Chapter 3 (clean copy) PDF

# COMPENDIUM OF HOUSING LAWS, RULES, AND REGULATIONS, ANNOTATED ## DHSUD Department Orders and Memoranda - DHSUD Department Order No. 2021-004, Series of 2021, Providing for the Participations of Developers as Incentivized Compliance to the Balanced Housing Development Program, thereby Amending Sec...

# COMPENDIUM OF HOUSING LAWS, RULES, AND REGULATIONS, ANNOTATED ## DHSUD Department Orders and Memoranda - DHSUD Department Order No. 2021-004, Series of 2021, Providing for the Participations of Developers as Incentivized Compliance to the Balanced Housing Development Program, thereby Amending Sections 4.4 and 11 of HLURB Resolution No. 965, Series of 2017 [2021] - DHSUD-NEDA Joint Memorandum Circular No. 2023-003 Re: Adjusting the Price Ceiling for Socialized Subdivision and Condominium Projects [2023] - National Human Settlements Board (NHSB) Resolution No. 2023-03 Re: Rent Control Covering the Period January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024 [2023] - DHSUD Department Circular No. 2024-005, Re: Codification of Requirements, Rules, Regulations, and Procedure to Streamline and Standardize the Housing and Real Estate Development Regulation and Homeowners' Associations and Community Development [2024] ## **3.1. THE CONDOMINIUM ACT OR REPUBLIC ACT NO. 4726** - Republic Act No. 4726, or what is commonly known as the "Condominium Act", was enacted on June 18, 1966. (See HOUSING LAW NO. 1) - It defines the term "condominium" as an interest in real property consisting of: - a separate interest in a unit in a residential, commercial, or industrial building; and - an undivided interest in common, directly or indirectly, in the land on which it is located and other common areas of the building. - It may include, in addition, a separate interest in other portions of such real property. ### **3.1.1. Application of the condominium Act** - The Condominium Act applies only if the enabling or master deed is registered in the registry of property (Office of the Register of Deeds) and annotated on the certificate/s of title of the land, if such was registered under the Land Registration Act, the Property Registration Decree, or the Cadastral Act. ### **3.1.2. Enabling or master deed** - An "enabling or master deed" is the instrument required by law to be recorded in the proper Register of Deeds (RD) to give effect to the division of a property into condominiums pursuant to the provisions of the Condominium Act or RA 4726. ### **3.1.3. Contents of an enabling or master deed** - An "enabling or master deed" shall contain, among others, the following: - Description of the land on which the building or buildings and improvements are located or are to be located - Description of the building or buildings, stating the number of storeys and basements, the number of units and their accessories, if any. - Description of the common areas and facilities - A statement of the exact nature of the interest acquired or to be acquired by the purchaser in the separate units and in the common areas of the condominium project - Statement of the purposes for which the building or buildings and each of the units are intended or restricted as to use - A certificate of the registered owner of the property, if he is other than those executing the master deed, as well as of all registered holders of any lien or encumbrance on the property, that they consent to the registration of the deed - The following plans which shall be appended to the deed as integral parts of it: - A survey plan of the land included in the project, unless a survey plan of the same property had previously been filed in the said office; and - A diagrammatic floor plan of the building or buildings in the project, in sufficient detail as to identify each unit, its relative location, and approximate dimensions; and - Any reasonable restriction not contrary to law, morals, or public policy regarding the right of any condominium owner to alienate or dispose of his condominium. ### **3.1.4. Amendment or revocation of the enabling or master deed** - The "enabling or master deed" may be amended or revoked upon the registration of an instrument executed by a simple majority of the registered owners of the property. - In a condominium project exclusively for either residential or commercial use, simple majority shall be on a per unit of ownership basis. - In the case of mixed use, simple majority shall be on a floor area of ownership basis. - However, such amendment or revocation may be effected only after prior notifications to all registered owners are effected. - Any amendment or revocation already decided by a simple majority of all registered owners shall be submitted to the DHSUD and the city or municipal engineer for approval before it can be registered. - Until the registration of a revocation, the provision of the Condominium Act or RA 4726 shall continue to apply to such property. ### **3.1.5. Effect on the common areas of the transfer or conveyance of a condominium unit** - Any transfer or conveyance of a unit or an apartment, office, or store or other space in a condominium shall include the transfer or conveyance of: - the undivided interests in the common areas; or - in a proper case, the membership or shareholdings in