Cuba became a socialist country in 1959, under the power of Fidel Castro. When Castro came into power, he brought with him three principle views towards housing that he was looking to implement: Housing would be a right, not a commodity, the housing would be equitable, and the government would be the primary decision maker in all aspects of housing (Housing Policy in Castro’s Cuba, 4). To enact these three principles, Castro created the Urban Reform Law in 1960. This law ceased multiple ownership of homes, gave renters the opportunity to buy dwellings at lower costs, made the state responsible for providing housing for its people, and also made it illegal to buy or sell homes privately, as land speculation was against Castro’s socialist principles and ideals (Housing in Castro’s Cuba, 5). Along with this law though, were many cons. For example, all units that were built and distributed by the government before 1961, were then assigned leases at no more than 10% of household income after 5-20 years of payment, which was seen as very unfair. Landlords of slum areas were given no compensation from the government. The law prohibited the private renting and selling of land, and made it against the law for a household to own more than one primary residence and one vacation home (Housing in Castro’s Cuba, 5). The Urban Reform Law virtually took all freedom away from the people, and housing dependency was placed completely in the hands of the government, making decision-making and responsibilities for housing very centralized. 
Between 1963 to 1975, the government started attempting progress in their housing ideals, and began shantytown demolitions to make room for new housing. The began hitting a wall though, when they started having trouble obtaining supplies for construction, so residents took it upon themselves to create self-help and Mutual Aid Programs, to help advance replacement housing. Due to a rising demand for housing in the urban areas, as well as labor shortages in construction and decreasing workplace productivity, microbrigades were also formed. These microbrigades were groups of employees from given workplaces that formed brigades in order to assist in housing construction, while the other employees agreed to maintain production at the workplaces at their current levels. Housing units were assigned to the employees from that workplace (Housing in Castro’s Cuba, 12). This led to an increase in housing supplies and housing construction. But, in 1975, microbrigades began declining, as the workers were not professional builders, and lacked in efficiency and timely productivity (Housing in Castro’s Cuba, 6).
The 1984 Housing Law started hosting more changes and flexibility, as it converted more leaseholders of government owned buildings into homeowners. With it came slightly more relaxed terms, such as the ability to possess short-term, private rentals, swifter repairs and evictions, less rigidity towards the buying and selling of land, as well as more specific guidelines for what was expected of the people. Before the 1984 Housing Law took place, foreigners had been the only people allowed to rent units. These foreigners that were investing in these housing units were of little assistance to the government because housing policies were very vague and undergoing constant change, making them very hard to abide by. Also, because the government controlled access to the housing market, only large projects captivated their interest, leading them to lose a lot of potential investing and capital. Before the 1984 Housing Law, the housing market had very limited financing options available to residents. Housing distribution was also seen as very unfair by the people, because rents were income-based, and houses were assigned (Housing in Castro’s Cuba, 17). This meant that you could have a poor person paying less money for housing in better condition, while having a wealthier person paying more for a house in worse condition. But after the 1984 Housing Law, a few changes were made towards these pre-Housing Law concerns. The Housing Law established a new home financing system that was based on the value of units, such as their location and their land value, instead of being based off of income, as they originally had been. The government was also willing to provide loans for building and repairs as well. Lastly, it required that most housing sales be done through the state directly, with the exception of property transfers, which allowed Cubans to exchange their houses instead of sell them (Housing in Castro’s Cuba, 17).
As time went on, between 1986 and 1990, the demand for government housing only increased, while construction on housing projects only grew less efficient. Due to this imbalance in supply and demand, microbrigades were refreshed, as the current construction workers were failing to improve the housing and the number of volunteers was weakening. The people began taking matters into their own hands as best as they could, furthering the decentralization of power that had originally been in the hands of the government starting in 1959. The Social Brigades of 1987 were one example of this, as people began volunteering from local communities instead of just workplaces, as in the microbrigades. The Social Brigades lent a lot of their focus on housing in inner city neighborhoods. Their was also the development of community-based organizations, such as Comprehensive Workshops for Neighborhood change. The organizations were funded by donations made through tourist ventures. Their objectives were the improvement of housing, the development of the local economies, and furthering the education of the community’s youth (Housing in Castro’s Cuba, 13).
