HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT TEMRS

Development Rights

also known as new use rights , refers to the right to use and/or develop land and improvements thereon including putting them to a more intensive use, conversion to a more profitable use, increasing density and the like.

Land Assembly

refers to the acquisition of lots varying ownership through, among others, expropriation or negotiated purchase, for the purpose of planning and development unrestricted by individual property boundaries.

Land Banking

refers to the acquisition of land in advance of actual need for the purpose of acquiring lands at existing use value and disposing of them in a manner which would influence land price formation and promote planned development.

Land Exchange

refers to the process of bartering land for another piece of land and/or shares of stock of equal value in a government or quasi-government corporation.

Joint Ventures

refers to the commitment, for more than a limited duration, of funds, land resources, facilities and services by two or more legally separate interests, to an enterprise for their mutual benefit.

Tenant

refers to the rightful occupant of land and its structures, but does not include those whose presence on the land is merely tolerated and without the benefit of contract, those who enter the land by force or deceit, or those whose possession is under litigation.

Urban lands

refer to the lands which conform to any of the following criteria: (1) In their entirety, all cities and municipalities which have the population density of at least 1,000 persons per square kilometer and where at least 50 percent of the economically active population are engaged in non-agricultural activities. (2.) All barangays comprising the former poblacion or barangays including a part of the former poblacion of cities or municipalities which have a population density of greater than 500 but less than 1,000 persons per square kilometer; and where at least 50 percent of the economically active population engaged in non-agricultural activities. (3.) All barangays not included in items 1 and 2 above which have a population size of at least 1,000 and where at least 50 percent of the economically active population are engaged in non-agricultural activities.

Urbanizable lands

refers to sites and land areas which, considering present characteristics and prevailing conditions, display a marked and high probability of becoming urban lands within the period of five to ten years.

Person

shall mean a natural or a juridical person. refers to a business firm whether a corporation, partnership, cooperative or associations or a single proprietorship.

Sale or selL

shall include every disposition, or attempt to dispose, for a valuable consideration, of a subdivision lot, including the building and other improvements thereof, if any, in a subdivision project or a condominium unit in a condominium project. Sale and sell shall also include a contract to sell, a contract of purchase and sale, an exchange, an attempt to sell, an option of sale or purchase, a solicitation of a sale, or an offer to sell, directly or by an agent, or by a circular, letter, advertisement or otherwise.

Buy and purchase

shall include any contract to buy, purchase, or otherwise acquire for a valuable consideration a subdivision lot, including the building and other improvements, if any, in a subdivision project or a condominium unit in a condominium project.

Subdivision project

shall mean a tract or a parcel of land registered under Act No. 496 which is partitioned primarily for residential purposes into individual lots with or without improvements thereon, and offered to the public for sale, in cash or in installment terms. It shall include all residential, commercial, industrial and recreational areas as well as open spaces and other community and public areas in the project.

Subdivision lot

shall mean any of the lots, whether residential, commercial, industrial, or recreational, in a subdivision project.

Complex subdivision plan

shall mean a subdivision plan of a registered land wherein a street, passageway or open space is delineated on the plan.

Condominium project

shall mean the entire parcel of real property divided or to be divided primarily for residential purposes into condominium units, including all structures thereon.

Condominium unit

shall mean a part of the condominium project intended for any type of independent use or ownership, including one or more rooms or spaces located in one or more floors (or part of parts of floors) in a building or buildings and such accessories as may be appended thereto.

Owner

shall refer to the registered owner of the land subject of a subdivision or a condominium project.

Developer

shall mean the person who develops or improves the subdivision project or condominium project for and in behalf of the owner thereof.

Dealer

shall mean any person directly engaged as principal in the business of buying, selling or exchanging real estate whether on a full-time or part-time basis.

Broker

shall mean any person who, for commission or other compensation, undertakes to sell or negotiate the sale of a real estate belonging to another.

Salesman

shall refer to the person regularly employed by a broker to perform, for and in his behalf, any or all functions of a real estate broker.

Affordable cost

refers to the most reasonable price of land and shelter based on the needs and financial capability of Program beneficiaries and appropriate financing schemes;

Areas for priority development

refers to those areas declared as such under existing statutes and pertinent executive issuances;

Blighted lands

refers to the areas where the structures are dilapidated, obsolete and unsanitary, tending to depreciate the value of the land and prevent normal development and use of the area.

