MANDATORY REGISTRATION DUE 3/21 /2014
As a direct consequence of the amendment to the Law on the Promotion of Competition and Effective Consumer Defense (N°7472) of October 5th,2012, Decree 37899-MEIC was published, containing an integral amendment to the Regulations of such Law; thus modifying a large number of matters, including mandatory registration of real estate developers and obligation to get pre-approval of option and sales contracts, where buyers are required to make payments before completion and delivery of the project/unit (future sales). Registration of Companies responsible for future sales must be completed by Friday, March 21st, 2014. Please see the information below for a description of the new provisions for future sales of Real Estate.
I. IMPORTANT REFORMS
A. New provisions for future sales
The new Regulation includes the minimum provisions required for future sales; and establishes the obligation for real estate development companies to obtain the proper authorization and their duty to perform their registration before the Consumer Support Office (“DAC” for its acronym in Spanish). The real estate development companies issuing future sales will become part of the List of Registered Companies maintained by the DAC.
The new rules apply to contracts entered into with final consumers for the future sale of: a) all types of goods such as real estate, apartments and houses; b) memberships or affiliations in programs such as vacation plans, vacation clubs or similar structures; and c) unbuilt real estate developments such as social and tourism centers and urbanizations and/or condominiums.
Contracts regulated by these amended Regulation will be those in which performance by seller/developerdepend on a future event. A contract for future sale that depends on a future event, is defined as one where a buyer and a seller execute a contract for the purchase of a good, service and/or development on a certain date, but such good, service or development is completed, provided and/or delivered to buyer on a later date. Moreover, the obligation to complete/provide/deliver the good, service and/or development is assumed by seller.
The other element to fall into this category for the application of the new provisions is that the transaction is structured through an installment plan, where buyer is required to make partial deposits and payments to seller/developer before the real estate project is completed and transfer of title takes place. The registration filing therefore needs to include the plan for future sale of goods, services and/or developments (including presale of real estate units).
B. Approval of contract templates for future sales
A draft version of the intended contract for future sales, including the installment payment plan, must be submitted to the DAC for its approval. The DAC will review the contract template in order to determine if there are abusive or unconscionable provisions such as those that would: a) restrict consumer’s statutory rights; b) exonerate seller from the payment of damages; c) grant unproportionate benefits to seller or d) allow seller to unilaterally modify the contract. Moreover, the DAC will review the draft of the contract to guarantee the proportional relation between the payments being made by buyer and the terms and conditions of the contract. A list of minimum contents for the contract is included in the Regulation.
C. Fines and other penalties
If future sales are performed without authorization, a complaint may be filed before the National Consumer Commission that may: issue a precautionary measure to cease the future sales; refer the case to the Prosecutor Office; and impose a fine. The administrative ruling of the precautionary measure will be comunicated to the appropiate Municipality, the Ministry of Public Safety and the Ministry of Heath.
The administrative fine that may be imposed by the current Consumer Protection statute could amount to up to forty (40) minimum wage salaries for these type of events. As the minimum wage is approximately US$417, the maximum fine could roughly be US$16,680.
D. Stages
The Regulation establishes the special requirements needed for:
1. FIRST STAGE: Registration of the developer (to be completed on or before Friday, March 21, 2014), and
2. SECOND STAGE: Obtention of the authorization to be able to offer future sales, as well as the obligation to provide evidence of “economic solvency”, or a guarantee, if the solvency cannot be fulfilled.
II. REQUIREMENTS
Below is the list of information required to comply with both stages.
FIRST STAGE
(Due Date: Friday, March 21, 2014)
Requirements to Register the Company Responsible for the Future Sales.
• The real estate developers or the entity responsible of the future sales of the real estate development must be registered at the Consumer Support Office (“DAC” for its acronym in Spanish), which part of the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (“MEIC” for its acronym in Spanish)
• This registration must be only done once.
Action
1 Indicate address and e-mail for notifications.
2 Copy of the identification document of the legal representative (s).
3 Copy of the power of attorney or similar document that authorizes the legal representative to act on behalf of the company.
