House Approves Bill Expanding Socialized Housing Options

The House of Representatives on Wednesday night approved on third and final reading a bill expanding the government’s socialized housing programs with increased land coverage as well as more diversified financing and partnership options. A total of 205 House members voted in favor of House Bill 969 while three were against it. The bill amends Sections 10, 18, and 20 of Republic Act No. 7279, or the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992, as amended by Republic Act No. 10884, or the Balanced Housing Development Program Amendments by providing for more methods in acquiring land and creating housing projects to include community mortgages, land swapping, land consolidation, land banking, donations, joint ventures, negotiated purchases, direct purchases and unsolicited proposals under the Public-Private Partnership Code. Likewise, the bill states that government-owned and foreclosed properties may be acquired by local governments, the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, and national housing agencies primarily through negotiated purchase. Properties forfeited because of unpaid real property taxes, on the other hand, would be prioritized for socialized housing, while qualified beneficiaries already occupying the land would receive the right of first refusal. Subdivision developers, on the other hand, would be required to provide socialized housing equivalent to at least 15% of the total project area or project cost, while condominium and vertical housing developers would comply at a rate of at least 5%. Developers may satisfy the requirement through new settlements, joint ventures, community mortgage projects or payments dedicated to housing programs in the city or municipality where the private project is located. The resulting housing projects would prioritize informal settler families, underprivileged and homeless citizens, and residents displaced by major infrastructure projects. Local governments, for their part, would receive a two-year exclusive period to use payments made by developers for their own socialized housing programs, subject to extensions during disasters, calamities, and other extraordinary circumstances. In addition, the bill provides for one-stop shops, simplified accreditation, and the issuance of complete permits, licenses, and clearances within 90 days, while extending qualified tax incentives to participating socialized housing projects. “President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ R. Marcos Jr. has made housing a central part of his development agenda, and Speaker Bojie Dy has ensured that the House responds with legislation that can actually move projects from paper to construction. HB 9697 gives government and the private sector more workable routes to provide ordinary families with safe, dignified, and affordable homes,” House Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Rep. Sandro Marcos, son of the President, said in a statement. “We are making housing policy more responsive to the realities faced by our communities. We can continue setting targets when there is not enough land and no clear plan to be of help to the local government units and private developers,” he added. —AOL, GMA News