After more than 30-years the National Housing Corporation or NHC Act of 1990 is under review.
Housing is an important human need, and the Government arm responsible for affordable housing is finally working to fix itself and move forward into the future.
The Southern Regional consultations for the review of the Act, was held in Port Moresby on Wednesday the 23rd of October.
In his speech Acting Managing Director of the NHC, Abel Tol said the review was necessary to keep up with the modern needs for housing that the people of Papua New Guinea face.
He further stressed that the consultative meetings conducted as part of the review, were to help identify possible changes for the current policies, and to propose workable recommendations including an update of the legal framework.
“The purpose of the stakeholder engagement is to get reviews form different departments to improve the National Housing Corporation and its work, improving the mechanisms and the legal framework is important,” Tol said.
The high cost of rental properties in the country was also addressed by the NHC Acting Director.
Tol said that the private sector and individuals continue to control the rental market causing major inequality in the marketplace.
He added that in comparison to the NHC Housing the rentals are low and seem affordable compared to the private sector properties, which he says was unfair.
He said there was an option for the National Housing Corporation to be a regulatory arm of the Government.
He added that currently NHC is seen as a developer to provide affordable housing for the citizens of Papua New Guinea, but plans are that they should also be a regulator in the real estate market as well.
“NHC cannot remain as a construction arm or a developer for that matter, we can also create a regulatory authority which reports to the housing ministry and regulate real estate and the housing industry.
“It’s not like we are trying to change our function. If we look at the Act it is a very good piece of legislation. We can keep our NHC Act, but we can also look at creating a regulatory authority that can operate hand in hand with the NHC in helping to regulate the rentals that are very high and uncalled for,” Tol said.
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