4 Corporate Certificate (in case of being a developer or corporation), with a validity of no more than three months.
5 Be up-to-date with its obligations with the Costa Rican Social Security. (“CCSS” for its acronym in Spanish).
6 Be registered at the Tax Administration and submit the tax return form of last fiscal year.
7 If what is offered depends upon a third person, then the original and copy of any commercial contract or agreement must be submitted to support the plan offered.
SECOND STAGE
(This stage must be completed prior to the offering of the Future Sales)
Authorization of the Future Sales.
***PLEASE TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THAT THE FUTURE SALES ALREADY SIGNED PRIOR TO THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE REGULATION MUST BE ADAPTED TO THE GUIDELINES PROVIDED BY MEIC.
Action
1 Fill Application IV. In this application, the requested information includes:
(i) Geographical location of the project to develop.
(ii) Number of residential units offered and types of plan.
(iii) Range of prices of the residential units.
(iv) The term to formalize the sale or deliver the residential unit.
(v) Percentage of contribution requested by the responsible of the plan and relationship between the price of the unit and possible forms of payment.
(vi) Indicate if there will be any kind of guarantee and its type.
(vii) Indication of the treatment given to the down payments of the consumers, in the case these payments have to be returned.
2 Certified copy (by a notary public) or original and copy to be confronted of the contract that will be submitted to the Engineers and Architects Board (“CFIA” for its acronym in Spanish).
3 Copy of models of contracts offered to the consumer.
4 Evidence of economic solvency of the entity responsible for the plan or the developer, as indicated in regulation N°37899-MEIC.
5 Financial detail of the origin of the funds.
Evidence of Economic Solvency
The economic solvency of the developer or the responsible of the plan must be demonstrated along with the Authorization Application of the respective plan, by complying with one the following alternatives:
a) A bank certification or any other document with the same legal force whereby the entity responsible for the plan demonstrates the percentage that will be financed by the financial institution.
b) If the Project does not apply to any bank financing, an accountant certification of an authorized public accountant should be filed indicating the following terms: i) that the entity responsible for the sales plan, the developer, or its partners, have enough equity for the carrying out of the project; or ii) that the entity responsible for the plan has open lines of credit that can be used for this purpose. Furthermore, the entity responsible for the plan will be required to render an affidavit that validates the statements indicated by the accountant.
In any of the above, the entity responsible for the plan or the developer, must file a certification that indicates the percentage of the project that will be financed by the contributions of the consumers (buyers).
About the Guarantee
The entity responsible for the plan or the Developer that fail to comply with the requirements for the economic solvency demonstration, must grant a certification issued by a financial entity, that indicates the financial method that the project will use for the management of the down payments and other sums of money expected as contributions received by consumers. The methods to be used can be trusts or down payment management plans established for this purpose. Alternatively, an insurance bond can be used for these purposes.
III. OUR SERVICES
BLP has professionals specializing in these areas, who can provide advice and legal counsel for the registration of the developer and the obtention of the of the authorization to be able to offer future sales.
Version Español:
Nuevas obligaciones para desarrolladores inmobiliarios para la venta a plazo de bienes inmuebles
REGISTRO OBLIGATORIO AL 21 DE MARZO DEL 2014
Como consecuencia directa de la reforma a la Ley de la Promoción de la Competencia y Defensa Efectiva del Consumidor (N°7472) del 05 de Octubre del año 2012, se publicó el Decreto 37899-MEIC, el cual contiene una reforma integral al Reglamento a dicha Ley, modificandose así numerosos temas, incluyendo el registro obligatorio de desarrolladores inmobiliarios y la obligación de obtener una pre-aprobación de los contratos de opción de compra, en los cuales se les solicita a los compradores efectuar pagos previo a la terminación y entrega del proyecto o unidad (ventas a plazo). Favor revisar la información que se detalla a continuación, en donde se describen las nuevas disposiciones para las ventas a plazo de bienes inmuebles.
