2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE SEVENTEEN - Housing (§§ 1 — 1546) › Chapter 47 - Rental Housing Program for Low Income Elderly Persons (§§ 1470 — 1475) › § 1475 - Duties of the Secretary of the Department of Housing, Certificate of Compliance, rulemaking authority

In the evaluation, analysis, consideration, award, renegotiation, and revision of any incentives or benefits granted under this chapter, the Department of Housing and Secretary thereof shall be required to oversee and ensure compliance with the governing principles set forth in § 1470 of this title, as well as with all other provisions of this chapter.
The Secretary of Housing shall be responsible for verifying and ensuring that incentivized rental housing projects and the owners thereof meet the requirements established in this chapter, particularly those set forth in § 1470 of this title. If the owner of an incentivized rental housing project fails to meet one or more of the requirements established in § 1470 of this title due to criteria such as quality, quantity, price, or availability in Puerto Rico, among other criteria that, in the judgment of the Secretary of Housing, hinder, impair, or prevent the successful operation of the rental housing project within reasonable parameters, the Secretary of Housing may issue a certificate attesting to such fact, exempting the owner of the rental housing project, in whole or in part, from meeting the requirement in question.
If the owner of the rental housing project fails to fully meet the requirements of § 1470 of this title, and fails to qualify for any of the exceptions to such provision, the Secretary of the Department of Housing shall be responsible for establishing a formula that allows for the quantification of the factors set forth in said section, and for the subtraction of the requirement that has not been met from the total percentage of the specific benefit or incentive granted by this chapter, in order to obtain the exact percentage of the benefit or incentive in question.
The Secretary of Housing shall be required and responsible for preparing a Certificate of Compliance every two years, once the owners of the incentivized rental housing projects validate, in the judgment of said official, that they have met the requirements set forth in § 1470 of this title, as well as complied with all other provisions of this chapter. Every two years, the Secretary of Housing shall verify the information submitted by the owners of incentivized rental housing projects so that the Certificate of Compliance is issued not later than on the fifteenth (15 th) day of the second (2 nd) month after the close of the taxable year of the applicant.
The Certificate of Compliance shall include, in turn, the following information regarding the owner of the incentivized housing project: the name of the business or company, the cadastre number of the property or properties connected to the business; the merchant registration number; the account connected to the business as required in the Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code; the employer identification number; and the information required by §§ 1141 et seq. of Title 23, better known as the “Fiscal Information and Permit Control Act”.
The Certificate of Compliance shall be issued by the Secretary of Housing through the Interagency Validation Portal for the Granting of Incentives for the Economic Development of Puerto Rico to the agencies, public corporations, and municipalities responsible for awarding benefits or incentives under this chapter. However, during the period in which the Portal is still not operating, it shall be the duty of the Secretary of Housing to issue a Certificate of Compliance to the agencies, public corporations, and municipalities responsible for granting the benefits or incentives under this chapter following the ordinary procedure. The filing of the Certificate of Compliance by an incentivized rental housing project shall be an essential requirement for the agency, public corporation, or municipality to grant the benefit or incentive provided for in this chapter.
Actions taken by the Secretary of the Department of the Treasury, the Executive Director of the Municipal Revenues Collection Center (CRIM), or any other government official or body, or public corporation concerned, in connection with the qualification process for the granting of the benefits or incentives under this chapter shall be limited to the taxation aspects of the granting of the benefit or incentive in question, upon the issuance of a valid Certificate of Compliance, as provided in this section. The Secretary of Housing shall be responsible, first and foremost, for overseeing eligibility under any and all provisions of this chapter. However, the Secretary of the Department of the Treasury, the Executive Director of the Municipal Revenues Collection Center (CRIM), or any other government official or body, or public corporation concerned with any of the benefits or incentives granted under this chapter may contact the applicant and the Secretary of the Department of Housing should further information be needed to validate the data on the Certificate of Compliance, and shall notify and request the applicant to supply such information in order to rectify the situation. The Secretary of the Department of the Treasury or the Executive Director of the Municipal Revenues Collection Center (CRIM) may deny any tax incentives or benefits requested if, in their judgment, the information requested has not been supplied. Moreover, the provisions of this chapter shall not preclude in any manner the power conferred to the Secretary of the Treasury under § 33202 of Title 13, known as the “Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code of 2011”; and, if necessary, the power to revoke any incentives previously granted by virtue of a Certificate of Compliance, in accordance with the corresponding act; or the power to refer the case to the pertinent agency or public corporation for the corresponding action.
The Secretary of Housing, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall prescribe rules and regulations as are necessary to adopt this chapter. Said rules and regulations shall establish the criteria, procedures, and documents which shall be required to determine whether an owner qualifies to avail himself of the provisions of this chapter, and the review or reconsideration process in case such owner is denied said tax exemptions.
Regulations thus adopted shall establish specific criteria to give priority in the Program created herein to the elderly who have a disability whether physical or otherwise.
History —Aug. 23, 1996, No. 165, § 6; renumbered as § 7 by § 57 and amended by § 60 on Nov. 17, 2015, No. 187; Dec. 28, 2016, No. 208, § 16.