Source: Office of the Secretary for Administration and Justice (GSAJ)

In accordance with Law No. 8/2019 “Legal framework for the Provision of Temporary Housing and Home Swap Housing under the Urban Renewal Scheme” Article 12 Paragraph 2, pre-sale buyers of condominiums under construction affected by an annulment of a provisional land concession as well as those being transferred with a property’s sale and purchase agreement can buy a home-swap housing unit on condition that they have registered the ownership of their properties based on Law No. 7/2013 “Legal framework on the Promissory Purchase and Sale Agreement of Buildings Under Construction” Article 10, also known as the Pre-sale Law.

Therefore, only pre-sale buyers affected by the cancellation of a land concession with the registration of their property ownership are qualified for the purchase of a home swap housing unit. The setting of the above-mentioned article is with the aim of using the registration mechanism to verify the authenticity and validity of the property’s sale and purchase agreement, in addition to verifying whether the unit under construction has undergone conveyancing and the identity of the last buyer(s). At the same time, information of the unit’s legal status can be made known and it is effective in preventing third parties from intervening.  

The Pre-sale Law came into force on 1 June 2013. Once the provisional registration of the condominiums of “Pearl Horizon” development project has been completed on 4 April 2014, pre-sale buyers could apply for the ownership registration of the properties they purchased.