the condominium corporation. ### **3.1.6. Acts of conveyance or transfer of a condominium unit that is prohibited by law in cases where the common areas in the condominium project are owned by the owners of the separate units as their co-owners; exception to the prohibition** - What the law proscribes is the act of conveying or transferring a condominium unit to persons other than Filipino citizens or to corporations other than those of which at least sixty (60) percent of the capital stock belong to Filipino citizens. - The exception is when the conveyance or transfer is through hereditary succession. ### **3.1.7. Acts of conveyance or transfer of a condominium unit that is rendered invalid in cases where the common areas in a condominium project are held by a corporation** - The law holds as invalid such concomitant transfer of the appurtenant membership or stockholding in the corporation as will cause the alien interest in such corporation to exceed the limits imposed by the Constitution or existing laws. ### **3.1.8. Incidents of a condominium grant** - Unless otherwise expressly provided in the "enabling or master deed" or the "declaration of restrictions", the incidents of a condominium grant are as follows: - The boundaries of the unit granted are the interior surfaces of its perimeter walls, floors, ceilings, windows, and doors - An exclusive easement for the use of the air space encompassed by the boundaries of the unit as it exists at any particular time and as the unit may lawfully be altered or reconstructed from time to time. - Unless otherwise provided, the common areas are held in common by the holders of units in equal shares, one for each unit. - A non-exclusive easement for ingress, egress, and support through the common areas is appurtenant to each unit and the common areas are subject to such easements. - Each condominium owner shall have the exclusive right to paint, repaint, tile, wax, paper, or otherwise refinish and decorate the inner surfaces of the walls, ceilings, floors, windows, and doors bounding his own unit. - Each condominium owner shall have the exclusive right to mortgage, pledge, or encumber his condominium and to have the same appraised independently of the other condominiums, but any obligation incurred by such condominium owner is personal to him; and - Each condominium owner has also the absolute right to sell or dispose of his condominium, unless the master deed contains a requirement that the property be first offered to the condominium owners within a reasonable period of time before the same is offered to outside parties. ### **3.1.9. Declaration of Restrictions** - A "Declaration of Restrictions" is a document which is appended to or the provisions of which form part of the "Enabling or Master Deed" which the owner of a condominium project is required to register prior to the conveyance of any condominium (unit) in it. - It contains such restrictions as will constitute a lien upon each condominium (unit) in the project and insure to and bind all condominium owners in the project. - Such liens, unless otherwise provided, may be enforced by any condominium owner in the project or by the management body of such project. - The "enabling or master deed" to which the "declaration of restrictions" is either appended in a separate document or incorporated in its provisions shall be entered and annotated upon the certificate of title covering the land included within the project, if the land is patented or registered under the Cadastral Act or the Property Registration Decree ### **3.1.10. General provisions of a Declaration of Restrictions** - The declaration of restrictions shall provide for the management of the project by any one of the following management bodies: - a condominium corporation; - an association of the condominium owners; - a board of governors elected by the condominium owners; or - a management agent elected by the owners or by the board named in the declaration. - It shall also provide for: - voting majorities; - quorums; - notices; - meeting date; and - other rules governing such body or bodies. - As to any such management body, such declaration of restrictions, among other things, may also provide for: - its powers, including the power to enforce the provisions of the declarations of restrictions; - the maintenance of insurance polices, insuring the condominium owners against loss by fire, casualty, liability, workmen's compensation, and oilier insurable risks, and for the bonding of the members of any management body; - the maintenance, utility, gardening, and other services benefiting the common areas; - the employment of personnel necessary for the operation of the building, and legal, accounting, and other professional and technical services; - the purchase of materials, supplies, and the like needed by the common areas; - the payment of taxes and special assessments which would be a lien upon the entire project or common areas; - the discharge of any lien or encumbrance levied against the entire project or the common areas; - the reconstruction of any portion or portions of any damage to or destruction of the project; - the manner of delegation of its powers; - the entry by its officers and agents into any unit, when necessary, in