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CUBA: COST OF LIVING: Housing
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HOUSING
The cost of housing in Cuba is very low. In the beginning years of the Revolution all the housing was nationalized and became property of the State. This was done to establish the groundwork for the reforms that followed, and in the years since then, different measures have been taken to benefit those that live the houses. Of these measures the most important are the following ones (not necessarily in chronological order):
First, a 50% discount of rents.
Then, a second discount of rents, which took the rent down to a maximum of 10% of the lessee's wage (and 6% for those houses built by the microbrigades). For example, in my case the house belongs to my wife who received it new in 1979. She had a house payment of 26.00 monthly pesos established, that was around 10% of the wage that she earned at that time.
For each house a value was established that would not be more than what the lessee would have had to pay during 20 to 30 years, depending on the year of construction of the house. After establishing this value, an agreement was then signed among the National Institute of the Housing (owner of the houses), the lessees and the National Bank of Cuba. Under this agreement, the Bank made a loan to the lessees so that these lessees bought their houses and continued paying to the Bank the installments required until completing the total value of the house. Everybody who wanted to could pay for his or her house in smaller terms, without the traditional bank interests. Starting from that moment, everybody became proprietor of his or her house. Today more or less 85% of the owners have completely paid off their houses. In my case, when the house values discussed in paragraph (c) were established, our house was valued in a little more than 9000.00 pesos and at that time we had very little left to pay of this total value. Therefore, we decided to pay what we owed immediately and we become homeowners without having to pay any installments to the Bank.
As you can see, for Cubans housing does not constitute a problem in their expenses. Although today all newly constructed houses are valued based on their square meters, the monthly payments are never more than 10% of the named owner's wages, even though others in the house may have additional incomes.
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Text Copyright 2000 J. Gutierrez
Photos Copyright 2000 C. O'Hara
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