Draft bill 135.

Summary.

The draft bill would create the Social and Territorial Integration Program to help Panamanian families purchase their first social interest home through a nonrepayable state contribution. Its aims include reducing the housing deficit, promoting orderly urban development, and encouraging construction and employment. It would apply throughout the Republic of Panama and govern the participation of public institutions, financial institutions, and developers. Interpretation of the proposed framework would follow principles including territorial equity, transparency, fiscal responsibility, and administrative simplification. The text defines beneficiaries, family units, first homes, subsidy certificates, developers, participating financial institutions, social interest housing, payment undertaking letters, and RBS zones.

The Program would operate through the National Solidarity Housing Fund and be administered by the Ministry of Housing and Territorial Planning (Ministerio de Vivienda y Ordenamiento Territorial). The contribution would be granted per family unit to purchase a new home and would be personal, single use, and nontransferable. An executive decree or lower ranking administrative act could not suspend or eliminate the Program. The Ministry of Housing and Territorial Planning would approve applications, maintain registers, coordinate with financial institutions, publish performance indicators, and submit an annual report to the National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional). It would also establish the RBS zone code through regulations.

The text lists sources for the Solidarity Housing Fund, including budget appropriations, extraordinary credits, donations, and resources from multilateral organizations. Fund resources would be earmarked for benefits and strictly necessary administrative costs. The Ministry of Housing and Territorial Planning would estimate annual funding needs on the basis of technical studies. Each Housing Subsidy Certificate would have an individually reserved budget allocation; an amount not disbursed in its year of issue would carry forward to later fiscal years with priority over new commitments. The Ministry of Economy and Finance (Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas) would include those commitments in the General State Budget.

Panamanian natural persons meeting the statutory and regulatory requirements could apply. A new home intended as the beneficiary's main and permanent residence could not cost more than one hundred and twenty thousand balboas with 00/100 (B/120,000.00), excluding legal and closing costs. Monthly family unit income could not exceed two thousand balboas with 00/100 (B/.2,000.00). The contribution would follow the income brackets and maximum subsidy percentages in Art. 14 and be paid to the developer through a payment undertaking letter after the property is registered in the beneficiary's name. Applicants would submit a sworn income statement, establish adulthood or legal emancipation, prove that they have no registered property, and provide employment or income records. Where applicable, they would also meet mortgage lending requirements.

A person could receive the subsidy only once and could not duplicate an equivalent state housing benefit, although incentives for mortgage access with a different purpose could be combined with it. False information could lead to revocation and the applicable liabilities. Among equally qualified applicants, the Program would seek to prioritize the households and persons listed in Art. 19. Beneficiaries would have to occupy the home, provide accurate information, and report relevant changes. The Ministry of Housing and Territorial Planning could subsequently verify compliance and revoke a benefit, with administrative due process, for fraud, concealment, or serious noncompliance. Every five (05) years, the National Assembly would assess whether amounts and limits should be updated on the basis of a ministerial technical report.

The Ministry of Housing and Territorial Planning would issue a reasoned decision on applications within thirty (30) working days and maintain beneficiary and eligible project registers, subject to personal data protection rules. The National Bank of Panama (Banco Nacional de Panamá) would act as paying agent; the BNP would issue the payment undertaking letter within fifteen (15) working days after receiving the specified documents and collect a fee of 0.5% of the subsidy. Developers would follow approved plans, permits, and applicable rules, deliver homes as offered, supply information, and permit inspections. The proposed arrangements would concern the named public institutions, participating banks, housing developers, the construction sector, and applicant families.