connection with the maintenance or construction for which such body is responsible; - a power of attorney to the management body to sell the entire project for the benefit of all of its owners when partition of the project may be authorized under Section 8 of the Condominium Act or RA 4726, which said power shall be binding upon all of the condominium owners regardless of whether they assume the obligations of the restrictions or not; - the manner and procedure for amending such restrictions: Provided, That the vote of not less than a majority in interest of the owners is obtained; - the independent audit of the accounts of the management body; - the reasonable assessments to meet the authorized expenditures, with each condominium unit to be assessed separately for its share of such expenses in proportion (unless otherwise provided) to its owner's fractional interest in any common areas; - the subordination of the liens securing such assessments to other liens either generally or specifically described; and - conditions, other than those provided for in Sections 8 and 13 of the Condominium Act or RA 4726, upon which partition of the project and dissolution of the condominium corporation may be made. ### **3.1.11. Rights of a condominium unit owner** - The rights of a condominium unit owner include the following: - Right of absolute ownership of his unit; - Right of co-ownership of the land and the common áreas; - Right of exclusive easement of the space of his unit; - Right of non-exclusive easement to the common areas for ingress or egress; - Right to participate and vote in condominium corporation meetings; - Right to repair, paint, (and/or) decorate the interior surface of his unit; and - Right to sell, lease, or mortgage his. unit. ### **3.1.12. Obligations of a condominium unit owner** - The duties of a condominium unit owner are as follows: - Compliance with the use restrictions; - Giving other unit owners the priority right to buy his unit (right of first refusal), if so required by the master deed; - Payment of dues and assessments; - Payment of insurance on his unit; - Payment of the realty tax on his unit; - Sharing the insurance on the common areas; and - Sharing the real property tax on the land and the common areas. ### **3.1.13. Kinds of dues and assessments that a condominium unit owner is usually required to pay** - The Deed of Restrictions usually provides for two (2) kinds of assessments, namely: - Regular assessment This refers to the monthly obligation to fund ordinary project expenses, such as: - security; - garbage collection; - repair and maintenance of the common areas; - electricity and water bills on the common areas; and - real property tax (RPT) and insurance on the common areas; and - Special assessment This is imposed as the need arises such as, for instance, the need for the immediate replacement of the power generator of the condominium. ### **3.1.14. Effects of the non-payment of dues and assessment** - The non-payment of condominium dues and assessment are: - The management body may constitute a lien on the delinquent condominium unit by registering with the RD a notice of assessment and delinquency - Such lien may be enforced in the same manner provided by law for the judicial or extra-judicial foreclosure of mortgage. - Unless otherwise provided in the declaration of restrictions, the condominium corporation may bid at the foreclosure sale; and - The unit owner affected shall have the same right of redemption as in cases of judicial or extra-judicial foreclosure of mortgage ### **3.1.15. Division or partition of the common áreas** - As a rule, the common áreas shall remain undivided, and there shall be no judicial partition of such áreas. ### **3.1.16. Instances when partition may be permitted** - Where several persons own condominium units in a condominium project, an action may be brought by one or more such persons for its partition by sale of the entire project, as if the owners of all of the condominiums in such project were co-owners of the entire project in the same proportion as their interests in the common areas. - A partition shall be made only upon a showing that: - three (3) years after the damage or destruction to the project which renders a material part o* it unfit for its use. the project has not been rebuilt or repaired substantially to its state prior to its damage or destruction; or - the damage or destruction to the project has rendered one-half (1/2) or more of the units in it untenantable and that the condominium owners holding in aggregate more than thirty percent (30%) interest in the common áreas are opposed to the repair or restoration of the project; or - the project has been in existence in excess of fifty (50) years, that it is obsolete and uneconomic, and that the condominium owners holding in aggregate more than fifty percent (50%) interest in the common áreas are opposed to the repair or restoration or remodeling or modernizing of the project; or - the project or a material part of it has been condemned or expropriated and that the project is no longer viable, or that the condominium owners holding in aggregate more than seventy percent (70%) interest in the common áreas are opposed to the continuation of the condominium regime after