AL passes public housing sale regime after first reading without amendment

The Legislative Assembly (AL) has passed, after a first reading, the “Regime for the Transfer of Autonomous Units of Buildings Used for Economic Acquisition Housing and Intermediate Housing,” also called the Public House Sale Regime.

The bill, embroiled in controversy earlier this month when lawmakers forced the government to postpone voting on it, has now passed, with the support of all plenary members but one.

Alone, lawmaker Ron Lam stood against the bill, continuing to express the same concern that he had earlier raised: that the government returned to the AL to discuss the bill without one single amendment to it.

Lam raised his initial concerns when the bill was first presented Feb. 5.

This time, lawmakers seemed convinced the bill would pose no problems, rendering it safe to enact. Some, however, hinted at having a few lingering concerns, but they said they were content to address these behind the closed doors of the AL Standing Committee, which will address the bill in more detail.

One matter in play is the fact that, through the bill, the Land Law states that from 2014 the land in Macau belongs to the State (China) with the Macau Special Administrative Region to have only the right to use it.

Contrary to previous practice, where buyers of units situated on public housing developments would acquire those proprieties from the Housing Bureau (IH), the former entity that government granted land plots to, the government now seeks to remove this step, with buyers acquiring units directly from the government.

This change confused several lawmakers, who were unable to understand where responsibility for the developments lay, particularly in the event of construction defects.

Without clearly explaining how the procedure will be made, the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raimundo do Rosário, continued to claim that “unit buyers will not be affected” and will “not suffer any impact” from this change of policy.

Another of the issues raised regarded the establishment of a sale price for this type of housing, including not only the regular economic acquisition but also the new “sandwich class” housing, a development that has been stopped by the government.

Lawmaker Ron Lam also expressed concerns over the lack of a promoter or concessionaire for the land, since the law that establishes the price for the rental of the land plots states that a premium is to be paid annually by any intermediate entity as a rental for the use of the land.

The bill has now been distributed to the Third Standing Committee of the AL, which will soon start discussing it in detail.