I. REFORMAS RELEVANTES
A. Nuevas disposiciones para ventas a plazo de bienes o de ejecución futura de servicios
El nuevo Reglamento contiene las disposiciones mínimas que deben tener los planes de ventas a plazo, establece la obligación para los desarrolladores de obtener su debida autorización, así como el deber para estos de realizar su inscripción ante la Dirección de Apoyo al Consumidor (“DAC”). Aquellos desarrolladores que emitan planes de ventas a plazo pasarán a formar parte del Registro de Empresas que llevará esa Dirección.
La nueva regulación aplica en contratos suscritos con consumidores finales en ventas a plazo de: a) todos los tipos de bienes como bienes raíces, apartamentos y casas; b) membresías o afiliaciones en programas como planes vacacionales, clubes vacacionales o estructuras similares; y c) desarrollos inmobiliarios que no han sido construidos aún como centros turísticos y sociales, urbanizaciones y/o condominios.
Los contratos regulados por las modificaciones de este Reglamento serán aquellas en las cuales la actuación del vendedor/desarrollador dependa de un evento futuro. Un contrato de ventas a plazo que depende de un evento futuro, se define como aquel en el cual el comprador y el vendedor celebran un contrato para la compra de un bien, servicio y/o desarrollo en una fecha cierta y determinada, pero ese bien, servicio o desarrollo estará completo, será proveído y/o entregado al comprador en una fecha posterior. Además, la obligación de completar/proveer/entregar el bien, servicio y/o desarrollo es asumida por el vendedor.
El otro elemento que entra en esta categoría para la aplicación del nuevo Reglamento es que la transacción se estructura por medio de un plan de ventas a plazo, en el cual se requiere que el comprador efectue depósitos parciales y pagos al vendedor/desarrollador de previo a que el desarrollo se encuentre finalizado y la transferencia de título ocurra.
Por lo tanto, la solicitud de registro debe de incluir el plan de ventas a plazo de bienes, servicios y/o desarrollo (incluyendo la preventa de unidades habitacionales).
B. Aprobación de modelos de contratos de ventas a plazo
Un borrador de la versión del contrato destinado a ventas fututas, incluyendo el plan de ventas a plazo, deberá ser presentado ante la DAC para su aprobación. La DAC revisará el modelo del contrato para determinar si hay claúsulas abusivas o excesivas que: a) restrinjan los derechos del consumidor; b) exoneren al vendedor del pago de daños y perjuicios; c) concedan beneficios desproporcionados al vendedor; d) permitan al vendedor modificar unilateralmente el contrato. Además, la DAC revisará el modelo de contrato para garantizar la relación proporcional entre los pagos realizados por el comprador y los términos y condiciones del contrato. Un listado del contenido mínimo del contrato se incluye en el Reglamento.
C. Multas y otras sanciones
En caso de ventas de contratos de planes de ventas a plazo de bienes o ejecución futura de servicios sin autorización, se procederá a la interposición de una denuncia ante la Comisión Nacional del Consumidor la cual: procedera cautelarmente a la suspensión de la venta de planes de venta a plazo o de prestación futura de servicios; remitirá el caso al Ministerio Público, e impondrá la multa respectiva. La resolución administrativa que resuelva la medida cautelar deberá ser comunicada a la Municipalidad del lugar, al Ministerio de Seguridad Pública y al Ministerio de Salud.
La multa administrativa que podría ser impuesta por la Ley de Promoción de la Competencia y Defensa Efectiva del Consumidor será de hasta cuarenta (40) salarios base para este tipo de eventos. En la actualidad el salario mínimo es de US$487 y la multa máxima puede llegar a ser de US$16,680.
D. Etapas
1. PRIMERA ETAPA: Registro del desarrollador (a ser completado a más tardar el Viernes 21 de marzo del 2014) y
2. SEGUNDA ETAPA: Autorización del plan de ventas a plazo, así como las obligaciones de demostrar la solvencia económica o de rendir garantía en caso de que no se cumpla con dicha solvencia.
