Swap shop
Where a beach-front house can be (almost) yours for a snip
CUBA'S government likes to crow that over 85% of Cubans own their homes. The claim is technically correct. However, there is a catch: holding title to a property does not give you the right to sell it. The only legal way to move in Cuba is by swapping residences—a slow, bureaucratic and often corrupt process known as the permuta (“exchange”), which requires finding two roughly similar properties and getting state approval. To avoid this hassle, some Cubans prefer to marry the owner of a property, transfer the deed, and divorce.
Because there is no incentive to build new homes, Cuba suffers from a dire housing shortage. Many buildings have been repeatedly subdivided. In some families three generations share one bedroom.
This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline "Swap shop"
The Americas February 5th 2011
From the February 5th 2011 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from The Americas
Dengue fever is surging in Latin America
The number of people who succumb to the disease has been rising for two decades
Meet Argentina’s richest man
The boss of Mercado Libre ponders Javier Milei, self-doubt and the dangers of wokery
Why Ecuador risked global condemnation to storm Mexico’s embassy
Jorge Glas, who had claimed asylum from Mexico, is accused of abetting drug networks