Future purchases of economic housing units should comply with the newly released rules on income and assets, the Housing Bureau (IH) announced yesterday.
The government announced a new minimum and maximum monthly income rule and a new cap for applicants’ net assets for the housing units on Monday, pursuant to a Chief Executive Dispatch.
Considering the usual wait for available housing units after application submission is counted in years, the IH issued a statement to clarify the income and asset caps buyers should comply with.
It cited the Economic Housing Law that stipulates buyers of economic housing units should comply with the latest income and asset requirements deemed by the Chief Executive as empowered by the Law.
On this ground, the IH noted, those who made applications in 2021 should provide updated proof of their financial eligibility for housing units at the time of purchase, should they see the chance of purchasing one.
court clarifies law on asset acquisition
Regarding two separate economic housing applications, the Court of Final Appeal has made a legal alignment ruling about the acquisition of real property before concluding the purchase of an economic housing unit.
The issue arose when the Court of Second Instance made differing judgments in two cases with similar points for debate. The appellants in both cases had applied for economic housing before the promulgation of the first version of the Economic Housing Law in 2011. Later, they signed a pre-purchase agreement with the IH before the updated version of the same Law in 2020.
Coincidentally, an appellant’s core family member pre-purchased and the other appellant’s core family member purchased real property units, in the time between their initial application submission and their purchase of the economic housing units.
The then Director of Housing nullified both pre-purchase agreements and eliminated both applications, on the grounds of acquisition of real property units.
Nonetheless, the second court ruled in favor of one appellant but against the other, citing the same legal provision: Clause 8, Article 14 of the Economic Housing Law No. 13/2020.
Hence, the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) filed for an appeal for legal alignment.
The top court cited Clause 1, Article 60 of the Economic Housing Law, promulgated on Oct. 1, 2011, to prove that all unconcluded purchases of economic housing units should comply with the same Law. Given that both pre-purchase agreements were made in 2013, they should both be under the Economic Housing Law.
The two subsequent amendments to the same Law have changed the eligibility exclusions – Clause 8, Article 14 of the amended Law – that are applicable on applications made before the promulgation of the 2020 amendment.
The top court said applicants will be ineligible should they currently own or where they previously owned real property in Macau in the five years before their application submission and the day they choose their preferred economic housing units, pursuant to the latest version of the Economic Housing Law.