Consultation

refers to the constitutionally mandated process whereby the public, on their own or through people's organizations, is provided an opportunity to be heard and to participate in the decision-making process on matters involving the protection and promotion of its legitimate collective interests, which shall include appropriate documentation and feedback mechanisms;

Idle lands

refers to nonagricultural lands urban and urbanized areas on which no improvements, as herein defined, have been made by the owner, as certified by the city, municipal or provincial assessor;

Improvements

refers to all types of buildings and residential units, walls, fences, structures or constructions of all kinds of a fixed character or which are adhered to the soil but shall not include trees, plants and growing fruits, and other fixtures that are mere superimpositions on the land, and the value of improvements shall not be less than fifty percent (50%) of the assessed value of the property;

Joint venture

refers to the commitment or agreement by two (2) or more persons to carry out a specific or single business enterprise for their mutual benefit, for which purpose they combine their funds, land resources, facilities and services;

Land assembly or consolidation

refers to the acquisition of lots of varying ownership through purchase or expropriation for the purpose of planned and rational development and socialized housing programs without individual property boundary restrictions;

Land banking

refers to the acquisition of land at values based on existing use in advance of actual need to promote planned development and socialized housing programs;

Land swapping

refers to the process of land acquisition by exchanging land for another piece of land of equal value, or for shares of stock in a government or quasi-government corporation whose book value is of equal value to the land being exchanged, for the purpose of planned and rational development and provision for socialized housing where land values are determined based on land classification, market value and assessed value taken from existing tax declarations: Provided, That more valuable lands owned by private persons may be exchanged with less valuable lands to carry out the objectives of this Act;

Land use plan

refers to the rational approach of allocating available land resources as equitably as possible among competing user groups and for different functions consistent with the development plan of the area and the Program under this Act;

Onsite development

refers to the process of upgrading and rehabilitation of blighted and slum urban areas with a view of minimizing displacement of dwellers in said areas, and with provisions for basic services as provided for in Section 21 hereof;

Professional squatters

refers to individuals or groups who occupy lands without the express consent of the landowner and who have sufficient income for legitimate housing. The term shall also apply to persons who have previously been awarded homelots or housing units by the government but who sold, leased or transferred the same to settle illegally in the same place or in another urban area, and nonbona fide occupants and intruders of lands reserved for socialized housing. The term shall not apply to individuals or groups who simply rent land and housing from professional squatters or squatting syndicates;

Resettlement areas

refers to areas identified by the appropriate national agency or by the local government unit with respect to areas within its jurisdiction, which shall be used for the relocation of the underprivileged and homeless citizens;

Security of tenure

refers to the degree of protection afforded to qualified Program beneficiaries against infringement or unjust, reasonable and arbitrary eviction or disposition, by virtue of the right of ownership, lease agreement, usufruct and other contractual arrangements;

Slum Improvement and Resettlement Program or SIR

refers to the program of the National Housing Authority of upgrading and improving blighted squatter areas outside of Metro Manila pursuant to existing statutes and pertinent executive issuances;

Small property owners

refers to those whose only real property consists of residential lands not exceeding three hundred square meters (300 sq. m.) in highly urbanized cities and eight hundred square meters (800 sq. m.) in other urban areas;

Socialized housing

refers to housing programs and projects covering houses and lots or homelots only undertaken by the government or the private sector for the underprivileged and homeless citizens which shall include sites and services development, long-term financing, liberalized terms on interest payments, and such other benefits in accordance with the provisions of this Act;

Squatting syndicates

refers to groups of persons engaged in the business of squatter housing for profit or gain;

Underprivileged and homeless citizens

refers to the beneficiaries of this Act and to individuals or families residing in urban and urbanizable areas whose income or combined household income falls within the poverty threshold as defined by the National Economic and Development Authority and who do not own housing facilities. This shall include those who live in makeshift dwelling units and do not enjoy security of tenure;

