Esta ley crea la "Ley Especial de Complejos de Vivienda del Futuro" bajo la jurisdicción del Departamento de la Vivienda, en coordinación con la Oficina de Asuntos de la Juventud y los municipios. La ley prioriza a parejas jóvenes de entre 17 y 29 años para la participación en estos complejos, establece su organización y operación, y asigna fondos para su implementación. Busca ofrecer alternativas de vivienda asequible para jóvenes trabajadores y otros grupos desfavorecidos, promoviendo la propiedad y la autogestión.
(Approved September 17, 2004)
To create the "Special Act on Housing Complexes of the Future," under the jurisdiction of the Department of Housing in coordination with the Office of Youth Affairs and the municipalities, which shall give priority, when considering participants, to young couples between the ages of seventeen (17) and twenty-nine (29); to establish its organization and operations; and to appropriate funds.
Puerto Rico has available a large number of federal and local subsidy programs for the acquisition of housing that as a general rule require some type of financial capability, since the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico would otherwise have to sell or donate the housing units for a minimal price, which would have a budgetary impact on the General Fund. Persons with no income or with very limited financial capability need to depend on rental or subsidy programs such as Public Housing or Section 8.
The Department of Housing has diverse assistance programs for obtaining housing, such as: the HOME Program for renting or acquiring housing for lowincome persons or couples, according to the income limit tables; the Affordable Housing Subsidy Program (Act No. 124 of December 10, 1993, as amended) provides Government financial assistance for the down payment and monthly installment payments of mortgages and/or the Key to Your Home Program, which offers a subsidy of between three thousand $(3,000)$ dollars and fifteen thousand $(15,000)$ dollars to be applied to the down payment of the housing unit, thus reducing the amount of the mortgage.
However, it is a well known fact that Puerto Rico has a large number of persons who are unable to benefit from this type of local or federal government assistance, and yet do not earn enough money to defray the high cost of a mortgage that would allow them to establish their own home. Among this group of persons we find countless young Puerto Rican couples facing the difficult situation of obtaining a homestead that gives them the satisfaction of having a sense of ownership over a housing unit, which they would be able to obtain according to the intent of this legislation. The fact that the Housing Complexes of the Future proposed herein would solve the housing problem as far as young working couples are concerned, should be taken into account. In addition, this would be an investment that would be recovered by the sale or rental of such housing.
On the other hand, we are all well aware of the existence of the so-called "retirement homes" which house senior citizens and which have been very beneficial for said sector of the population. It is precisely this type of benefit that we wish to extend over to the young workers of Puerto Rico.
The Department of Housing, together with the Office of Youth Affairs, shall manage the Complexes. Their mission shall be to study each and every applicant interested in applying for housing in the aforementioned project, creating regulations for the purpose of giving priority, without excluding other sectors, to young couples between seventeen (17) and twenty-nine (29) years of age. The Department of Housing shall have inherence over all matters concerning the management of the Complexes.
These "Housing Complexes of the Future" shall provide alternatives to overcrowding, which sometimes creates social and family disruption. Thus, the conditions shall be established to allow young families to restore their pride, personal and community integrity, and interest in self-management without excluding other disadvantaged groups. They shall improve living conditions with
respect to the lack of housing for our population. The Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico must offer our working and responsible Puerto Rican youth the opportunity to live useful lives that will allow them to forge ahead independently, always addressing their needs, proposals and ideas, creating special programs for such purposes, without discrimination against other groups in similar situations. The tools we give them today shall be the foundation of a new civil society.
Section 1.-The "Special Act on Housing Complexes of the Future," is hereby created.
Section 2.-Creation and Administration The Department of Housing, together with the Office of Youth Affairs, shall manage the Program. Both entities shall perform a physical inventory, together with the municipalities, of the buildings available that may be converted into housing complexes. Such housing complexes shall be established in those municipalities that meet the criteria and standards issued by the aforementioned Government Agencies.
Section 3.-Operations The Department of Housing, together with the Office of Youth Affairs of the Office of the Governor, shall be in charge of selecting those citizens that qualify for purchasing or renting a housing unit in one of the Complexes. The Department of Housing shall be in charge of all matters pertaining to the rental or financing of housing units through the Housing Finance Authority. If any citizen should not qualify to live in the Complexes, the Department of Housing shall notify the availability of the housing unit, in the first instance, to the Office of Youth Affairs of the Office of the Governor.
The Office of Youth Affairs of the Office of the Governor shall draft a document including any and all the requirements to be met by a young couple between the ages of seventeen (17) and (29) for acquiring a housing unit in one of the Complexes. The Department of Housing shall ensure faithful compliance with these requirements and shall give priority to the applications of such young couples, without excluding other persons that qualify because of special needs, whether physical, mental, social, and financial, or due to health conditions certified by a physician.
Section 5.-Regulations The Department of Housing shall draft regulations to be followed to the letter by the citizens residing in the Complexes. Said regulations shall include administrative fines for residents that fail to comply with the rules established therein, granting to the Department of Housing the power to evict residents from the housing unit when the faults committed so warrant. In addition, the Complexes and their tenants shall be governed by Act No. 103 of April 5, 2003, known as the "Condominiums Act."
Section 6.-Appropriations The Department of Housing shall conduct a study with respect to the budget needed for the Complexes. After such a study is conducted, the recommended funds shall be appropriated from the General Fund. The expense study shall be conducted within not more than six (6) months. The Department of Housing shall keep in mind whether the current Law may be considered for obtaining the assistance of federal funds.
As soon as the amount of funds necessary for the administration and creation of the Housing Complexes is determined, the Office of Management and Budget shall inform said amount to the Secretary of the Treasury.
Section 7.-The Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to advance the necessary funds for up to the maximum amount shown in the expense study conducted by the Department of Housing, whose repayment shall be made from the appropriations of monies to be provided by the appropriations in Section 6 of this Act.
Section 8.-Effectiveness This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2005.
I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 380 (H.B. 3669) of the $7^{ ext {th }}$ Session of the $14^{ ext {th }}$ Legislature of Puerto Rico:
AN ACT to create the "Special Act on Housing Complexes of the Future," under the jurisdiction of the Department of Housing in coordination with the Office of Youth Affairs and the municipalities, which shall give priority, when considering participants, to young couples between the ages of seventeen (17) and twenty-nine (29); to establish its organization and operations; and to appropriate funds, has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct.
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, today $16^{ ext {th }}$ of August of 2007.
Francisco J. Domenech Director