CHAPTER NINETEEN :

Housing

 

ARTICLE 138- In order to raise the proportion of mass production of housing to the total construction in the country and to promote production of small residential units, the builders (both in private and cooperative sectors) of the residential buildings of three units and more in the rural areas, five units and more in the cities of less than 250,000 population, and ten units and more in other cities are supported as follows:

   A- The builders content to this Law will be exempted form tax in connection with the first peremptory transfer of the proprietorship of the units; and the taxable income of these units will be determined by Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance proportionate to the floor areas of each units, irrespective of the number of the units.

   B- Ministries of Energy and Petroleum, municipalities, as well as other competent authorities are required to formulate within the framework of approved density and based on the comprehensive/ master plan, the cost of providing, supplying and connecting charges of water, electricity, gas, and charges related to issuance of building permit in such a way that the per capita costs for each unit of the residential buildings subject to this Law will not exceed those of similar charges collected from the individual builders.

   The rate and the manner of collecting the aforesaid subscription fees and charges for the excess density over the provisions of the adopted comprehensive plans shall be determined on the basis of a by-law to be proposed by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning and approved by the Cabinet.

   C- The Social Security Organization is charged with collecting the insurance premium from the builders subject to this article and issue certificate of clearance on the basis of the following criteria:

   - For the permanent employees: On the basis of the Social Security Law.

   - For the seasonal workers: on the basis of the Law of Mandatory Insurance of the Construction Workers.

   Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning is required to prepare the  by-law of this Article in cooperation with the Plan and Budget Organization within three months with effect from the enactment of this Law and have it approved by the Cabinet.

ARTICLE 139- To support the housing applicants, to assist them financially, and to simplify utilization of the banking facilities for construction and/or purchase of housing units:

   A- The monthly installments of the housing mortgage granted by banks are deducted from the taxable income of the mortgage holder and the balance of the income will be subject to tax computation. This is only a one-time privilege given to each family or the married individuals and applies only to the units with a maximum usable area of 120 square meters.

   B- The insurance policy issued by the insurance agencies shall be accepted as collateral for the banking facilities.

   C- As concerned the honorable families of the martyrs and the War-veterans with an intensity of twenty five percent (25%)  disability or more, and the former Prisoners of the war (Azadegan), the banking facilities needed either to purchase or to build housing units will be granted to these groups with minimum banking charges and long-term installments.

   The executive by-law of this Article shall be prepared by the Ministries of Housing and Urban Planning, Economic Affairs and Finance, the Plan and Budget Organization, and the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran; and shall be approved by the Cabinet.

ARTICLE 140-  In order to issue the ownership deed for the properties situated in the residential texture of the rural areas, Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning (The Housing Foundation of the Islamic Revolution) acting on behalf of the rural inhabitants is required to prepare during the period of the Third Economic, Social and Cultural Development Plan, the existing land-use/subdivision maps for all the villages of two hundred (200) families and more and the centers of the rural districts, and submit these maps to the Bureau of Property Deeds and Documentation Registration.  These maps need not to be approved by any other authority; and the Bureaus of Property Deeds and Documentation Registration will take the following actions on the basis of these maps:

     1- In the events that the areas under consideration have been delimited, the map should be checked and necessary adjustment be made on the basis of the factual information of the areas, taking into account the documents presented by the occupants; a process verbal should be drawn up by the representative and surveyors of the Registration Bureau to cover the land parcels and particulars of the occupants, and to be signed by the representative of the Housing Foundation and the village’s Islamic council so that the deeds of the ownership could be issued in the name of the occupants whose documents substantiate their proprietorship.

     2- In the cases where the occupants could not present any evidence to substantiate the proprietorship, or in the cases of disputes between the people in connection with the ownership of any particular property, and also in cases where the area at the issue has not been delimited or the land belongs to the government and public institutions, entities and agencies or the Owqaf (the Endowment Organization), the matter will be investigated by a commission composed of the province’s director-general of the Bureau of Property Deeds and Documentation Registration and the head of the Housing Foundation of the Islamic Revolution and a Judge to be nominated by the Chief Justice to rule a proper decision.

   During the investigation, the commission may take advantage of the registration experts and witnesses who will be called in for testimony.  The local registration bureau will communicate the ruling to the parties.  For the cases that no objection are raised by the parties within twenty days from the date of the communication of the decision, the Property Deeds and Documents Registration Bureaus and the Housing Foundation of the Islamic Revolution are required to  execute the decision of the commission.  In the event that an objection is filed, the matter will be referred to the court of law.  Review of the case by the court shall be made extraordinarily.

   3- Persons who fall under this Law will be exempted from all registration charges.  The exemption shall not be applicable to the transfer of the title after the deed is issued.

   4- The procedures of holding meetings, the authority of the commissions, the manner of selecting the registration experts, preparation of the subdivision map, fees and the manner of spending the proceeds shall be determined in a by-law to be prepared within a maximum period of two months by the State Property Deeds and Documentation Registration Organization and Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning (the Housing Foundation of the Islamic Revolution) and shall be approved by the Cabinet.

   5- Families under patronage of the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee and the Welfare Organization are exempted from the fees and taxes and any other charges.

ARTICLE 141-

   A- In order to provide a certain portion of the credits needed to execute the Law of Promoting Building and Supply of the Residential Units for Rent or rent-with-the-option-to-buy, the National Land Organization and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning are authorized to sell the urban land properties under their own possession at the current market price through tender or mutual agreement provided that the agreed price will not be below the appraised market value.

   B- Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning is authorized to divest  during the Third Development Plan the lands allocated to the educational, cultural, sport and religious uses at the zone prices.

   C- The National Land and Housing Organization is obliged not to  demand and collect any other money from the real and legal persons with whom have developed contract of sales of land prior to the enactment of this law and have collected the proceeds according to the terms of the contract.  The price of land is the same as indicated in the contract.

   D- In order to support the families of the Martyrs and disabled War veterans applying for housing, and in the line to provide financial support to these families, government is required to take measures during the years of the implementation of the Third Five-year Plan in such a way as to solve the housing problems of the martyrs families and the families of the War-veterans with  disability intensity of over twenty five (25%) , and the qualified  ex-prisoners of the war by the end of the Third Plan.

   E- In order to solve the problems of the lands whose owners are out of reach and the occupants possess the deed of ownership of the superstructure, the just market value of the land will be determined upon permission of  Valayat-e Faghih, or by his authorized representative; the proceeds will be collected and deposited in trust in an account to be specified for this purpose, and the local registration bureau will issue the deed in the occupant’s name; and money deposited as indicated above will be made available to be collected by land owner.

ARTICLE 142- The executive agencies are required to transfer all the revenues received from the rental public housing in possession of their employees to the Treasury.  Equivalent of this amount will be spent for the costs of maintenance and other common services of the public housing.  Also, arrangement should be made in such a way that the costs of water, electricity, telecommunication and fuel be paid by the tenants.

   Note:  In order to meet the costs of repair and maintenance of the public housing of the employees of the Armed Forces,  government, upon deducting the costs of these housing from the receivable of the employees, is required to deposit the proceeds in a special account with the Treasury; and provide the equivalent of this sum with the budget of the Armed Forces (military or disciplinary) for the following year.