Registering as a condominium manager with DACO

It is registration in the registry the Department of Consumer Affairs maintains for those acting as condominium managers, under Act No. 129-2020. DACO publishes two distinct applications on its services page: the Condominium Managing Agent one and the Condominium Assistant Manager one. This guide describes the Assistant one, which is the one verified by opening the form. The sworn declaration accompanying the application includes an affirmation that the applicant has read Act 129-2020 and the regulations DACO issued under it, and acknowledges a continuing obligation to inform DACO of any change arising in the information supplied.

The form collects the individual applicant’s details: name, home or mobile and office or business phone numbers, the main activity they engage in, the profession or trade licence number if applicable, the identification number matching the required ID, the physical address of the office, business or residence, the postal address and the email. The application allows ticking whether it is new or a renewal. DACO does not publish experience or education requirements on the form, so this guide does not assert any.

• The Registry Entry Application sworn before a notary public.Verified against the official source
• Having read Act No. 129-2020 and the regulations DACO issued under it: the sworn declaration affirms it under oath.Verified against the official source
• Acknowledging the continuing obligation to inform DACO of any change arising in the information supplied in the application.Verified against the official source

• The individual’s negative criminal record certificate, issued less than three months ago.
• A recent 2x2 photograph of the applicant.
• ASUME debt certification.
• Photo identification issued by the Government of Puerto Rico, or a passport.
• A copy of a water, electricity or telephone bill evidencing the applicant’s physical address.
• Form DACO 1626, Declaration of Compliance with Responsibilities to Consumers.

1. 1

   Step 1: Get the criminal record certificate last

   It sounds backwards and it is not. DACO requires the negative criminal record certificate to have been issued less than three months ago. If you get it first and the rest of the file takes you a quarter, you arrive with an expired document. Get it when the rest is nearly ready.

2. 2

   Step 2: Request the ASUME certification

   It is an ASUME debt certification, and it is an errand at another agency. Just as with health professional recertification, it is the document people discover late.

3. 3

   Step 3: Budget for two payments, not one

   One hundred and fifty dollars for the application and one hundred dollars for form DACO 1626, the Declaration of Compliance with Responsibilities to Consumers, which the application itself lists among the required documents and whose cost it refers to Rule 7 of Regulation 7232. They are distinct charges for distinct things.

4. 4

   Step 4: Gather the ID and the proof of address

   Photo identification issued by the Government of Puerto Rico or a passport, plus a copy of a water, electricity or telephone bill evidencing your physical address. And a recent 2x2 photograph. The form also asks that the identification number you write matches the ID you present.

5. 5

   Step 5: Read Act 129-2020 before swearing

   The sworn declaration accompanying the application says, among other things, that you have read Act No. 129-2020 and the regulations DACO issued under it, and that in your judgement you have completed the applicable legal and regulatory requirements. It is signed before a notary public, with an affidavit number. It is not a decorative box.

6. 6

   Step 6: Choose in person, certified mail or online

   The payment method accepted depends on the route: in person or by certified mail, cash, cheque or money order payable to the Secretary of the Treasury; through “online renewals”, credit card or bank account. DACO has six offices and its main line is 787-722-7555.

Before DACO, in person or by certified mail at one of its six offices, or through its online services in the case of renewals. The main line is 787-722-7555, and the Licences extension in San Juan is 14007. The Central Offices are at Centro Gubernamental Minillas, Ave. De Diego Stop 18, 7th floor, San Juan.

• Budgeting $150 and running into the separate $100 charge for form DACO 1626.
• Getting the criminal record certificate first and arriving with one over three months old.
• Leaving the ASUME certification to the end, an errand at another agency.
• Submitting the application without swearing it before a notary public.
• Bringing an ID whose number does not match the one written on the application.
• Assuming the Managing Agent’s requirements are the same as the Assistant’s.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Departamento de Asuntos del Consumidor (DACO)

  DACO

  www.daco.pr.gov

• Condominium Assistant Manager permit application (docs.pr.gov)

  DACO

  docs.pr.gov

• DACO — regional offices

  DACO

  www.daco.pr.gov