Gov’t agencies help more communities gain access to housing

State run Social Housing Finance Corp. (SHFC) has forged an agreement with the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) to streamline the processes involved in the approval of housing applications for the marginalized communities.

More specifically, the commitment between SHFC and HLURB is expected to help speed up the processing and releasing of documents needed by various community associations applying for SHFC’s Community Mortgage Program (CMP).

In a statement, SHFC president Ma. Ana Oliveros explained that the streamlined process resulting from this government-to-government approach would “unburden the community associations and enable the poor to obtain security of tenure at the soonest possible time.”

“Housing is essential to poverty reduction; hence, the faster they get their houses, the earlier they can lift themselves out of poverty,” Oliveros added.

Based on the memorandum of understanding (MOU), the SHFC and the HLURB will establish a joint one-stop shop as well as a common databank for faster verification and processing. The two agencies will likewise identify priority projects and local government units where they can initially roll out this fast-tracking of housing applications.

This MOU would move forward the new guidelines that the agency signed in Naga City last August 18. Under the guidelines, SHFC will pay for several documentary requirements from other government agencies – such as HLURB – in behalf of the community associations. As a result, the community associations can save as much as  P117,000 in documentary fees.

Vice President Leni Robredo, who also serves as chair of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), was meanwhile quoted as saying that the agreement would help the poor save money and effort while applying for their housing programs.

The housing czar added that HUDCC is eyeing to implement a one-stop-shop service by October that will cover all the processes of the key shelter agencies.

Robredo earlier said that socialized housing backlog in the country stood at 5.7 million units. To address this backlog, she announced that they will be looking to create a more comprehensive roadmap to guide both the public and private sector; conduct an inventory of government property that can be converted into mass housing; find the right model that can be patterned after the best practices of countries such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand; streamline processes on both the supply and demand side; create a one-stop shop to expedite the processes involved; and provide tax breaks to make socialized housing an even more attractive venture for property developers.