COA to NHA: Strictly impose sanctions vs delinquent housing beneficiaries

MANILA, Philippines – The National Housing Authority (NHA) should strictly impose sanctions on delinquent housing beneficiaries to keep the agency from further losses caused by low collections, the Commission on Audit (COA) said.

COA said in its Performance Audit Report posted on its website on November 22, that for the NHA to have more funds for government housing projects, the agency should strictly implement the provisions of the conditional contract to sell/loan agreement (CCTS/LoA).

The provisions authorize the NHA to declare the delinquent buyer as an illegal occupant and to initiate ejectment from the housing units for missing three monthly installments.

COA said that under the same provisions, the NHA can immediately cancel the contract without need for a court order.

Figures in the audit report showed a steady rise in problem accounts at the NHA.

In 2018, there were 133,814 problem accounts or 36.2% of the total for the year. The figure rose to 159,176 accounts (40.79%) in 2019; 171,570 accounts (40.82%) in 2020; 179,916 accounts (40.93%) in 2021; and 231,756 accounts (47.81%) in 2022.

COA said the continued soft stance of NHA on delinquent housing beneficiaries would only worsen its problem.

“It also sends a message to all existing and prospective beneficiaries of the NHA Housing Program that it is okay not to pay since they will not be evicted from their housing units, which further results in the non-attainment of target collections,” COA said.

COA said the failure of the NHA to collect payments has a direct impact on its operations since the collections are used to improve and expand its programs and seevices.

The audit report said that most of the delinquent beneficiaries are low-income households subsisting on only P20,832 or less monthly.

COA recommended that the NHA launch an information campaign for delinquent occupants to be notified that they should strictly comply with the provisions of their contracts in relation to terms of payment.

COA also said that the NHA must implement the guidelines on the automatic cancellation of the contracts in case of failure to pay three monthly installments to address the issue of problem accounts. – Rappler.com