DHSUD allows contractors to defer filing of proof of compliance in BHDP

The Department of Human Settlements  and Urban Development (DHSUD) has allowed contractors to defer their submission of the so-called proof of compliance to the Balanced Housing Development Program (BHDP) in a bid to streamline its processes.

In a news statement, DHSUD said a new department order will expedite the issuance of licenses to sell (LS). Prior to the latest order, developers are required to submit this requirement before a project starts.

With this, developers can submit a certificate of registration (CR) or LS and apply for its accreditation within the first half of the time of completion provided in the LS of the main project.

“We are enforcing [this] to minimize the adverse impact of the ongoing crisis to the housing sector. Through this, we aim to ease the financial impact of the Covid-19 on the real-estate business, stimulate construction activity, while promoting employment to help our economy recover from the health crisis,” DHSUD Secretary Eduardo del Rosario said.

The new rules, referred to as the “Deferment of Compliance in Light of the Covid-19 pandemic,” will cover all subdivision and condominium projects required to comply with the BHDP.

This also includes all socialized housing in a new settlement, joint-venture socialized housing projects with local government units, housing agencies and nongovernment organizations.

The DHSUD also said the new rules will cover undertakings by the community mortgage program through land development and those involving the purchase of Asset-Backed Securities.

Subdivision and Housing Developers Association Inc. (SHDA) President Rosie Tsai said they are thankful to the DHSUD for the deferment. The deferment will allow them to complete projects faster and at more efficient costs.

“We can undertake financially viable projects faster with this deferment,” Tsai said.

She added that the deferment will also allow developers to prepare for or avoid possible price increases that could occur between the time they begin a project to the time they complete it because they can finish projects early.

Meanwhile, Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) Vice President Marife M. Ballesteros told the BusinessMirror that the BHDP is in itself a hindrance to the development of the housing sector.

“The balance housing is a tax on land development [and] should be scrapped. [It would be] better to use direct tax on development and on property ownership,” Ballesteros said in a message.

The proceeds from direct taxes, Ballesteros added, could then be used by the government to finance socialized housing projects.