the expropriation or condemnation of a material portion of it; or - the conditions for such a dissolution set forth in the declaration of restrictions of the project in which the corporation owns or holds the common áreas, have been met. - The condominium corporation may also be dissolved by the affirmative vote of all its stockholders or members at a general or special meeting duly called for the purpose: Provided, That all the requirements of the Revised Corporation Code or RA 11232 are complied with. ### **3.1.17. Corporate purposes of a condominium corporation** - The condominium corporation shall constitute the management body of the condominium project whenever the common áreas in the project are held by such corporation. - The corporate purposes of the said corporation shall be limited to: - the holding of the common áreas, either in Ownership or any other interest in real property recognized by law; - the management of the project; and - such other purposes as may be necessary, incidental or convenient to the accomplishment of said purposes. ### **3.1.18. Setting up of a condominium corporation** - If no unit will be sold to aliens, the setting up of a condominium corporation is optional. - However, if some condominium units, not exceeding forty percent (40%) interest in the project, will be sold to foreigners, the corporation is mandatory to ensure that the title to the land, when transferred in the name of the condominium corporation, will comply with the constitutional requirement that corporations may acquire lands in the Philippines only if at least sixty percent (60%) of its capital stocks or membership is owned by or made up of Filipino citizens. ### **3.1.19. Resolution of conflict between the articles of incorporation of the condominium corporation and the enabling or master deed** - In case of conflict between the articles of incorporation of the condominium corporation and the master deed of the condominium project, the latter should always prevail because: - it is the master deed which gives birth to the condominium project. - The project cannot exist without a master deed, but it can exist without a condominium corporation; and - the Condominium Act or RA 4726 specifically provides that the articles of incorporation and by-laws of the condominium corporation shall not conflict with the master deed. ### **3.1.20. Transferability of membership in a condominium corporation separately from the condominium unit of which it is an appurtenance** - Membership in a condominium corporation, regardless of whether it is a stock or non-stock corporation, shall not be transferable separately from the condominium unit of which it is an appurtenance. - When a member or stockholder ceases to own a unit in the project in which the condominium corporation owns or holds the common áreas, he shall automatically cease to be a member or stockholder of the condominium corporation. ### **3.1.21. Term of a condominium corporation** - The term of a condominium corporation shall be co-terminus with the duration of the condominium project, the provisions of the Revised Corporation Code of the Philippines (Republic Act No. 11232) to the contrary notwithstanding. - This means that a condominium corporation may exist in accordance with the corporate life provided for in its articles of incorporation; in the absence of such provision, it shall have a perpetual existence. ### **3.1.22. Effect on the common áreas owned or held by the condominium corporation in case of its involuntary dissolution** - In case of the involuntary dissolution of a condominium corporation for any of the causes provided by law, the common áreas owned or held by the corporation shall, by way of liquidation, be transferred pro-indiviso and in proportion to their interest in the corporation to its members or stockholders, subject to the superior rights of the corporation's creditors. - Such transfer or conveyance shall be deemed to be a full liquidation of the interest of such members or stockholders in the corporation. - After such transfer or conveyance, the provisions of the Condominium Act (RA 4726) governing the undivided co-ownership of, or undivided interest in, the common áreas in condominium projects shall fully apply. ### **3.1.23. When a condominium corporation may be voluntarily dissolved** - Until the enabling or the master deed of the project in which the condominium corporation owns or holds the common area is revoked, the corporation shall not be voluntarily dissolved through an action for dissolution under Rule 104 of the Rules of Court, except upon a showing that: - three (3) years after the damage or destruction to the project in which the corporation owns or holds the common areas. which damage or destruction renders a material part of it unfit for its use prior to such damage or destruction, the project has not been rebuilt or repaired substantially to its state prior to its damage or destruction; or - the damage or destruction to the project has rendered one-half (1/2) or more of the units in it untenantable and that more than thirty percent (30%) of the members of the corporation, if non-stock, or the shareholders representing more than thirty percent (30%) of the capital stock entitled to vote, if a stock corporation, are