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| Scale map predicting impact of developments |
The shortages in housing also led the government to take greater action in the subject of urbanization. Internal migration had increased greatly over the years, and was one of the reasons contributing to the lack of housing, so the government began setting up new developments in rural areas to keep people there. Agricultural towns were set up for workers employed in associated state farms. There was also housing developments created in sugar mill towns for sugar workers, and also newly developed communities that were associated with specific agricultural cooperatives (Housing in Castro’s Cuba, 21-22).
Between 1990 and now though, a New System and several changes have been executed. In 1997, a new law was created that began placing restrictions on urban migration and also required legal approval to live in the urban areas, steadying the number of migrants that took up urban space. Cuba also developed a New System. This brought about several innovations to the standard of obtaining housing. For example, instead of the Cuban people being forced to go through local housing officials in order to buy and sell their land, they could now just complete their paperwork with a lawyer present, making it much more convenient (Housing in Castro’s Cuba, 19). Before the New System, people were allowed to exchange their homes, but an obstacle was that they could only exchange their home with another home of equal value, no more or less. Now people could trade homes and settle with paying the value difference (Housing in Castro’s Cuba, 20). Also, Cubans who decided to emigrate could transfer the the selling of their homes to the government before leaving the country, whereas before, it was their responsibility to get it settled and taken care of before they could leave (Housing in Castro’s Cuba, 20). Habitat Cuba was also brought up in 1993, which attempted to solve housing issues by creating demonstration housing projects, trained architects and engineers in promoting the involvement of citizens in the ongoing housing issue, and created local factories to assist in the production of building materials. Habitat Cuba also created the Community Architect Program, that supplied assistance to people that needed help building their own homes (Community Architect Program, paragraph 5).
Although these changes allowed for much more lee-way for the people, there were also a few issues and concerns. People were now worried about an increase in prices of the homes, and although loans were still being given by the government, they had to be given out at the government’s convenience, based on the improvement of Cuba’s economic and financial conditions. The people were also concerned that new mortgages on the properties would lead to a spike in foreclosures, and that households would be forced to downsize when they had not originally planned to do so. A hike in tax assessments could also cause people to leave due to the inability to pay for it, and lead to the homelessness and shantytowns that the government had originally tired to get rid of. People are concerned as well, that homeowners could possibly find an appealing price offer, and in-turn sell the house without warning the other household members, leaving them shocked and homeless (Cuba Opens to Private Housing, 74). One of the ways the government has tried to combat this, is through the development of of a few laws and decrees. One of these is the Council of State Decree Law 322/2014, which became effective on January 5, 2015. This law transferred the duties of the National Housing Institute to the Urban Planning Institute, which included the assignment of state lands to people who had requested it, as well as ensuring that dwellings were in good condition and appropriate for living (Cuba Relaxes Some Housing Regulations).
Today, housing conditions are still in a poor state, as budgets just can’t seem to find a clear and adjusted balance between spending money on housing, and then spending money on everything else that a society needs, such as parks and recreations and the care and maintenance of stores and the housing itself (Socialist Vision). As the government continues to supply more power to the people themselves, and extend the decentralization, as of now, housing still remains underdeveloped.
Bibliography
Miroff, Nick. "A Socialist Vision Fades in Cuba's Biggest Housing Project." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 29 Dec. 2015. Web. 24 Apr. 2016. <http:// www.washingtonpost.com/sf/world/2015/12/29/a-socialist-vision-fades-in-cubas-biggest- housing-project/>.
Hamberg, Jill. "Cuba Opens to Private Housing but Preserves Housing Rights." Race, Poverty, and the Environment. Vol. 19. 2012: Reimagine!, n.d. 71-74. Print.
Valladares, Arturo. "The Community Architect Program: Implementing Participation-in-Design To Improve Housing Conditions in Cuba." Habitat International 38 (2013): 18-24. Science Direct. Web. 24 Apr. 2016. <http://ejournals.ebsco.com/Direct.asp? AccessToken=23S1A9L8SLB3YSB3AS2MLLF9ZZBL893292&Show=Object>.
Kapur, Teddy, and Alastair Smith. "Housing Policy in Castro's Cuba." (2002): 4-31. Web. <http:// www.housingfinance.org/uploads/Publicationsmanager/ Caribbean_Cuba_HousinginCastrosCuba.pdf>.
Fuerte, Cafe. "Cuba Relaxes Some Housing Regulations." Havana Times.org. N.p., 9 Sept. 2014. Web. 24 Apr. 2016. <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=106049>.
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