On 14 August 2026 Cuba’s Official Gazette published something about the new Housing Law. It did not publish the law.
What it published was Agreement X-178 of the National Assembly, approving Law 187 «with a view to its endorsement by the President of the Republic, before its publication in the Official Gazette». And immediately below it, Agreement X-179, appointing a Style Committee to review the text before it is signed.
In other words: Law 187 «On Housing» is not published, is not in force, and its final text was still being polished while the headlines were already treating the changes as done. Today, as you read this, the rule that governs your home in Cuba is still Law 65 of 1988 — with its article 81 and its confiscation intact.
Why the distinction matters: if you are about to emigrate, sell, inherit or buy from abroad, acting as though the new law already applied can cost you the home. What follows separates, at every point, three different things: what the Gazette says, what the bill says, and what is in force today.
What was actually passed, and what is still missing
The National Assembly passed Law 187 on 30 July 2026, unanimously and by ordinary vote, as part of a package of six laws that also covers agricultural and forestry land, the organisation of central state administration, the personal identity and domicile system, and the Labour Code.
For Law 187 to start applying, the following are still outstanding, in this order:
- The Style Committee’s review.
- The signature of the President of the National Assembly.
- The endorsement of the President of the Republic.
- Publication of the text in the Official Gazette.
- And then 90 days, under the bill’s final provision.
There is no date. Anyone giving you one is making it up. What there is, is a formula: 90 days from a publication that has not happened yet.
One detail worth keeping in mind as you read other coverage: the public bill has 190 articles and eight final provisions; officials described the approved text as having 190 articles and three final provisions. It was reorganised. That is why this article never says «article X of Law 187», but «article X of the bill». The final numbering may not match.
The change underneath: emigrants stop being outside the law
To grasp the scale of what is proposed, you first have to understand how the mechanism worked — and almost nobody explains this part properly.
Law 65 did not forbid emigrants from owning a home. It did something more radical: it did not recognise them as subjects at all. Its article 2 defines «natural persons» as «Cuban natural persons domiciled in the country and foreign nationals with permanent residence in the national territory». Anyone who left simply stopped existing for the purposes of that law.
Everything else followed from there. Article 81.1: «A permanent residence whose holder has left the country definitively is confiscated by the State». Article 80: those who leave definitively are «incapable of inheriting the home». And article 83.2 extended confiscation even to a holiday or seaside home.
A point that is often reported wrongly: some believe the confiscation was softened by the 2011 reforms. The opposite is true. Article 81 was amended by Decree-Law 233 of 2003 and again by Decree-Law 288 of 2011 — and that 2011 wording, the one still in force today, keeps the confiscation. The later decree-laws (322 of 2014, 342 of 2016, 353 of 2018) did not touch articles 80 to 83. Confiscation has been continuously in force since 1988.
The bill changes this at the root, and in the quietest way possible. Its article 3 defines a natural person as «Cuban citizens and foreign nationals with permanent residence in the national territory». Four words disappear: domiciled in the country.
With that deletion the whole mechanism collapses on its own. No article is needed to repeal the confiscation: once Law 65 is repealed in full, it ceases to exist. We checked across the bill’s 91 pages — the word «confiscation» does not appear once. Neither does «definitive departure».
Before and after, point by point
«Today» is law in force. «Once in force» is what the bill says, subject to the final text.
| Question | TODAY (Law 65/1988) | ONCE IN FORCE |
|---|---|---|
| Does an emigrant keep their home? | No. Confiscated on definitive departure | Yes. The mechanism disappears |
| Can they buy from abroad? | No. They fall outside the definition of a natural person | Yes, once the residence requirement is dropped |
| Can they sell? | Only before leaving the country | Yes, before a notary and by public deed |
| Can they inherit the home? | No | Yes. The incapacity is disapplied |
| Can they inherit other assets? | No | Unchanged: no. The Civil Code is untouched |
| Number of homes | One, plus one holiday home | Two, plus a holiday home already declared |
| Risk of losing the home | Automatic on emigrating | Only through neglect, dereliction and a court ruling |
| Empty home | No specific duty | Duty to maintain it and to appoint a representative |
| Means of payment | — | Bank transfer. Cash is excluded |
What the law does NOT do (and is being reported as if it did)
It does not return confiscated homes
This is the most damaging misunderstanding, and it deserves a blunt answer: there is not one line of restitution. The bill’s first transitional provision expressly preserves rights acquired under earlier legislation. And the other transitional provisions do the opposite of restoring: they consolidate the ownership of the people living in those homes today — spouse, registered partner, former spouse or relative up to the fourth degree who had lived there for at least five years before the holder left.
It does not remove the 24-month limit
A change that belongs to migration law has been attributed to the housing law. The 24-month period lived in Decree-Law 302 of 2012, and what repeals it is Law 171, the Migration Law, published on 5 May 2026. That law is not in force either: its fourth final provision gives it 180 days, so it starts applying on 1 November 2026.
Law 171 does bring a structural change that has barely been reported: it defines the status of emigrant as belonging to those who already held it before that law came into force. In other words, it closes the category: no new emigrants are created from then on.
