House bill seeks to help working families attain new homes

Rep. Omayra Martínez Vázquez

By The Star Staff

Seeking to help the working class acquire a housing unit, Speaker of the House of Representatives Carlos “Johnny” Méndez Nuñez, along with House Housing Committee Chairwoman Omayra Martínez Vázquez, filed House Bill 359, which details the use of a series of incentives aimed at encouraging the development of new homes in urban centers.

“In Puerto Rico, there is a pressing need for new housing units. Looking at the most agile options for residential development, one of the sectors that is understood to have this potential is urban centers,” Méndez said in a press release issued Sunday. “These centers have been impacted by the social changes of the last three decades, and there are now many unused structures that can be rehabilitated to develop homes for the working class, as well as seniors. This measure is focused on that.”

Martínez noted that the measure amends the Puerto Rico Incentives Code “to establish parameters to promote housing development in traditional urban centers.”

“We need to implement a series of provisions that streamline the processes and establish guarantees of use,” she said. “This bill, for example, makes it clear that the properties to be used for housing with these incentives are those declared public nuisances or abandoned, and incentives are only granted after a housing need study has been conducted in the area. This provides safeguards so that Puerto Rico’s working class can have the opportunity to purchase a home.”

“This is a necessary measure,” she added. “Currently, according to available data, around 65 new homes are built every month. With the delays in permits, which the governor and the speaker have been working to expedite, material costs increase, and given the reality of the labor shortage, the entire project is further delayed.”

“This bill makes it easier to rehabilitate units, which in turn lowers final costs,” Martínez said.

The measure establishes, among other things, a maximum limit of up to $750,000 for the purchase of a home and a limit of up to $5,000 for leasing. Furthermore, the purchase incentive may only be used once per development. In addition, an investment tax credit of up to 40% of the investment is created for a period that can be extended for up to seven years.

The developers’ investment in the projects will be equal to or greater than $1 million, excluding the cost paid for the property to be rehabilitated.

It is estimated that there is a need for some 50,000 new homes in Puerto Rico. The average cost of a new residential unit is $361,863 (circa December 2024), a figure that represents a 16.5% increase compared to 2023.