Unregistered or abandoned lands

refers to lands in urban and urbanizable areas which are not registered with the Register of Deeds, or with the city or municipal assessor's office concerned, or which are uninhabited by the owner and have not been developed or devoted for any useful purpose, or appears unutilized for a period of three (3) consecutive years immediately prior to the issuance and receipt or publication of notice of acquisition by the government as provided under this Act. It does not include land which has been abandoned by reason of force majeure or any other fortuitous event: Provided, That prior to such event, such land was previously used for some useful or economic purpose;

Urban areas

refers to all cities regardless of their population density and to municipalities with a population density of at least five hundred (500) persons per square kilometer;

Urbanizable areas

refers to sites and lands which, considering present characteristics and prevailing conditions, display marked and great potential of becoming urban areas within the period of five (5) years; and

Zonal Improvement Program or ZIP

refers to the program of the National Housing Authority of upgrading and improving blighted squatters areas within the cities and municipalities of Metro Manila pursuant to existing statutes and pertinent executive issuances.

Rent

shall mean the amount paid for the use or occupancy of a residential unit whether payment is made on a monthly or other basis.

Residential unit

shall refer to an apartment, house and/or land on which another's dwelling is located and used for residential purposes and shall include not only building houses, dormitories, rooms and bedspaces offered for rent by their owners, except motels, motel rooms, hotels, hotel rooms, but also those used for home industries, retail stores or other business purposes if the owner thereof and his or her family actually live therein and use it principally for dwelling purposes.

Lessee

shall mean the person renting a residential unit.

Owner/Lessor

shall include the owner or administrator or agent of the owner of the residential unit.

Sublessor

shall mean the person who leases or rents out a residential unit leased to him by an owner.

Sublessee

shall mean the person who leases or rents out a residential unit from a sublessor.

Abandoned subdivision or condominium

refers to a project whose development has not been completed in accordance with the approved development plan despite the lapse of at least ten (10) years from the target date of completion and it appears that said project owner or developer has no intention to complete the project development or, despite diligent effort for at least the last five (5) years, the project owner or developer cannot be located;

Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP)

refers to the document, formulated by the local government in consultation with its stakeholders, that defines or provides guidelines on the allocation, utilization, development and management of all lands within a given territory or jurisdiction according to the inherent qualities of the land itself and supportive economic, demographic, socio-cultural and environmental objectives;

Housing

refers to a multi-dimensional concept relating to the process of residing and the objects of dwelling whose main attributes are location relative to access to livelihood, tenure arrangements, cost and physical structure, as well as their environment. Housing is likewise a physical structure as well as a social structure, functioning at different spatial scales from homes, neighborhoods, communities, municipalities, cities, provinces, and regions. It is also a sector of the economy, an important category of land use in both urban and rural areas, especially in cities, and is an important factor in the overall dynamics of the urban system;

Human Settlements

comprise of (a) physical components of shelter and infrastructure; and (b) services to which the physical elements provide support, such as community services which include education, health, culture, welfare, recreation and nutrition;

Informal Settler Families (ISFs)

refer to households living in a lot, whether private or public, without the consent of the property owner; or those without legal claim over the property they are occupying; or those living in danger areas such as esteros, railroad tracks, garbage dumps, riverbanks, shorelines, and waterways;

) People's plan

refers to the plan formulated by the beneficiary-association, which shall contain a site development plan that conforms to the CLUP of the local government unit under whose jurisdiction the project site is proposed to be located, including community health, sanitation, and security plans, as well as non-physical development components such as self-help housing cooperative, livelihood, self-help development, capability building, and a system of allocation of socialized housing units that promote and protect the welfare of the elderly, persons with disability, and children;

Public housing

is housing that is owned and/or managed by the government for the purpose of providing housing to underserved families;

Urban Development

refers to the process of occupation and use of land or space for activities such as residential, industrial, commercial and the like or their combinations, necessary to carry out the functions of urban living. It entails the building or rebuilding of more or less permanent structures over land that is often withdrawn or converted from its original use, resulting in the creation of a built environment; and

Urban Development Planning

refers to the process that involves the planning of diverse elements that comprise an urbanizing and urbanized area, including its physical infrastructure, environment, housing, transportation and management of land use and urban growth.

Agricultural Product

includes the yield of the soil, such as corn, rice, wheat, rye, hay. coconuts, sugarcane, tobacco, root crops, vegetables, fruits, flowers, and their by-products; ordinary salt; all kinds of fish; poultry; and livestock and animal products, whether in their original form or not.