II. REQUISITOS
A continuación encontrarán el listado de información requerida para completar ambas etapas.
PRIMERA ETAPA
(Fecha de Vencimiento: viernes 21 de marzo 2014 –
La entrada en vigencia sería el domingo 23 de marzo 2014)
Requisitos para el Registro del Responsable del Plan
• Las empresas desarrolladoras inmobiliarias o los responsables del plan de ventas a plazo o prestación futura de servicios de desarrollo, deberán inscribirse ante el Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Comercio (“MEIC) en la Dirección de Apoyo al Consumidor (“DAC”).
• Este trámite se hará por una única vez.
Acción
1. Indicar medio para atender notificaciones.
2. Copia del documento de identidad del representante legal.
3. Copia del poder o documento que autorice al representante o apoderado (si es del caso).
4. Personería jurídica (en el caso de ser una empresa desarrolladora o entidad), la cual deberá tener una vigencia no mayor a tres meses de emitida.
5. Encontrarse al día con sus obligaciones ante la Caja Costarricense del Seguro Social (“CCSS”).
6. Inscripción ante Tributación Directa y presentación de la última declaración de renta ante el Ministerio de Hacienda.
7. Si lo ofrecido recae en una tercera persona se deberá de presentar original y copia de los acuerdos, convenios o vínculos comerciales que respalden el plan ofrecido.
SEGUNDA ETAPA
(Deberá completarse esta etapa de previo a la venta de planes)
Autorización de plan o planes de ventas a plazo de bienes inmuebles.
***TOMAR EN CUENTA QUE LOS PLANES YA FIRMADOS ANTES DE LA ENTRADA EN VIGENCIA DEL REGLAMENTO, DEBERÁN ADECUARSE A LOS LINEAMIENTOS ESTIPULADOS POR EL MEIC.
Acción
1. Completar Formulario IV. En este formulario se solicitan datos como la (i) ubicación geográfica del proyecto a desarrollar, (ii) número de unidades que se ofrecen y tipos de planes, (iii) rango de precios de los bienes inmuebles, (iv) plazos para formalizar la venta o entrega del bien, (v) porcentaje solicitado de aporte al consumidor por parte del responsable del plan en relación al precio del bien y posibles formas de pago, (vi) indicación de si rinde garantía y la forma en la que se hará, (vii) indicación del tratamiento de las sumas de dinero solicitadas como aportes del consumidor, en caso de que las mismas deban devolverse.
2. Copia certificada por notario público u original y copia para ser confrontada del contrato que se presenta ante el Colegio Federado de Ingenieros y Arquitectos de Costa Rica
3. Copia de los modelos de contrato de bienes inmuebles ofrecidos al consumidor.
4. Demostración de la solvencia económica del responsable del plan o desarrollador inmobiliario, de acuerdo a lo indicado en el Reglamento N°37899-MEIC.
5. Detalle del financiamiento según el origen de los fondos.
Comprobación de la solvencia económica
La solvencia económica del responsable del plan o desarrollador inmobiliario se demostrará junto con la solicitud de autorización del plan respectivo, mediante el cumplimiento de una de las siguientes alternativas:
a) Una certificación bancaria u otro documento con idéntico valor jurídico mediante el cual el responsable del plan demuestre el porcentaje a ser financiado por la entidad financiera.
b) En caso de que el proyecto inmobiliario utilice fondos que no provengan de un financiamiento bancario, deberá presentar una certificación de Contador Público Autorizado, que demuestre que el responsable del plan o la empresa desarrolladora inmobiliaria, o sus socios, cuentan con el capital suficiente para hacer frente a la ejecución del proyecto o en su defecto, que los responsables del plan cuentan con líneas de crédito abiertas que puedan ser utilizadas para tal fin. Asimismo, se deberá presentar una declaración jurada por parte del o los responsables del plan, que valide lo indicado por el contador.
En cualquiera de los supuestos anteriores, se deberá contar con una certificación que indique el porcentaje del total que será financiado con los aportes del consumidor en el proyecto.
