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

The SAR Government had drafted a bill on the “Legal Framework for the Provision of Temporary Housing and Home Swap Housing under the Urban Renewal Scheme” and was passed by the Legislative Assembly (AL) after rounds of discussions. The law came into force on 24 April 2019 with the intention of pushing forward the city’s urban renewal.

Article 12 of the above-mentioned law indicates a ‘‘special provision’’ that allows pre-sale buyers affected by the cancellation of provisional land concession to purchase home swap housing units, which provides a legal foundation for the construction of those units for ‘‘Pearl Horizon’’ pre-sale buyers to purchase.

According to a Chief Executive Order, starting from 17 June, Macau Urban Renewal Limited (MUR) accepts applications from “Pearl Horizon” pre-sale buyers to apply to purchase home swap housing units. According to MUR’s information, most of them have submitted their applications in the first phase of the application process, including the main members of the Pearl Horizon Condominium Owners United Association. 

The purpose of Temporary Housing and Home Swap Housing is to meet the housing needs of property owners affected by home demolition or redevelopment, therefore Law No. 8/2019 “Legal Framework for the Provision of Temporary Housing and Home Swap Housing under the Urban Renewal Scheme” sets out the limitations regarding the eligibility and number of applications. Each property owner or each couple can only apply for one temporary housing unit or one home swap housing unit regardless of the number of units a property owner or a married couple owned that are affected by demolition or redevelopment. A “Pearl Horizon” pre-sale buyers applying for home swap housing also need to abide by relevant laws and regulations in the same way.

Property owners, who are affected by home demolition or redevelopment, need to present their property registration documents when applying for temporary housing or home swap housing in order to verify their eligibility. According to the “Legal Framework for the Provision of Temporary Housing and Home Swap Housing under the Urban Renewal Scheme”, only applicants who have registered their ownership of the units they purchased as required by Law No. 7/2013 “Legal Framework for the transaction of real estate under construction” (also known as “Pre-sale Law”) are eligible for the purchase of home swap housing units. 

The reason for this arrangement is that property registration can achieve the legal effect of publicity and opposition to third parties. Only through property registration can the identity of the pre-sale buyer be legally recognised.

The “Legal Framework for the Provision of Temporary Housing and Home Swap Housing under the Urban Renewal Scheme” was passed after a public consultation organised by the SAR Government and rounds of discussion by AL. The relevant law has fully considered opinions and suggestions of all sectors of society, including ‘‘Pearl Horizon’’ pre-sale buyers.

MUR representatives said in yesterday’s press conference that they hope to set up a project plan for the construction of home swap housing units for ‘‘Pearl Horizon’’ pre-sale buyers this year, and to complete the design and construction work within the next few years.

The SAR Government will work closely with MUR to carry out the design layout plan and construction work of home swap housing units for ‘‘Pearl Horizon’’ pre-sale buyers as soon as possible, with the aim of solving the ‘‘Pearl Horizon’’ issue, properly based on the principles of law and in good faith.