The housing problem in Cuba is pressing. However, in recent decades the situation has worsened, especially in Havana, which is the most densely populated area of the country, with more than two million inhabitants.
Added to this is the poor condition of many buildings, some of which have been in use for a century or more, with virtually no maintenance for nearly sixty years. About a third of Havana's houses have been declared uninhabitable, but their inhabitants persist in living in them, despite the danger of collapse that materializes every year during the rainy season.
Shortly after the triumph of the Revolution, the Cuban government expropriated many wealthy capitalists for the benefit of the needy, who began to occupy the confiscated properties. Often, huge palaces were transformed into multi-family buildings, leading to an inevitable deterioration of the architectural structures, whose heritage value would only be revealed years later.
Those who paid rent were able to buy their apartments from the new administration. Monthly payments were made over about thirty years, based on the salaries of each future owner.
Since then, all Cubans aspire to own their home, regardless of the means of acquiring this property.
A construction program has increased the number of homes in Cuba from about 1.2 million to more than 3.8 million today nationwide.
Few countries in the world can boast that more than 80% of their population owns the home in which they live. Housing, even in poor condition, is probably the most precious asset for any family, especially for low-income families. It is the materialization of that space we call home.
Sixty years later, housing in Cuba remains one of the most difficult and persistent problems affecting the population.
Since 1959, more than 2 million homes should have been built. However, factors of increasing demand have overlapped. The Cuban population has grown from 7.7 to 11.2 million inhabitants. Family size has also changed, from almost 5 members to 2.8 in the last census, which has increased the number of families from 1.6 to 3.9 million. At the same time, housing maintenance has been minimal and internal migratory movements have been significant.
With the Revolution, the population of Havana grew. Many young peasants came to study and work in the capital without ever returning to their villages.
These internal migrations have long been fluid, with a continuous flow from the eastern region to Havana, leading to excessive overpopulation and impacts on housing.
Thousands of families have been crammed into very precarious conditions, in favelas and cities, with the firm intention of settling at all costs in economically promising areas, whether through their work or by illegal means.
These Cubans who emigrated to the west of the country were nicknamed "Palestinos", in reference to a pejorative comparison with the migratory phenomenon of real Palestinians in the Middle East.
Cuban authorities have acknowledged that public investment of more than $4 billion and a construction rate of 50,000 homes per year is needed to reverse Cuba's current housing situation.
Obtaining resources to build housing is complex, especially since the majority of the population does not have the means to finance them within a reasonable time frame. The State has therefore developed a subsidy program for the most vulnerable sectors, benefiting more than 30,000 families.
Housing, perhaps the leading source of public discontent, currently has an official deficit of almost 900,000 units, including more than 200,000 in Havana.
The decree approved in November 2011, which lifted the ban on buying and selling real estate, was well received by the population under the presidency of Raul Castro.
Since then, it has become legal and relatively easy to sell our homes. Prices, however, have skyrocketed, making buying a home three to four times more expensive than before. In addition, these transactions between individuals must be done in cash only. The Cuban bank charges 4% in taxes, for both the seller and the buyer. The official prices of the houses, imposed by the state real estate agency, often remain lower than the market prices. Sometimes the differences, usually undeclared, are reimbursed the same evening of the transaction, over a glass of rum and a handshake.
It was also approved in 2010 to issue building permits "by own efforts and means", that is, privately, to owners of land, roofs or other available areas, both for the repair and expansion of houses.
As part of this economic reform, the free sale of materials such as cement, aggregates and blocks was allowed to stimulate housing construction in the private sector.
This change in the housing management model has produced very positive results, although still insufficient.
The project to restore the cultural heritage of Old Havana has also benefited the community. Thousands of families have seen their homes restored to their former glory, but much work remains to be done.
In addition, the State has paid special attention to the policy of stimulating fertility and births. Thus, hundreds of mothers with three or more children have benefited from more than 42 million pesos allocated for the construction of new houses and maintenance works.
Regarding the recovery of homes damaged by weather phenomena, nearly 50,000 families have recently been helped. The definitive solution for all the accumulated cases is however expected within a period of 2 to 3 years, an optimistic time frame.
According to the authorities, all the programs implemented so far to solve the housing problem have a horizon of at least ten years.
The seriousness of the situation and the impact of housing on the perception of prosperity force the government to continue looking for new solutions to solve the eternal housing problem in Cuba.
Photo: Estudio Bianchini “Hotel Habana”
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