Sobre la Garantía
El o los responsables del plan o desarrolladores inmobiliarios que no cumplan con lo requerido en la comprobación económica, deberán presentar como garantía una constancia o certificación emitida por una entidad financiera, que haga constar el método financiero que tiene el proyecto para el manejo de las primas y sumas de dinero que se reciban como aportes por parte de los consumidores. Estos métodos pueden ser fideicomisos o planes de manejo de primas, establecidos para tal fin. También, se podrá utilizar la figura del seguro.
III. NUESTROS SERVICIOS
BLP cuenta con profesionales especialistas en la materia, para brindar asesoría y consejo legal respecto del registro del desarrollador así como para la obtención de la autorización del plan de ventas a plazo.
New Obligations for Real Estate Developers Regarding Future Sales/Presales:
MANDATORY REGISTRATION DUE 3/21 /2014
As a direct consequence of the amendment to the Law on the Promotion of Competition and Effective Consumer Defense (N°7472) of October 5th,2012, Decree 37899-MEIC was published, containing an integral amendment to the Regulations of such Law; thus modifying a large number of matters, including mandatory registration of real estate developers and obligation to get pre-approval of option and sales contracts, where buyers are required to make payments before completion and delivery of the project/unit (future sales). Registration of Companies responsible for future sales must be completed by Friday, March 21st, 2014. Please see the information below for a description of the new provisions for future sales of Real Estate.
I. IMPORTANT REFORMS
A. New provisions for future sales
The new Regulation includes the minimum provisions required for future sales; and establishes the obligation for real estate development companies to obtain the proper authorization and their duty to perform their registration before the Consumer Support Office (“DAC” for its acronym in Spanish). The real estate development companies issuing future sales will become part of the List of Registered Companies maintained by the DAC.
The new rules apply to contracts entered into with final consumers for the future sale of: a) all types of goods such as real estate, apartments and houses; b) memberships or affiliations in programs such as vacation plans, vacation clubs or similar structures; and c) unbuilt real estate developments such as social and tourism centers and urbanizations and/or condominiums.
Contracts regulated by these amended Regulation will be those in which performance by seller/developerdepend on a future event. A contract for future sale that depends on a future event, is defined as one where a buyer and a seller execute a contract for the purchase of a good, service and/or development on a certain date, but such good, service or development is completed, provided and/or delivered to buyer on a later date. Moreover, the obligation to complete/provide/deliver the good, service and/or development is assumed by seller.
The other element to fall into this category for the application of the new provisions is that the transaction is structured through an installment plan, where buyer is required to make partial deposits and payments to seller/developer before the real estate project is completed and transfer of title takes place. The registration filing therefore needs to include the plan for future sale of goods, services and/or developments (including presale of real estate units).
B. Approval of contract templates for future sales
A draft version of the intended contract for future sales, including the installment payment plan, must be submitted to the DAC for its approval. The DAC will review the contract template in order to determine if there are abusive or unconscionable provisions such as those that would: a) restrict consumer’s statutory rights; b) exonerate seller from the payment of damages; c) grant unproportionate benefits to seller or d) allow seller to unilaterally modify the contract. Moreover, the DAC will review the draft of the contract to guarantee the proportional relation between the payments being made by buyer and the terms and conditions of the contract. A list of minimum contents for the contract is included in the Regulation.
C. Fines and other penalties
If future sales are performed without authorization, a complaint may be filed before the National Consumer Commission that may: issue a precautionary measure to cease the future sales; refer the case to the Prosecutor Office; and impose a fine. The administrative ruling of the precautionary measure will be comunicated to the appropiate Municipality, the Ministry of Public Safety and the Ministry of Heath.
The administrative fine that may be imposed by the current Consumer Protection statute could amount to up to forty (40) minimum wage salaries for these type of events. As the minimum wage is approximately US$417, the maximum fine could roughly be US$16,680.
