CREBA renews push for comprehensive housing reforms

With the country’s housing backlog persisting as a longstanding challenge, a major real estate and builders’ organization is once again calling for meaningful reforms to address the issue at its roots.

The Chamber of Real Estate and Builders’ Associations Inc. (CREBA), the country’s largest umbrella organization for the housing and real estate sector, on Wednesday reaffirmed its push for legislative action that would help millions of Filipinos secure decent, affordable homes.

In a statement, CREBA said it stands ready to work with Congress to ensure that housing is treated not just as a social goal, but as a foundation for economic resilience.

“We are ready to work with our lawmakers toward a future where every Filipino has a place to call home — and where housing becomes the cornerstone of a stronger, more resilient economy,” the group said.

Among the measures it is advocating are amendments to the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992 (RA 7279) to revise its balanced housing provisions, as well as reforms to the Maceda Law (RA 6552), which protects the rights of buyers of real estate through installment payments.

The group also reiterated support for the long-delayed passage of the National Land Use Act, aimed at establishing a rational framework for land allocation, and called for new legislation on long-term housing finance to expand access to credit for low- and middle-income households.

CREBA said streamlining property registration, improving taxation systems, and ensuring better fiscal incentives for developers must be part of a holistic policy approach if the government’s housing targets are to be met.

The organization expressed its full backing for the recalibrated "Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino Program" (4PH), led by Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling.

Ahead of its national convention in October, CREBA plans to gather stakeholders from across the public and private sectors to push for a housing-centered policy agenda and generate actionable solutions to the country’s shelter crisis.