developers in the Dominican Republic
What the guide cannot do
A country can look good in all three columns and the specific property can still be a total loss. The reverse is also true: in a country with a weak register, a cleanly titled plot can be entirely unproblematic. The guide tells you what the environment looks like. Whether this one property holds up is decided by the review.