The average age of a home in Cuba is just over 75 years old, and three of them collapse every day. Cuba’s housing crisis is perhaps one of the most unique examples of urban inequity in the world. While the island nation’s extensive history of waves of foreign influence has largely shaped their government, and in turn their public policies and urban planning strategies, they yet have been able to stabilize their long-standing housing crisis- forcing thousands of Cubans to live in derelict homes or public shelters. Now, many questions are being raised about how they will build new housing, repair the existing structures, and revise laws that allow Cubans to have more autonomy in the homeownership process.
Understanding the root of Cuba’s housing crisis requires an analysis of its tumultuous history and the wealth gap that was exacerbated in the 1950s. During this time, an estimated 20% of the population was consuming over 70% of the nation’s electricity, 60% of wages, and owned 60% of the cars in Cuba. By 1953, almost three-quarters of residents in Cuba were occupied by renters. The demand for housing nearly erased Cuba’s strict rent control legislation that had been introduced less than two decades before, and almost overnight, Cuban real estate became unaffordable for the nation’s citizens. Another law, which provided Cubans with the right to rent an apartment, largely because homelessness is illegal, was loopholed as foreign developers began to build new condominiums, and even convert rentals into homes for sale, for which these rules did not apply.