opposed to the repair or reconstruction of the project, or - the project has been in existence in excess of fifty (50) years, that it is obsolete and uneconomical, and that the condominium owners holding in aggregate more than fifty percent (50%) of the members of the corporation, if non-stock, or the stockholders representing more than fifty percent (50%) of the capital stock entitled to vote, if a stock corporation, are opposed to the repair or restoration or remodeling or modernizing of the project; or - the project or a material part thereof has been condemned or expropriated and that the project is no longer viable, or that the members holding in aggregate more than seventy percent (70%) interest in the common áreas are opposed to the continuation of the condominium regime after the expropriation or condemnation of a material portion of it; or - the conditions for such a dissolution set forth in the declaration of restrictions of the project in which the corporation owns or holds the common áreas, have been met. - The condominium corporation may also be dissolved by the affirmative vote of all its stockholders or members at a general or special meeting duly called for the purpose: Provided, That all the requirements of the Revised Corporation Code or RA 11232 are complied with. ### **3.1.24. Effects of the voluntary dissolution of a condominium corporation** - Unless otherwise provided in the Deed of Restrictions, the corporation shall be deemed to hold a power of attorney from all the members to sell their separate interests in the project. - The liquidation of the corporation shall be effected by the sale of the entire project, subject to the rights of individual creditors. ## ** 3.2. THE REALTY INSTALLMENT BUYER ACT (MACEDA LAW) OR REPUBLIC ACT NO. 6552** - "Maceda Law" is the common title given to Republic Act No. 6552 or the "Realty Installment Buyer Protection Act" (See HOUSING LAW NO. 2) in attribution to its principal author in the Senate, the late former Senator Ernesto Maceda. - The law which tool effect on August 26, 1972 was aimed at protecting the buyers of real estate on installment payments against the onerous and oppressive conditions being imposed then by some subdivision and condominium developers. ### **3.2.1. Transactions covered by the Maceda Law** - Maceda Law covers all transactions or contracts involving the sale or financing of real estate on installment payments, including residential condominium apartments, but excludes industrial lots, commercial buildings, and sales to tenants under RA 3844, as amended by RA 6389. ### **3.2.2. Kinds of buyers accorded protection by the Maceda Law** - The following buyers are given proteção under the law: - Those who have paid less than two (2) years of installments; and - Those who have paid at least two (2) years of installments. ### **3.2.3. Rights to which the buyer who has paid at least two (2) years of installments is entitled in case he defaults in the payment of the succeeding installments** - The defaulting buyer who has paid at least two (2) years of installments is entitled under the Maceda Law to the following rights: - To pay, without additional interest, the unpaid installments due within the total grace period earned by him which is fixed at the rate of one (1) month grace period for every one (1) year of installment payments made. - If the contract is canceled, to be refunded by the seller the cash surrender value of the payments on the property equivalent to fifty per cent (50%) of the total payments made, and, after five (5) years of installments, an additional five per cent (5%) every year but not to exceed ninety per cent (90%) of the total payments made. - To sell his rights or assign the same to another person or to reinstate the contract by updating the account during the grace period and before the actual cancellation of the contract; and - To pay in advance any installment or the full unpaid balance of the purchase price any time without interest and to have such full payment of the purchase price annotated in the certificate of title covering the property. ### **3.2.4. Rights of the buyer who has paid less than two (2) years of installments in the event he defaults in the payment of succeeding installments** - The defaulting buyer who has paid less than two (2) years of installments shall have the right: - To be given a grace period of not less than sixty (60) days from the date the installment became due within which to settle his accounts; - To sell his rights or assign the same to another perso by notarial act or to reinstate the contract by updating the account during the grace period and before the actual cancellation of the contract; and - To pay in advance any installment or the full unpaid balance of the purchase price any time without interest and to have such full payment of the purchase price annotated in the certificate of title covering the property. ### **3.2.5. Seller's recourse should the buyer be unable to pay the installments due after the expiration of the grace period given him** - If the buyer fails to pay the installments due at the expiration of the grace period, the seller may cancel the contract after thirty (30) days from receipt by the buyer of: - the notice of cancellation; or - the demand for rescission of the contract by a notarial act. ### **3.2.6. What are included in the computation of the total number of installment payments made?