Ray Sanchez | Direct from Havana
6:47 PM EDT, April 11, 2008
Havana, Cuba
In a move that could portend sweeping housing reform, Cuba announced
Friday that thousands of its citizens will for the fist time be able to
gain title to state-owned homes.
The change in regulations, announced on the website of the Justice
Ministry's Official Gazette, was the latest in a string of reforms by
the government of new president Raul Castro.
This is the second reform announced in two days. Cubans learned from
state television on Thursday that the state was doing away with wage limits.
Friday's announcement would give Cubans more freedom to sell their homes
or pass the properties on to their children or relatives.
The housing decree outlines the regulations for Cubans who rent from
their state employers and wish to keep their apartments or homes after
they no longer work for the state. Thousands of Cubans, including
military families, agricultural workers, teachers and doctors, could
benefit by gaining title to their properties for the first time.
By law, Cubans still cannot sell their homes to anyone but the
government but were allowed to swap homes with state approval. That
process, known as a permuta, can take years to complete.
Philip Peters, a Cuba expert at the Lexington Institute, a think tank
outside Washiongton, D.C., said the change was positive.
"The title is not the same thing as in our system because they have this
sort of semi-black market permuta business," he said. "It's not
ownership where owner can sell. But if that group of Cubans is moved
from renting to having title, that's a good thing and, if in the future
its means that all Cubans with title will have a greater ability to buy
and sell property, then so much the better.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/cuba/sfl-0411havanadaily2,0,1443189.column?track=rss
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