MANILA -- A leader in the House of Representatives is urging the National Housing Authority (NHA) to develop mechanisms on the transfer of rights for the government housing units unlawfully sold by original beneficiaries to other qualified beneficiaries.
In House Resolution 1906, House Committee on Housing and Urban Development Alfredo Benitez said there are several cases where the beneficiaries of the NHA housing programs have either sold the housing units and lots awarded to them or have rented them out to other families.
Under the Urban Developoment and Housing Act, socialized housing units, including its improvement, cannot be “sold, alienated, conveyed, encumbered or leased by any beneficiaries."
Benitez further cited the law stating that “the unlawful sale, transfer or disposition of the lot awarded shall be null and void and the beneficiary will lose his/her right to the land.”
“The NHA should conduct a thorough investigation to identify the housing units that have been disposed by the original beneficiaries through sale or lease; and declare as null and void the transactions with the original beneficiaries as provided by law,” Benitez said in his resolution.
He said the NHA should also prioritize the actual occupants of the housing units disposed of by the original beneficiaries as the new beneficiaries of the units who will enter into a new contract with the agency. (PNA)