** - The following are included in the computation of installments made by the buyer: - down payments; - deposits; or - options on the contract. ### **3.2.7. Mandatory requirements for a valid and effective cancellation of the contract under the Maceda Law** - Before a contract to sell can be validly and effectively cancelled, the seller has to comply with the following requirements: - To send a notarized notice of cancellation to the buyer; and - To refund to the buyer the cash surrender value. ### **3.2.8. Effect of the seller's failure to comply with the mandatory twin requirements for a valid and effective cancellation of the contract to sell** - Unless the seller complies with the above mandatory requirements, the contract to sell between the parties shall remain valid and subsisting. - Thus, the buyer has the right to continue occupying the property subject of the contract to sell and may "still reinstate the contract by updating the account during the grace period and before the actual cancellation" of the contract.  ### **3.2.9. Instance when the buyer may ask for a full refund one hundred percent (100%) of the total payments made plus interest** - The buyer shall have the right to claim a full refund of the total payments made by him plus interest only when the developer fails to complete the development of the project within the regulation period approved by the DHSUD. - This right is given not under the Maceda Law (RA 6552) but under the Subdivision and Condominium Buyers' Protective Decree or PD 957. ## **3.3. THE SUBDIVISION AND CONDOMINIUM BUYERS' PROTECTIVE DECREE OR PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 957** - Also known as the "Subdivision and Condominium Buyers' Protective Decree," Presidential Decree No. 957 was signed into law on July 12, 1976. [See HOUSING LAW NO. 3] - This statute paved the way for the institution of measures geared towards strengthening the protective mantle of the law on homebuyers and regulating further the real estate trade business and practice for their benefit. - Placed at the forefront of the regulatory structure was the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) which was tasked, among others, to have the: - exclusive jurisdiction to regulate the real estate trade and business in accordance with the provisions of PD 957, as amended; and - continuing authority to issue the necessary standards, rules, and regulations for the effective implementation of the provisions of the said law. - Said regulatory and rule-making powers were assumed by the HLURB's successor, the DHSUD, upon the enactment of RA 11201. ### **3.3.1. Purpose of PD 957** - PD 957 is an offshoot of the acknowledgment by the government of the need to use the long arm of the law in running after unscrupulous businessmen preying on the hapless homebuyers and running away with these poor men's hard-earned money. - Time and again, reports have been made both in the broadcast, print, and, of late, the social media about real estate owners, developers, salesmen, brokers, and dealers reneging on their promises a representations to promptly deliver the titles to their subdivision and condominium buyers upon full payment of the contract price as well as on their obligations to provide and properly maintain subdivision roads, drainage, power supply, sewerage, water systems, lighting systems, and other basic amenities. - The non-fulfilment of such contractual duties has, to some extent, caused irreparable injury to and endangered the lives, health, and safety of purchasers of subdivision houses and lots and condominium units. - Incidents of swindling and deceptive machinations committed by scheming subdivision and condominium salesmen and agents such as failure to deliver the certificates of title free from liens and encumbrances to the buyers and to pay the real estate taxes on them as well as fraudulent sales of the same subdivision lots or condominium units to multiple innocent purchasers for value had in the past increased to such an alarming magnitude that it necessitated sterner measures from the government. - Such state of affairs then pervading rendered it imperative for the government to "come to the rescue," so to speak, in order to bail out the unsuspecting poor homebuyer from the nefarious practices of some predators masquerading themselves as legitimate real estate practitioners. - Hence, in order that the real estate subdivision and condominium businesses can be closely supervised and regulated and SO that fraudulent practices and manipulations committed in connection with it can be properly penalized, the State has seen fit to enact laws for the protection for homebuyers one of which is PD 957 which was signed into law on July 12, 1976. ### **3.3.2. PD 957 regulates the real estate trade and business** - PD 957, as amended by PD 1216, vested the HLURB (now the DHSUD) with exclusive jurisdiction to regulate the real estate trade and business in accordance with its provisions. ### **3.3.3. Rules and Regulations Implementing PD 957** - In 2001, the "Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (RIRR) for