Architect urges change in HLURB mandate

One of the country’s top architects, Gilbert Yu, is urging government to revise the mandate of the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB).

Yu said the HLURB is already "obsolete" and does not respond anymore to the needs of the real estate, housing and construction industry at this time.

For instance, Yu cited the grant of a "permit to sell" by the HLURB to developers only gives a "false sense of security" to buyers.

But the reality is, the HLURB permit "does not guarantee delivery" by the developers to the buyers, Yu said.

He explained that the 20-percent bond required by the HLURB from developers for the protection of buyers in the event the project is not completed is actually "unclaimable" due to several defects.

For one, Yu said buyers cannot claim from the bond if they are not yet fully paid.

Secondly, the bond has an expiry date and the developer gets off the hook if his failure to complete a project is caused by a third party, Yu said.

This could be due to a bank refusing to release funds to the developer, Yu said.

Thus, Yu pointed out that the HLURB system of granting a "Permit to Sell" and requiring a bond, only leads potential buyers to believe that the developer is capable of completing the project.

Hence, the HLURB should be given more power to supervise developers and ensure that they complete their projects although changing the HLURB’s mandate may require legislation that would still take some time, Yu added.