The Taipei City Government yesterday brushed aside criticism that a new rule targeting illegal structures on new homes would overwhelm the city agencies tasked with completing inspections and delay the completion of property transactions.
The rule, which came into effect this month, stipulates that people whose properties have rooftop additions, mezzanines or enclosed balconies must have these features removed before they can sell their houses. It applies to all homes in buildings which received licenses issued from Tuesday last week.
Under the rule, inspectors from the Taipei City Construction Management Office are to examine a property within two weeks of its deed being registered for transfer to make sure that there are no such structures.
Photo: Chang Ching-ya, Taipei Times
The policy drew criticism from real-estate analyst Huang Chia-chin (黃家進), who on Tuesday called the new measure a “nuisance.”
He said that at least 40,000 properties are sold in Taipei every year, and construction companies and city officials would be overwhelmed if every property had to gain a certificate guaranteeing that it did not have any illegal structures.
In addition, as a transaction usually takes about 40 days to complete, and it usually takes 30 days for construction companies to issue certificates, people would have to wait 70 days before a transaction could be completed, he said.
“This will seriously hold up transactions and lead to real-estate market stagnation,” Huang said.
Taipei Office of Illegal Building Control Section Chief Hung Te-hao (洪德豪) said that the city government has enough staff to enforce the new rule, adding that the policy was introduced following an assessment of the agency’s workload.
People do not need to wait for certificates to be issued before putting their homes on the market, he said, as the two processes can be carried out simultaneously and the procedure therefore would not be as lengthy as Huang claimed.
Property owners are encouraged, not required, to provide certificates signed by building companies to prove that their home is free of violations and the city government would grant house owners a subsidy of NT$3,000 toward the cost of each certificate, he said.
Those who opt to bypass the certification process, but are found to be in possession of illegal structures would be required to have the illegal features torn down before a sale can be approved, Hung said.
Meanwhile, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) expressed confidence about the policy’s viability.
Responding to reporters’ queries, he said that the policy was implemented after careful deliberation.
“The rule has undergone much internal review, has its own budget and its enforcement rules have all been confirmed. So it is a workable rule,” Ko said.
He said that the policy is aimed at capping the number of illegal structures in the capital.
“There are too many old illegal structures that cannot be dealt with. Let bygones be bygones. Form now on, all new buildings will go by this rule,” he said.
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