PD 957" was approved by the Board of Commissioners of the then HLURB under Board Resolution (BR) Nos. 699 and 700. [See HOUSING RULE/REGULATION NO. 11] - Since then, the RIRR was amended by the following Resolutions: - BR No. 725, series of 2002, "Amending the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations for Presidential Decree No. 957 and Batas Pambansa No. 220"; - BR No. 748, series of 2003, "Further Relaxing the Requirements for the Issuance of Certificate of Registration and License to Sell"; - BR No 763, series of 2004, "Amending Sections 9, 10 & 11 of the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations for PD 957" - BR No. 794, series of 2006, "Amending Provision on Signatories to Subdivision Development Plan and Site Development Plan for Projects under PD 957 & BP 220"; - BR No. 812, series of 2007, "Approving the Fastracking of the Issuance of Certificate of Registration and License to Sell"; - BR No. 839, series of 2009, "Requiring Subdivision and Condominium Owner / Developer to Submit a Copy of the Special / Temporary Permit from the Professional Regulations Commission and of the Separate Permit from the Department of Labor and Employment for Foreign Architects who Signed on Plans Required Under the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of PD 957 and BP 220"; and - BR No. 830-A, series of 2009, "Amending the Minimum Level of Development Requirement in the Issuance of License to Sell for Subdivision and Condominium Projects under Board Resolution No. 830, Series of 2008". - The RIRR implements the provisions of PD Nos. 957. 1216, 1344, and other related laws applicable to medium cost and open market subdivision and condominium projects. ### **3.3.4. Medium cost and open market projects; selling prices** - The term "medium cost and open market projects" refers to housing projects: - where the prices of house and lot packages are within the suggested price ranges as determined by the DHSUD; and - falling under the standards prescribed in the RIRR for PD 957. - The selling price of the medium cost housing unit is above 3,000,000.00 up to 4,000,000.00 while that of the open market housing unit is above 4,000,000.00. - Low-cost housing selling price, meanwhile, is above P2,500,000.00 up to 3,000,000.00 per PD 957 standard. ### **3.3.5. Registration of Subdivision and Condominium Projects** - In the case of a subdivision projects, the registered owner of a parcel of land who is interested to convert the same into a subdivision project shall file and submit his application for the approval of his proposed Subdivision Plan (SP) to the concerned city or municipality which shall act upon and approve the same, and issue a Development Permit (DP) authorizing the owner or developer to commence the development of the subdivision project. - The registered owner shall then submit his Subdivision Plan to the DHSUD which shall act upon and approve the same upon a finding that the plan complies with the Subdivision Standards' and Regulations enforceable at the time the Plan is submitted. - The same procedure shall be followed in the case of a Plan for a Condominium Project, except that, in addition, the DHSUD shall act upon and approve the Condominium Plan (CP) with respect to the building or buildings included in the condominium project in accordance with the National Building Code (PD 1096 and its IRR). - The Subdivision Plan, as approved, shall be submitted to the Director of Lands (now the concerned CENRO of the DENR) for approval in accordance with the procedure prescribed in Sections 49 and 50 of PD 1529 or the Property Registration Decree. - The Condominium Plan, as likewise approved, shall be submitted to the Register of Deeds (RD) of the province or city in which the property lies and the same shall be acted upon, subject to the conditions and in accordance with the procedure prescribed in Section 4 of the Condominium Act or RA 4726. - The DHSUD shall issue a formal certificate in favor of the applicant-project proponent called the Certificate of Registration (CR) that certifies the viability of the project as well as the capability of the developer in implementing the same. - It will also issue a License to Sell (LS) to a project with approved Subdivision or Condominium Plan that complies with the required minimum standards on lot sizes, floor áreas, open spaces, parks and playgrounds, street widths, sidewalks, and sewer and drainage system, among others. ### **3.3.6. Certificate of Registration (CR)** - A "Certificate of Registration (CR)" is the instrument issued by the DHSUD to the registered owner of a parcel of land who wishes to convert the same into a subdivision project and submits his/its subdivision plan to the DHSUD which shall act upon and approve the same, upon a finding that the plan complies with the Subdivision Standards' and Regulations enforceable at the time the plan is submitted. - The same instrument shall be issued in the case of a plan for a condominium project, except that, in addition, the DHSUD shall act upon and approve the plan with respect to the building or buildings included in the condominium project in accordance with the National Building Code (PD 1096). ### **3.3.7. License to Sell (LS)** - A "License to Sell