Amusement

is a pleasurable diversion and entertainment. It is synonymous to relaxation, avocation, pastime, or fun;

Amusement Places

include theaters, cinemas, concert halls, circuses and other places of amusement where one seeks admission to entertain oneself by seeing or viewing the show or performances;

Business

means trade or commercial activity regularly engaged in as a means of livelihood or with a view to profit;

Banks and other financial institutions

include non-bank financial intermediaries, lending investors, finance and investment companies, pawnshops, money shops, insurance companies, stock markets, stock brokers and dealers in securities and foreign exchange, as defined under applicable laws, or rules and regulations thereunder;

Capital Investment

is the capital which a person employs in any undertaking, or which he contributes to the capital of a partnership, corporation, or any other juridical entity or association in a particular taxing jurisdiction;

Charges

refers to pecuniary liability, as rents or fees against persons or property;

Contractor

includes persons, natural or juridical, not subject to professional tax under Section 139 of this Code, whose activity consists essentially of the sale of all kinds of services for a fee, regardless of whether or not the performance of the service calls for the exercise or use of the physical or mental faculties of such contractor or his employees.

Corporation

includes partnerships, no matter how created or organized, joint-stock companies, joint accounts (cuentas en participacion), associations or insurance companies but does not include general professional partnerships and a joint venture or consortium formed for the purpose of undertaking construction projects or engaging in petroleum, coal, geothermal, and other energy operations pursuant to an operating or consortium agreement under a service contract with the government. General professional partnership are partnerships formed by persons for the sole purpose of exercising their common profession, no part of the income of which is derived from engaging in any trade or business.

Countryside and Barangay Business Enterprise

refers to any business entity, association, or cooperative registered under the provisions of Republic Act Numbered Sixty-eight hundred ten (R.A. No. 6810), otherwise known as Magna Carta For Countryside And Barangay Business Enterprises (Kalakalan 20) ;

Dealer

means one whose business is to buy and sell merchandise, goods, and chattels as a merchant. He stands immediately between the producer or manufacturer and the consumer and depends for his profit not upon the labor he bestows upon his commodities but upon the skill and foresight with which he watches the market;

Fee

means a charge fixed by law or ordinance for the regulation or inspection of a business or activity;

Franchise

is a right or privilege, affected with public interest which is conferred upon private persons or corporations, under such terms and conditions as the government and its political subdivisions may impose in the interest of public welfare, security, and safety;

Gross Sales or Receipts

include the total amount of money or its equivalent representing the contract price, compensation or service fee, including the amount charged or materials supplied with the services and deposits or advance payments actually or constructively received during the taxable quarter for the services performed or to be performed for another person excluding discounts if determinable at the time of sales, sales return, excise tax, and value-added tax (VAT);

Manufacturer

includes every person who, by physical or chemical process, alters the exterior texture or form or inner substance of any raw material or manufactured or partially manufactured product in such manner as to have been put in its original condition, or who by any such process alters the quality of any such raw material or manufactured or partially manufactured products so as to reduce it to marketable shape or prepare it for any of the use of industry, or who by any such process combines any such raw material or manufactured or partially manufactured products with other materials or products of the same or of different kinds and in such manner that the finished products of such process or manufacture can be put to a special use or uses to which such raw material or manufactured or partially manufactured products in their original condition could not have been put, and who in addition alters such raw material or manufactured or partially manufactured products, or combines the same to produce such finished products for the purpose of their sale or distribution to others and not for his own use or consumption;

Marginal Farmer or Fisherman

refers to an individual engaged in subsistence farming or fishing which shall be limited to the sale, barter or exchange of agricultural or marine products produced by himself and his immediate family;

Motor Vehicle

means any vehicle propelled by any power other than muscular power using the public roads, but excluding road rollers, trolley cars, street-sweepers, sprinklers, lawn mowers, bulldozers, graders, fork-lifts, amphibian trucks, and cranes if not used on public roads, vehicles which run only on rails or tracks, and tractors, trailers, and traction engines of all kinds used exclusively for agricultural purposes;

