House Developers Warned on Defective Units

House developers warned on defective units


MANILA, Philippines—Vice President Noli de Castro said on Tuesday he would revoke the license to sell of housing developers who failed to comply with the specifications, facilities and amenities they committed to homebuyers.

De Castro issued the warning following complaints received by his office involving a housing project in Rizal owned by REDEVCO.

He said that based on the complaints, the housing units sold by REDEVCO were defective and that the subdivision did not have permanent power and water supply.

“If these allegations are true, then the rights of the homebuyers were violated. Proper remedies must be extended to these buyers who were made to believe that they got the units that were marketed to them. They were clearly shortchanged,” De Castro said.

De Castro instructed the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) to investigate these allegations.

The HLURB, one of the six key shelter agencies under the supervision of De Castro as chair of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), exercises jurisdiction over complaints from homebuyers and issues concerning homeowners’ associations.

“I encourage homebuyers to make sure they know what they are buying. They should inspect their units and ensure that the specifications and facilities mentioned in the marketing materials are available. The homebuyer should be informed of all the details before he or she is being made to sign documents on unit acceptance,” De Castro stressed.

In a preliminary meeting with HLURB, De Castro quoted REDEVCO owner Jayson Pascual as saying that the board was encountering problems with homebuyers who moved in but refused to pay the electric and water bills.

Pascual said that he was currently shouldering the cost of these utilities because the homeowners refused to cooperate. He also learned about two homeowners associations in the subdivision.

De Castro ordered the Home Development Mutual Fund, or Pag-IBIG Fund, to suspend all loan applications involving the REDEVCO project and to demand the buy back by the developer of all defective units.

Since February 2008, Pag-IBIG has already stopped the take-out of housing loan accounts being delivered by REDEVCO.

“I shall go after all erring developers who prey on unsuspecting buyers. We have been exercising flexibility to facilitate and ease up access to homeownership,” the Vice President said.

Resource:
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20090505-203257/House-developers-warned-on-defective-units
Image:
2010presidentiables.wordpress.com