A councilor has proposed for business establishments inside gated villages to secure permits from homeowners associations registered under the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB).
Councilor Ralph Abella, chair of the committee on agriculture and food, said it is important for business owners inside gated residential areas to have permits from the homeowners associations before they can secure other necessary documents like barangay clearance.
Abella explained this is necessary to ensure that these businesses legal. “We may never know that our neighbors may conduct businesses in their homes which may cause any form of nuisance, pose danger or harm to the neighbors and which will disrupt peace and order in the community,” he said.
The proposed ordinance also mandates the barangay council to ensure that before it can issue a barangay clearance as a requirement for new business under the Ease of Doing Business, it must ensure a permit approved by the homeowners association.
“The permits need to be approved by the homeowner’s association under HLRUB. This is to ensure that business in gated communities are legal,” he said.
Under the proposal, homeowners association will have the authority of either to grant or deny the request for approval within a period of seven days from the date the request is filed.
The proposed ordinance will also include penalty clauses on associations who cannot comply. According to Abella, penalty for the first offense will be a fine of P1,000, second offense will be P3,000 and third offense will be P5,000.
“The failure of the barangay officials to comply with the ordinance shall constitute an administrative offense chargeable under existing pertinent laws,” he added.
