Airbnb in Punta Cana Village: The Rules a Host Shares, and the Place That Differs

A search for an Airbnb in Punta Cana Village usually comes from someone who wants a short-term rental near the airport, whether to stay in or to own. Belara is not in Punta Cana Village, and this page says so at the start: Belara is a building of 59 residences in Green Village, a planned community inside Cap Cana, while Punta Cana Village is a separate residential community beside Punta Cana International Airport. What the two share is the national framework a host works under. What differs is the building's own rules and the neighbourhood a guest wakes up in. Both halves are set out below, so you can judge the choice on facts rather than on a place name.

Two neighbourhoods that share a city name

Punta Cana is a name used loosely for a long stretch of the east coast, which is why listings in quite different places can carry it. Punta Cana Village is one specific community. Its own description places it a two-minute drive from Punta Cana International Airport, with an international school, a hotel, a retail and dining galleria, churches, banks, medical centres and a gym. It is an everyday, lived-in address close to the terminal.

Belara is somewhere else. It stands in Green Village, a planned residential community inside Cap Cana, to the south. The building opens directly onto Green Village's central park, a small plaza with restaurants, a market and a beauty salon is steps away, and Juanillo Beach is roughly a 12-minute drive. The airport is about a 20-minute drive, measured from the developer's own map pin without traffic. Neither is right for every guest: one trades on being close to the terminal, the other on the park, the golf-course setting and the Cap Cana coast.

The rule that decides whether you can host is the building's

Dominican national law permits short-term rentals, so the question a buyer should ask is not whether Airbnb is legal in a given neighbourhood. The binding limit sits one level down, in each condominium's own reglamento: some buildings prohibit short stays, others set a minimum, and a unit in Punta Cana Village or anywhere else is governed by the rules of the building it is in.

For Belara the answer is published. Its rules allow short-term rentals from three nights, so a listing starts from a three-night minimum rather than one night. Before buying anywhere, ask for the reglamento itself and read the rental clause, because a sales description of it is not the document your guests and your neighbours will be held to.

Taxes a host carries, wherever the listing is

These apply in Punta Cana Village and in Cap Cana alike, because they are national. ITBIS, the Dominican value-added tax, is charged at 18% on short-term tourist accommodation, while housing let as a permanent home is exempt. The obligation to account for it falls on the host rather than on the platform the booking came through. Separately, an owner who is not tax-resident in the Dominican Republic is subject to a 27% withholding on gross rental income, applied without deductions and treated as final.

One misunderstanding is worth heading off. CONFOTUR, the tourism incentive law, exempts a qualifying purchase from the 3% transfer tax and the 1% annual IPI property tax for 15 years. Rental earnings are assessed under their own rules, set out above, and no source we can cite settles how the two interact on a particular purchase, so that is a question for your attorney. Never read an IPI exemption as a lower tax on rent. At Belara the classification is planned, not granted, so any figure that depends on it should be read with that condition attached.

Reading the developer's rental projection

The developer publishes a projected net return of 8.3% to 8.4% for Belara's one- and two-bedroom residences. Before you rely on it, read what it assumes. It takes occupancy at 70%, deducts a 20% management fee on gross revenue, running costs, association fees and insurance, and a reserve for replacing furniture and equipment, and it keeps 28 nights a year for the owner's own use. It also shows property tax at zero, which is only true if CONFOTUR is granted.

None of that makes the projection wrong, but it makes it conditional. A useful exercise is to rebuild it with your own occupancy, your own personal-use nights and IPI included, then compare. If your plan is to host through Airbnb yourself rather than through a manager, remove the management fee and put your own time in its place.

Preparing a Belara residence for its first guests

Hosting at Belara starts later than it would in an existing building, and with more to do.

1. Plan around delivery
   Belara is planned for delivery in Q4 2029. Nothing can be listed before handover, so any income model should start after that date, not at purchase.
2. Furnish the residence
   Residences come with a stove, fridge, oven, washer, dryer and VRF air conditioning, but no furniture. A guest-ready unit needs furnishing and equipping first, and that cost belongs in your numbers.
3. Set the listing to the building's rules
   Use a minimum stay of three nights, matching Belara's rules, and write the house rules from the reglamento rather than from memory.
4. Describe the building honestly
   Guests will judge the stay against the listing. Belara is not beachfront; say that Juanillo Beach is a short drive, and lead with what is on site: the lap pool and jacuzzi, the private cinema, the gym and spa, the rooftop track and the park reached from the atrium.
5. Register for your taxes
   Arrange ITBIS and, if you are not tax-resident, the rental withholding with a Dominican accountant before the first booking, not after the first payout.

Common questions

Is Belara in Punta Cana Village?

No. Punta Cana Village is a residential community a two-minute drive from Punta Cana International Airport. Belara is in Green Village, a planned community inside Cap Cana, about a 20-minute drive from the airport.

Can I rent a Belara residence on Airbnb by the night?

Short-term rentals are allowed at Belara, with a minimum stay of three nights. Single-night bookings would fall outside the building's rules.

What nightly rate does the developer's projection use?

It assumes an average of US$194.71 a night for the one-bedroom residence priced from US$318,701 and US$266.88 for the two-bedroom residence it models, both at 70% occupancy. These are the developer's projections, not guarantees, and actual rates depend on season and demand.

Does Airbnb pay the ITBIS for me?

Do not assume so. The 18% ITBIS on short-term tourist accommodation is the host's obligation to account for. Confirm with a Dominican accountant how your bookings should be declared.

Will CONFOTUR make my rental income tax-free?

Do not count on it: no source we can cite says so. CONFOTUR's exemptions are the 3% transfer tax and the 1% annual IPI on a qualifying purchase, while rental income is assessed under its own rules, so treat the combination as a question for your attorney. For Belara the CONFOTUR classification is still planned rather than granted.