Municipal Waters

includes not only streams, lakes, and tidal waters within the municipality, not being the subject of private ownership and not comprised within the national parks, public forest, timber lands, forest reserves or fishery reserves, but also marine waters included between two lines drawn perpendicularly to the general coastline from points where the boundary lines of the municipality or city touch the sea at low tide and a third line parallel with the general coastline and fifteen (15) kilometers from it. Where two (2) municipalities are so situated on the opposite shores that there is less than fifteen (15) kilometers of marine waters between them, the third line shall be equally distant from opposite shores of their respective municipalities;

Operator

includes the owner, manager, administrator, or any other person who operates or is responsible for the operation of a business establishment or undertaking;

Peddler

means any person who, either for himself or on commission, travels from place to place and sells his goods or offers to sell and deliver the same. Whether a peddler is a wholesale peddler or a retail peddler of a particular commodity shall be determined from the definition of wholesale dealer or retail dealer as provided in this Title;

Persons

means every natural or juridical being, susceptible of rights and obligations or of being the subject of legal relations;

Residents

refer to natural persons who have their habitual residence in the province, city, or municipality where they exercise their civil rights and fulfill their civil obligations, and to juridical persons for which the law or any other provisions creating or recognizing them fixes their residence in a particular province, city, or municipality. In the absence of such law, juridical persons are residents of the province, city, or municipality where they have their legal residence or principal place of business or where they conduct their principal business or occupation;

Retail

means a sale where the purchaser buys the commodity for his own consumption, irrespective of the quantity of the commodity sold;

Vessel

includes every type of boat, craft, or other artificial contrivance used, or capable of being used, as a means of transportation on water;

Wharfage

means a fee assessed against the cargo of a vessel engaged in foreign or domestic trade based on quantity, weight, or measure received and/or discharged by vessel; and

Wholesale

means a sale where the purchaser buys or imports the commodities for resale to persons other than the end user regardless of the quantity of the transaction.

Investing in the Philippines

shall mean making an equity investment in the Philippines through actual remittance of foreign exchange or transfer of assets, whether in the form of capital goods, patents, formulae, or other technological rights or processes, upon registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission; and

Withdrawal of approved investment

shall mean either: (a) the failure to operate the investment project for any three (3) consecutive years; or (b) outright abandonment of the investment project at any time during the approved lease period: Provided, That failure to pay lease rental for three (3) consecutive months coupled with the failure to operate the investment project for the same period shall be deemed an outright abandonment of the project.

Alley

a public way with a width of 2.0 meters intended to break a block and to serve both pedestrian and for emergency vehicles, both ends connecting to streets. It shall not be used as access to property.

Block

A parcel of land bounded on the sides by streets occupied by or intended for buildings.

Cluster Housing

single-family detached dwelling unit containing three or more separate living units grouped closely together to form relatively compact structures.

Community Facilities

facilities or structures intended to serve common needs and for the benefit of the community, such as neighborhood/multipurpose center, drugstore, school, livelihood center, and the like.

Dwelling

a building designed or used as residence for one or more families.

Single Detached

a dwelling for 1 family which is completely surrounded by permanent open spaces, with independent access, services, and use of land.

Duplex/Single Attached

a dwelling containing 2 or more separate living units each of which is separated from another by party or lot lines walls and provided with independent access, services, and use of land. Such dwelling shall include duplexes, quadruplex or terraces, and cluster housing.

Row house

a single-attached dwelling containing 3 or more separate living units designed in such a way that they abut each other at the sides, as in a row, and are separated from each other by party walls; provided with independent access, and use of land. There shall be a maximum of 20 units per block or cluster but in no case shall this be beyond 100 meters in length.

Single

family dwelling - shall mean single family per lot.

Multi Family Dwelling

a dwelling on 1 lot containing separate living units for 3 or more families, usually provided with common access, services and use of land.

Shell house

a habitable dwelling unit which meets the minimum requirements for a housing core with the following additional components being included as part thereof: 1) All exterior walls to enclose the unit 2) Openings for doors and windows 3) Plumbing fixtures 4) Electrical wiring within the unit 5) Floor

Complete House

a habitable dwelling unit which meets the minimum requirements for a shell house with the following additional components being included as part thereof: all windows and doors and partition walls for separating functional areas.