D. Stages
The Regulation establishes the special requirements needed for:
1. FIRST STAGE: Registration of the developer (to be completed on or before Friday, March 21, 2014),and
2. SECOND STAGE: Obtention of the authorization to be able to offer future sales, as well as the obligation to provide evidence of “economic solvency”, or a guarantee, if the solvency cannot be fulfilled.
II. REQUIREMENTS
Below is the list of information required to comply with both stages.
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FIRST STAGE (Due Date: Friday, March 21, 2014) Requirements to Register the Company Responsible for the Future Sales. · The real estate developers or the entity responsible of the future sales of the real estate development must be registered at the Consumer Support Office (“DAC” for its acronym in Spanish), which part of the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (“MEIC” for its acronym in Spanish) · This registration must be only done once. |
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Indicate address and e-mail for notifications. |
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Copy of the identification document of the legal representative (s). |
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Copy of the power of attorney or similar document that authorizes the legal representative to act on behalf of the company. |
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Corporate Certificate (in case of being a developer or corporation), with a validity of no more than three months. |
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Be up-to-date with its obligations with the Costa Rican Social Security. (“CCSS” for its acronym in Spanish). |
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Be registered at the Tax Administration and submit the tax return form of last fiscal year. |
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If what is offered depends upon a third person, then the original and copy of any commercial contract or agreement must be submitted to support the plan offered. |
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SECOND STAGE (This stage must be completed prior to the offering of the Future Sales) Authorization of the Future Sales.
***PLEASE TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THAT THE FUTURE SALES ALREADY SIGNED PRIOR TO THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE REGULATION MUST BE ADAPTED TO THE GUIDELINES PROVIDED BY MEIC. |
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Action |
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Fill Application IV. In this application, the requested information includes: (i) Geographical location of the project to develop. (ii) Number of residential units offered and types of plan. (iii) Range of prices of the residential units. (iv) The term to formalize the sale or deliver the residential unit. (v) Percentage of contribution requested by the responsible of the plan and relationship between the price of the unit and possible forms of payment. (vi) Indicate if there will be any kind of guarantee and its type. (vii) Indication of the treatment given to the down payments of the consumers, in the case these payments have to be returned. |
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Certified copy (by a notary public) or original and copy to be confronted of the contract that will be submitted to the Engineers and Architects Board (“CFIA” for its acronym in Spanish). |
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Copy of models of contracts offered to the consumer. |
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Evidence of economic solvency of the entity responsible for the plan or the developer, as indicated in regulation N°37899-MEIC. |
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Financial detail of the origin of the funds. |
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Evidence of Economic Solvency The economic solvency of the developer or the responsible of the plan must be demonstrated along with the Authorization Application of the respective plan, by complying with one the following alternatives: |
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A bank certification or any other document with the same legal force whereby the entity responsible for the plan demonstrates the percentage that will be financed by the financial institution. |
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If the Project does not apply to any bank financing, an accountant certification of an authorized public accountant should be filed indicating the following terms: i) that the entity responsible for the sales plan, the developer, or its partners, have enough equity for the carrying out of the project; or ii) that the entity responsible for the plan has open lines of credit that can be used for this purpose. Furthermore, the entity responsible for the plan will be required to render an affidavit that validates the statements indicated by the accountant. |
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In any of the above, the entity responsible for the plan or the developer, must file a certification that indicates the percentage of the project that will be financed by the contributions of the consumers (buyers). |
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About the Guarantee |
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The entity responsible for the plan or the Developer that fail to comply with the requirements for the economic solvency demonstration, must grant a certification issued by a financial entity, that indicates the financial method that the project will use for the management of the down payments and other sums of money expected as contributions received by consumers. The methods to be used can be trusts or down payment management plans established for this purpose. Alternatively, an insurance bond can be used for these purposes. |
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III. OUR SERVICES
BLP has professionals specializing in these areas, who can provide advice and legal counsel for the registration of the developer and the obtention of the of the authorization to be able to offer future sales.
Credit: BLP Abogados Costa Rica