Venezuela Quake Victims Blocked From Loans
Owners from 38 housing complexes say faulty QR records are blocking home loans for Venezuela’s quake victims, even when their buildings collapsed. The post Venezuela Quake Victims Blocked From Loans appeared first on The Rio Times .
Venezuelans displaced by June earthquakes are facing obstacles in obtaining state-backed loans to rebuild their homes, due to a faulty QR code used to verify the damage. The code, issued post-inspection, is meant to confirm that a building has collapsed. However, many owners from 38 housing complexes report discrepancies in the code, citing incorrect names, addresses, or damage levels.
As a result, their loan applications are stuck in limbo. The Presidential Habitability Commission, which conducted the building inspections, records each building's label in a QR code that banks use for verification. To qualify for a loan, an owner must provide proof of the building's collapse. Raquel Herrera, whose home near Puerto Viejo collapsed, says the code lists her building under a different name and in a different parish, causing her loan file to stall.
Similarly, owners of Abejita II apartment building in Caraballeda, another coastal town in La Guaira state, claim the building was labeled as collapsed in the first inspection but only as lightly damaged in the second, preventing them from applying for credit. The error affects at least 118 buildings on the central coast, according to a Venezuelan news outlet's review.
The commission's online database lists 999 collapsed buildings in La Guaira state as of 3 November, including houses, shops, and public buildings, but this figure is not exclusive to apartment buildings. Similar complaints were made earlier. In September, a regional radio station reported similar issues with wrong QR records and system failures at Banavih, the state housing bank.
The Venezuelan Economy and Finance Ministry originally named Banco de Venezuela, Banco Digital de los Trabajadores, and Banco del Tesoro as the first banks to accept applications under the "Venezuela Renace" plan, with more banks expected to join. For homes priced up to US$70,000, the state covers 80% of the cost, while for homes between US$70,000 and US$100,000, the state pays 50%.
The loan term can range up to 25 years. Aid groups, insurers, and investors tracking Venezuela's reconstruction are concerned that money is becoming available while paperwork remains unresolved. The loan process requires a certificate proving the building collapsed, and owners can check their building's status in the commission's public database before visiting a bank.
However, the database's accuracy remains in question, with no information provided about how many records have been corrected or a date for new inspections. The government's stance on relaxing the collapse-certificate rule remains unclear. This story will be updated as officials respond.
Written by urgent.news from The Rio Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
