House moves to protect home buyers

The House Committee on Housing and Urban Devel­opment is set to pass during the resumption of session next week the various mea­sures which provide further protection for buyers of sub­division and condominium units.

Rep. Jose Christopher Belmonte (6th District, Quezon City), committee vice chairman, gave the as­surance, saying their panel will vote on House Bill No. 1337, authored by Rep. Scott Davies Lanete (3rd District, Masbate), HB 3150 by Rep. Gary Alejano (Party-List, Magdalo) and HB 4534 by Rep. Victor Yap (2nd Dis­trict, Tarlac) when session resumes this month.

Belmonte said Presiden­tial Decree No. 957, other­wise known as “Regulating the Sale of Subdivision Lots and Condominiums, Provid­ing Penalties for Violations Thereof” issued on July 12, 1976, is an antiquated Mar­cos order that needs updat­ing and strengthening in order to guarantee further protection for property buy­ers.

“We must ensure the law that protects those that have the capacity to purchase subdivision or condomini­um units is made responsive to the needs of the times,” said Belmonte.

Alejano said his bill seeks to amend certain pro­visions of PD 957 to en­hance protection for sub­division and condominium buyers from fraudulent and unscrupulous subdivision and condominium develop­ers and sellers.

Alejano raised concerns about the violations being committed by subdivision and condominium develop­ers and sellers such as plan alteration to the detriment of buyers, especially overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who buy properties without seeing the actual purchased units.

Alejano pushed for stiff­er penalties to discourage condominium and subdi­vision from continuously committing violations.

Moreover, he asked the Housing and Land Use Reg­ulatory Board (HLURB) to provide the committee with the list of complaints against the developers so Congress can act on them accordingly.

Lanete echoed Alejano’s concerns, adding that often­times, the developers and sellers do not disclose ev­erything to the buyers when they offer land, real estate, houses, condominiums, de­velopment projects, and the like.

Lante said there must be full disclosure in the sale of subdivision and condomini­um units as it is the right of the buyers to know the con­ditions before they step into their purchased property.

Lanete said his bill aims to deter the deliberate viola­tion of the law by some un­scrupulous owners and de­velopers and ensure further the protection of buyers of condominium and subdivi­sion units.

Yap said his bill seeks to impose higher penalties for violations being committed by condominium and subdi­vision developers and sellers such as failure to complete the development of the proj­ect within the prescribed pe­riod and failure to deliver the title to the buyer or owner.

Rep. Gavini Pancho (2nd District, Bulacan) expressed support for the common proposal of the authors to impose higher penalties for violations by developers and sellers.

Rep. Winston Castelo (2nd District, Quezon City) asked the HLURB to provide the committee with the list of developers who are selling properties without license to sell so Congress could take the necessary action.

Rep. Rodel Batocabe (Pa­ry-List, AKO BICOL) sug­gested that as an additional protection for buyers of sub­division and condominium units, the substantive provi­sions of the contract given to buyers must be clearly stated in a separate document so the buyers could understand the basic terms and condi­tions of the contract.

The HLURB, which presented its position on the proposed House measures, suggested to include a pro­vision in the proposed leg­islation that states: “Sales made in the absence of a license to sell shall be re­scissible at the instance of the buyer provided that no such license to sell has yet been issued to the project at the time the rescission is sought and the buyer has not taken possession of the property purchased and the title has not been trans­ferred to the buyer’s name.”

The HLURB said the proposal would add more teeth in requiring the de­veloper to secure a license before making any sales.

The HLURB also sug­gested the inclusion of a provision on payment and financing scheme for the buyers and their specifics, such as what happens if the Pag-IBIG or bank loan is not granted and when to start the amortization, among others.

The HLURB has also expressed support for the proposal to increase the amount of fines for the vio­lations committed by devel­opers.