By Dalia Acosta
HAVANA, Jun 13 1997 (IPS)

The housing shortage in Havana, curbs on any more people taking up residence in the capital and the regulation of rental policies, have sparked furious debate in Cuba.

Some Cubans are worried that they will never be able to live in Havana. Others arrange to “take in” a friend so that authorities don’t realize they’re renting.

The press, public opinion polls, and numerous television and radio programs have all tried to explain the government’s new measures which have aroused more concern among citizens than any other issue in recent years.

Journalist Guillermo Carrera, who oversees the “Abrecartas” (Readers’ Mail) column for “Granma” – Cuba’s official daily newspaper – says “the letters I’ve been reading are full of complaints over housing, migration and related issues”.

All these concerns have a common thread: the difficulty associated with securing decent housing anywhere in Cuba and particularly in Havana – a city of two million inhabitants. Earlier this month, Jaime Crombet, vice-president of Cuba’s Congress, reported that Havana absorbs 50 to 60 per cent of Cuba’s population growth, adding that this tendency “creates many ancillary problems”.

Crombet noted that Havana has a total of 561,000 housing units, nearly half of which are in fair to bad condition. Sixty thousand units are irreparable and must be demolished and another 75,000 have been shored up to extend their serviceability.

Official sources point out that 88,000 Havanans are waiting to receive housing units, while 76,000 – many of them illegal occupants – dwell in 23,000 buildings situated in 188 unsanctioned neighborhoods.

Crombet also pointed out that the government’s intention to build 100,000 units annually – 20,000 of them in Havana – was undermined by the economic crisis unleashed in 1990.

In April, Conrado Martinez Corona, president of Havana’s city government, reported that 73.8 million pesos (equal to 73.8 million dollars at the official exchange rate) will be invested this year in new housing. Another 39.1 million pesos will be dedicated to the repair and maintenance of existing units.

This year’s building program aims to complete 7,000 new units in Havana, while 72,000 homes are rehabilitated or otherwise subjected to conservation work.

However, the majority of new houses slated for construction are already promised to those who will work on their construction. As a consequence, Crombet says there will be little alleviation of backlogged social pressure on the inadequate housing supply.

Authorities believe their only option is to restrict migration to the capitol, thus preventing further social difficulties relating to sewage, water, transportation, fuel and electricity. On the other hand, authorities wish to stimulate new rental accommodations as a temporary solution to the housing shortage.

Since the beginning of this decade, Cubans have been renting quasi-legal accommodations to tourists and foreigners temporarily resident on the island. Such rentals gained momentum with the legalization of the dollar in 1993 and the formal development of Cuba’s tourist industry.

The General Housing Law of 1989 authorized rental of up to two rooms, with or without private bath. The law also allowed landlords and tenants to determine price. Furthermore, sanction of such rentals did not require prior approval by government agency.

A recent legal decree amending the 1989 legislation eliminates restrictions on the space that may be rented and establishes the legal obligation of paying tax on collected rent.

Rental taxes are destined for a fund that will enable construction and repair of housing stock. Those who rent exclusively to Cubans – and for periods in excess of three months – will be exempted from the rental tax.

According to statistics of the National Housing Institute, Cuba has 2.9 million dwellings, 84.8 per cent of which are deeded to one of the individuals comprising the nuclear family that lives in them. The Institute estimates that Cuba has between 8,000 and 10,000 rental units which accomodated 21 per cent of the foreigners who visited Cuba during the first four months of 1997.

Manuel Millares, Minister of Finance and Pricing, observes that landlords have monthly incomes of 600 dollars, supposing “a minimum charge of 20 dollars per day for a single rental room over a six month period”.

Nevertheless, along with the privileged group of landlords whose members own mansions or apartments in the better parts of Havana, there are those who are forced to rent as the only way to get hard currency in the midst of the ongoing economic crisis. Without hard currency, it is impossible to obtain certain indispensable goods that can only be purchased with dollars.

A 59-year-old retired university professor until 1994 – says, “I live alone and have an apartment with two rooms which I rent once or twice a month. I don’t like having unknown people in my house, and I rent only to people who come very highly recommended”.

Not everyone who rents does so under ideal conditions, nor can they depend on reputable clients to occupy their rooms over the long term.

The retired professor confided to IPS: “I can’t pay 200 – or even 100 – dollars a month to the national treasury. The only landlords who will survive are those who rent unconditionally. Others will have to drop out of this business”.

In a recent interview with the weekly paper “Rebellious Youth” – the official organ of the Young Communists Union – Minister Manuel Millares stated that “the rental tax is a fixed sum for the whole year, regardless the amount of time a particular unit is rented. The landlord must pay the rental tax while his/her contract is in effect”.

Cuban experts believe that rental rooms in private homes are stimulating tourism by individuals who can’t afford the price of luxury hotels.

Last month, “Granma” reported that tourist homes accounted for sevenper cent of all tourist lodging in 1995, a figure which climbed to 16 per cent in 1996.

Authorities are worried about lofty earnings in the private sector where there is no formal obligation to contribute to the nation’s treasury. The situation is compounded by the corresponding loss of luxury hotel revenue to the nation’s coffers, as well as the lack of supervision which Cuban authorities might otherwise exercise upon foreign visitors.

The ordering of the tourist home business has become part of a coordinated housing effort whose other initiatives aspire to prevent the illegal buying and selling of residences, as well as unauthorized construction and squatting.

A 48 year old engineer reports: “My aunt sent me money from the United States. I paid almost 20,000 dollars for my apartment and the legalization of papers. Now they say I will have to pay rent all my life, but I don’t care since at least I have a house.”

Father to two children, the engineer is not worried that the government is studying the possibility of raising rent rates after declaring him “a renter for life” (which is to say he can never become an owner) since he had participated in an illegal purchase.

Others have not been so lucky. During the first four months of 1997, almost 200 people were returned to their places of origin as a result of squatting or illegal construction.

“I know I can legalize my situation,” said a 38-year-old woman who arrived in Havana over two years ago and, like many others, spends her days standing in government lines trying to secure housing Havana.

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