Developers gear up to HLURB’s amended IRRs

AT THE recent joint SHDA and OSHDP business forum held in Makati City, HLURB Commissioner and CEO Antonio Bernardo, is joined by (from left) SHDA corporate secretary Lillian Reyes, FVP Rodel Racadio, chair Ricky Celis, second vice president Fely Ramos and national president Armenia Ballesteros; and OSHDP chair Ryan Tan, secretary general Jefferson Bongat and PRO Santiago Ducay; and SHDA PRO-Internal Rene Ledesma Jr.

Early this year the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) released two sets of revised implementing rules and regulations (IRRs) for Presidential Decree No. 957—otherwise known as the “Subdivision and Condominium Buyers’ Protective Decree—to safeguard prospective buyers of real estate properties from possible fraud and other malpractices in the industry.

The amended IRRs were contained in Board Resolution No. 921 and 922 and signed by Vice President Jejomar Binay who is also chair of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council.

“It is important for developers including their brokers and agents to know how these new regulations apply to them and at the same time, how to maintain compliance. Indeed, laws and regulations on housing are constantly evolving that’s why getting updated to avoid law suits is important. In order to have clear guidance and prevent misinterpretation and ambiguity on the amended IRRs, the Subdivision and Housing Developers Association Inc. (SHDA) and the Organization of Socialized Housing Developers of the Philippines (OSHDP) arranged a business forum series with HLURB Commissioner and CEO lawyer Antonio Bernardo as one of the resource speakers,” SHDA president Armenia Ballesteros said.

After the first one held last Feb. 25 in Makati City and last March 4 in Cebu City, two more joint SHDA and OSHDP business forums were scheduled—one in Cagayan de Oro City on March 18 and the other in Iloilo City on March 23.

According to Bernardo, the business forum series not only prepares the developers and their staff on the amended IRRs. “This is also an opportunity to prepare all the HLURB offices in the implementation of these new IRRs. While the amendments took effect on Feb. 14, developers were given until April 15 to comply with the new requirements on ads as well the brokers/dealers/sellers for their registration with the HLURB.”

Real facts

Board Resolution No. 921, also known as the Revised IRR on Advertisements, states that any announcement about a project, or about its operations or activities, must reflect the real facts and must be presented in a manner that will not tend to mislead or deceive the public.

But before publishing any ads for the said project, the IRR also states that developers must first secure the approval of the HLURB and that they also cannot advertise such without securing a license to sell from the same agency.

Meanwhile, Board Resolution No. 922 or the “2014 Revised IRR on Dealers, Brokers and Salesmen” states that all brokers and salespersons must be registered and licensed or accredited by the Professional Regulatory Board of Real Estate Service before they can engage in the practice of real estate services.

Also under the revised IRR, even business firms must register first with the HLURB before they can engage in the practice of real estate service.