HLURB to fund part of socialized housing cost
To address the country’s pressing socialized housing needs, a key official of the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) wants the agency to subsidize a portion of a socialized housing cost.
Speaking to local developers last Tuesday at the Golden Prince Hotel in Cebu City, HLURB CEO Atty. Lloyd Christopher Lao said the plan is to subsidize the excess of the P450,000 ceiling price for socialized housing.
“Whatever the difference in the pricing above P450,000 (...) will be paid to you so you can sell it for P450,000,” he told housing developers.
For instance, a developer who builds a subdivision or condominium project is required by law to build socialized housing equivalent to 15 percent of the total subdivision land area or project cost, and at least five percent of the total condominium cost. Generally, big-ticket developers commission another contractor or developer to build a socialized housing project for compliance.
Employees as homeowners
With the rising cost of land, the cost of one socialized housing unit may go beyond P450,000. The excess, said Lao, will be subsidized by HLURB, if this plan materializes.
The developers involved, however, need to prioritize their own employees who hold less than managerial positions as homeowners of the socialized housing project, added Lao.
“It will be advantageous to the contractor, compliant (developer), and the buyer,” he said.
Under the present regulation, one socialized housing unit can only be sold at a ceiling price of P450,000.
But with the increasing cost of land, it would be hard for developers to sell units at this price, especially if the location is near city centers.
Part of Lao’s plan is to adjust the ceiling price of socialized housing units if the location is close to the city.
“I’m planning to put some tiers based on the classification of municipalities. If you go closer to the highly-urbanized city, the ceiling (price) for socialized housing will be higher,” he said.
Green practices
Meanwhile, the official also encouraged developers to build socialized housing projects in a large land area so homeowners can adopt simple green practices, including gardening and backyard aquaponics.
He said that while adopting green technology in a socialized housing project would cost more, other green architecture advocates believe one can adopt green measures by simply creating a structure that allows more use of natural light.