THE House committee on housing and urban development has committed to pass during the resumption of session on Jan. 16 measures which provide added protection for buyers of subdivision and condominium units.
Quezon City Rep. Jose Christopher Belmonte, committee vice chairman, said his panel would vote on House Bill 1337, authored by Rep. Scott Davies Lanete, 3rd District, of Masbate, HB 3150 by Rep. Gary Alejano of Magdalo party-list and Rep. Victor Yap of Tarlac, when session resumes after a month-long holiday break.
Belmonte said Presidential Decree 957, or the “Regulating the Sale of Subdivision Lots and Condominiums, Providing Penalties for Violations Thereof” issued on July 12, 1976, is an antiquated order that needs updating and strengthening 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 would amend certain provisions of P.D. 957 to enhance protection for subdivision and condominium buyers from fraudulent and unscrupulous subdivision and condominium developers and sellers.
Alejano voiced concern 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 who buy properties without seeing the actual purchased units.
In filing the measure, Alejano pushed for stiffer penalties to discourage condominium and subdivision developers/owners from continuously committing violations.
Moreover, he asked the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board to provide the committee with the list of complaints against the developers so Congress could act on them accordingly.
Lanete, another author of the bill, shared Alejano’s view, adding oftentimes the developers and sellers would 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 aimed 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.
Similarly, Yap said his bill sought 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.
The HLURB, in a position paper on the proposals presented before Belmonte’s panel, 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 backed the proposal to increase the amount of fines for the violations committed by developers as this would add more teeth in requiring the developer to secure a license before making any sales.
“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 stressed.