Best Posts in Thread: Home Owner Associations

If you own the home, I would think that more than qualifies you to be a member of the HOA and be entitled to attend the meetings. I am sure they happily accept your HOA dues each month!!

 

From what I have read in the RA 9904, The Magna Carta for Homeowners and HOA's, (I see nothing about being a Filipino citizen as a requirement) I have cut and pasted some excerpts:


(c) “Association member” refers to a homeowner who is a member of the association where his/her housing unit or lot is situated and those defined in the articles of incorporation and bylaws of the association.

RULE 2
HOMEOWNERSHIP

Section 5. Commencement of Homeownership. – Homeownership begins:

a. By owning a lot in a subdivision/village;
b. By purchasing a lot in a subdivision/village;
c. By being awarded, or by being a usufructuary, or by legally occupying, a unit, house, and/or lot in a government socialized or economic housing or relocation project and other urban estates; and
d. By being listed as a prospective beneficiary or awardee of ownership rights under the Community Mortgage Program, Land Tenurial Assistance Program, and other similar programs.


CHAPTER II
HOMEOWNERS

Section 5. Rights and Duties of Every Homeowner. – Every homeowner has the right to enjoy the basic community services and facilities: Provided, That he/she pays the necessary fees and other pertinent charges.

Section 6. Qualification of a Member. – A homeowner as defined under this Act shall be qualified to be a member of an association: Provided, however, That a lessee, usufructuary, or legal occupant shall have the right of a homeowner as set forth under this Act upon procurement of a written consent or authorization from the owner of the lot or housing unit.

Until such consent or authorization is revoked in writing, the owner of the lot or housing unit is deemed to have waived his/her rights enumerated under Section 7 of this Act, except subsection (b) of the same section which can be simultaneously enjoyed by both the owner and the lessee.

For purposes of this Act, the lessee authorized in accordance with this sect shall qualify as a member with all the rights enumerated in this Act, including the duties and obligations enumerated under Sections 7, 8 and 9 hereof:Provided, further, That lessees in government socialized housing projects or urban estates and those in communities of underprivileged and homeless citizens covered under the term under Section 3 of this Act will be considered as homeowners for the purpose of qualifying as a member of a homeowners’ association without need of such written consent or authorization.


(j) “Homeowner” refers to any of the following;

(1) An owner or purchaser of a lot in a subdivision/village;

(2) An awardee, usufructuary, or legal occupant of a unit, house and/or lot in a government socialized or economic housing or relocation project and other urban estates; or

(3) An informal settler in the process of being accredited as beneficiary or awardee of ownership rights under the CMP, LTAP, and other similar programs.

Section 7. Rights of a Member. – An association member has full rights:

(a) to avail of and enjoy all basic community services and the use of common areas and facilities;

(b) to inspect association books and records during office hours and to be provided upon request with annual reports, including financial statements;

(c) to participate, vote and be eligible for any elective or appointive office of the association subject to the qualifications as provided for in the bylaws;

(d) to demand and promptly receive deposits required by the association as soon as the condition for the deposit has been complied with or the period has expired;

(e) to participate in association meetings, elections and referenda, as long as his/her bona fide membership subsists; and

(f) to enjoy all other rights as may be provided for in the association bylaws.

Section 8. Duties of a Member. – A member shall have the following duties:

(a) to pay membership fees, dues and special assessments;

(b) to attend meetings of the association; and

(c) to support and participate In projects and activities of the association.

 

ok, I finally got a reply from HLURB, via my HOA admin, I copied and pasted it here for my friends to see. everyone was right, that foreigners are not catered for. One good outcome, see end of letter. All the info from HLURB is Notwithstanding,, :-) and I can attend, yippppeeeeee, even join a committee,,, unfortunately we didn't get enough members to attend to form a quorum this time, so better luck next time ,,

Thanks to all those who came to my assistance,, see you another day,
KindRegards,
tom


Dear Mr. Bolton, This is in reference to your request for clarification on item 3 of the FAQ provided to the members last April 27, 2018 stating that, "as a foreigner and spouse of a Filipina, you cannot participate in association meetings and elections because membership in the Homeowners Association (HOA) is reserved only to Filipino citizens."

Please take note of the legal opinion issued by the Legal Services Group of the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) dated 26 March 2018 in answer to our query of whether or not foreigners are entitled to the privileges of members in the HOA.
According to the HLURB:
"from the spirit of the law as enunciated in it's a declared policy, the foreign spouses, authorized representatives or attorneys-in-fact of HOA members cannot be granted the rights and privileges of membership in a given HOA being afforded to our citizens. Pursuant to the declared policy of the law, the roles of the HOA are geared towards serving the needs and interests of our own [Filipino] communities, to complement the roles of the LGUs in providing basi(c) and vital services to the [Filipino] citizens and in helping to implement local and national policies, programs, rules and ordinances forthe developments of the nation. Clearly, from the foregoing objectives, membership in (the) HOA with its consequential rights and privileges is reserved to our citizens. For this reason, the foreign spouses, authorized representative or attorneys-in-fact of HOA members cannot inspect association books and records; they are not eligible to become Trustees of the HOA or to any other appointive office as they cannot participate and vote in association meetings, elections and referenda of the HOA, even if duly and/or specifically authorized for the purpose by the rFilioinol members."

 

https://lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2010/ra_9904_2010.html
Chapter 1, Section 2 "To this end, the State shall endeavor to make available resources and assistance that will help them fulfill their roles In serving the needs and interests of their communities, in complementing the efforts of local government units (LGUs) in providing vital and basic services to our citizens, and in helping implement local and national government policies, programs, rules and ordinances for the development of the nation."
There is that little word citizens that HLURB provides basic services for. So they may never answer a non-citizen?

 

Tom, I'm going to take a wild guess. The HOA probably doesn't care what the law is.
In the past they may have had bad experiences where some foreigner asked questions and expected an answer. Maybe the question lead to an embarrassing answer. Sometimes if someone tries to interject logic the whole process gets derailed.
Whatever the excuse, they don't want you to attend.

 

Its is not a requirement to be Filipino to be a member of a home owners association, under Filipino law a foreigner cannot own any land in the Philippines but can own a house, indeed my own situation is on the land deeds/land title of our house my Filipino wife names is shown but also followed by my name, in the first draft of land title my name was shown first but this had to be changed with her name shown first,all documents for the house are in my name only. In our small subdivision there are several foreign member of the home owners association.