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LEASING INMOBILIARIO
Commercial and residential real estate are the two main categories of real estate, which are subject to transactions that stimulate the market and represent not only a place to carry out an activity or live, but also an investment or an element that fuels the financial system. Real estate and residential leasing aims to formalize rent-to-own transactions, giving tenants the option to purchase the property by paying the rent.What is it?Heleasing inmobiliarioIt is a financing tool for the acquisition of real estate, primarily real estate, through a rental period with an option to purchase at the end of the lease agreement. This option is an alternative, not an obligation, on the part of the lessee. Within a period defined by the lease agreement, the lessor grants the lessee use in exchange for a periodic fee, giving the lessee the option to acquire the property at a later date, with the remaining payment being the contractually established amount.Residential Leasehold Law with Purchase Option.File No. 22,455 called ““Residential Leasehold Law with Purchase Option”, currently in the legislative process, seeks to create the concept of residential leasing to meet and address the population's housing needs and offer new products to the financial system. The proposed residential real estate leasing would apply to the purchase option for completed housing units, as well as those under construction, which would boost real estate development and facilitate access to financing for a segment of the population that finds it difficult to access financing or purchase housing units. The bill establishes three forms of leasing, which until now have been linked to personal property, which are:trading, through which the person, with their rental payments, reserves savings to finance the down payment on the property in the event of a possible purchase;financial, where the property is purchased through payments set out in a lease agreement; in these cases, the property becomes the property of the tenant until the full amount is paid and, finally,operating lease, where the property is rented for a fixed period without a purchase option. It also recognizes three authorized financial operators: financial entities regulated by the General Superintendency of Financial Entities (SUGEF), investment fund management companies regulated by the General Superintendency of Securities (SUGEVAL), and housing leasing real estate companies authorized by law; these entities will be supervised by the National Council for the Supervision of the Financial System (CONASSIF) through a registry that will monitor and control the operators. Housing leasing real estate companies will be those that acquire or build homes to lease them with a purchase option, for which the text authorizes them as indirect financial lessors. Subsidiary entities may also be established. Housing leasing contracts will be subject to administrative registration, along with the entry of the contract in the Property Registry. This entails paying particular attention to the registry, tax, and administrative implications that may arise from the implementation and development of businesses using this innovative option, since individuals can finance leasing transactions through equity, loans, or any other financing method permitted by law. Regarding tax aspects, it is worth noting that the installments agreed upon in the contract must be recorded by the lessee as deductible from income tax for the calculation of income tax for the respective fiscal period. A 50% exemption from the capital gains tax on the transfer of real estate is proposed.How does payment work?The lessee, i.e., the person renting, must deposit into the landlord's bank account, designated by regulation for this purpose, the monthly amount covering the down payment or advance payment for the property, the security deposit, the financial lease fee, the monthly property maintenance fee, savings for the down payment, and any other amounts that may be defined in the contract. These funds will be non-attachable, not subject to precautionary measures, and will be a fund independent of the Authorized Operator's assets. The administration and operation of the accounts, under the supervision of the financial governing bodies, guarantees legal security for the lessee and landlord, given the validity and effectiveness of the contractually established commercial relationship. To exercise the purchase option, the renter must have made all the agreed-upon installments and pay the residual value at which the property is estimated, or, failing that, use the savings to pay the down payment defined on the purchase value determined from the beginning of the contractual relationship. The text contemplates the options to be followed in the event of a lease assignment and the procedural methodology for breach of the contract clauses, eviction from the leased property, and compensation established by the bill and in accordance with national regulations. It is undoubtedly of interest to follow the development of this bill, since the leasing regulation provides greater financing options and opens the door to new developments that will boost financial, economic, and social operations. For any questions or assistance, please contact us at the following email addresses:evargas@lexincorp.com,ccartin@lexincorp.cominfocr@lexincorp,com. [/vc_column_text][us_separator][vc_column_text]Written by: José Esteban Madrigal M. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