It does not open Cuba to home purchases by foreign nationals
The route the bill opens is narrow and conditioned. It requires significant investment in the Cuban economy or a need for residence on medical or similar grounds; residential use in an urban area; a transaction through a real estate agency, which also keeps a right of first refusal; and payment of taxes. It is not buying a house from a private owner.
It does not resolve the incapacity to inherit in general
There is a nuance here we have not seen explained anywhere, and it can cost a family money. Article 85.2 of the bill says the incapacity arising from having been declared an emigrant «does not apply» at the moment the home is awarded under this Law.
For the home only. Article 470 of the Civil Code — «having definitively abandoned the country is also a cause of incapacity to be an heir or legatee» — is not repealed. The bill amends only article 218 of the Civil Code, on the right of surface. So the rest of the estate is still governed by article 470, and with it article 473.1: if the incapable heir’s share exceeds the equivalent of two years of the national average wage, it does not accrue to the co-heirs — it passes directly to the State.
The new risk: no longer lost by emigrating, but by letting it fall apart
If you own a shuttered house in Cuba, this is the part worth reading twice.
The bill creates an obligation that does not exist today. Its article 139.2 requires the owner to «restore the usable condition of a home that is permanently unoccupied, that lacks security, adequate protection, cleanliness or maintenance, with deterioration of its structural elements, adversely affecting its surroundings even where it has not been declared derelict».
And article 141 closes the circle: if neglect leaves the home derelict, the Municipal Housing Directorate «may apply to the competent Court for forfeiture of the right through abandonment, and for the property to be made available to the Municipal Administration Council for subsequent allocation».
It is worth reading precisely, without alarmism: a court stands in the middle, and the trigger is structural deterioration, not mere absence. But the change in the nature of the risk is real. Before, you lost the home for leaving. Afterwards, you could lose it for neglecting it.
There is also a concrete and cheap obligation, in article 139.3: «A homeowner who is absent appoints a representative to act on their behalf in health emergencies, administrative or judicial proceedings, and other situations».
Other changes worth knowing
- Bank payment is mandatory. Article 90.1 of the bill states that the price is paid «by the credit instruments or notes provided for in banking legislation, or any other means of payment other than cash». For anyone buying from abroad, this shapes the transaction as much as the price does.
- Merging and splitting homes. Articles 68 and 69 allow two adjoining homes to be merged — horizontally or vertically — and a home to be split where its dimensions and structure permit.
- Wider swaps. Articles 96 and 97 allow homes to be swapped «for one or more, and for other assets or rights of any nature», before a notary.
- Holiday homes. This is not a new licence to buy a beach house: article 138 only recognises those already declared as such on the title under earlier rules. And that status is lost when the home is transferred during the owner’s lifetime — not when it is inherited.
- Subsidised homes. There is no blanket 15-year ban on selling. There are two distinct mechanisms: repaying the subsidised amount to the State Budget, or a State right of first refusal and repurchase in the case of Basic Housing Units and families with three or more minors.
- Maintenance fee. Article 156 allows a building’s management board to set a monthly fee for common expenses.
One route that does exist today, and almost nobody has covered
While Law 171 is not yet in force, Decree-Law 117 of April 2026 and Decree 150 have already created the migration status of «Investors and Business» for Cubans living abroad. Article 5 of Decree 150 is explicit: those who obtain it «are treated as Cuban citizens Resident in the National Territory» while they are in Cuba.
It is applied for at consulates or Ministry of the Interior offices, requires a written application and the endorsement of a Cuban entity, and the Migration Authority decides within 30 working days. It is not for everyone, but it is the only door open today.
Why this law, and why now
The context explains the reform. Cuba carries a shortfall of more than 800,000 homes. In 2025, 5,493 were built — 26% fewer than the year before, and a quarter of the 20,232 built in 2023. More than 40,000 homes under construction are stalled. And the population fell by over 300,000 people in a single year.
Seen that way, allowing a Cuban abroad to buy, keep or inherit a home is not only a matter of rights: it opens a source of capital for a housing stock the State cannot sustain. It is worth noting that in the official presentation on 30 July, where the Construction Minister highlighted the right to two homes and the opening to foreign nationals, emigrants were not mentioned once. The law’s deepest change travels in the definition in article 3, not in the headline.
What you can do today
None of the above is actionable yet, with two exceptions that are:
- If you are emigrating soon: Law 65 is still in force. Transferring the home legally before you leave remains the safe route, exactly as before. Do not wait for the new law to leave without settling it.
- If you already live abroad and have a shuttered house in Cuba: appoint a representative and do not let the home deteriorate. It is the only thing you can do today, it is cheap, and it is exactly what articles 139 and 141 will require of you once the law is in force.
For everything else: watch the Official Gazette, not the headlines. The day the text of Law 187 appears, the 90-day clock starts — and only then will there be something to act on.
A note on this article. Every legal statement has been verified against its primary source: Official Gazette Ordinary No. 67 of 14 August 2026, Ordinary No. 68 of 21 August, Ordinary No. 39 and Extraordinary No. 60 (migration laws), the official bill published by the Parliament, and the texts of Law 65 of 1988 and the Civil Code. Where we cite the bill we say so, because the final text of Law 187 is not yet public. We will update this article the day it is published.
Frequently asked questions
Is Cuba’s new Housing Law in force?
No. The National Assembly passed it on 30 July 2026, and Official Gazette Ordinary No. 67 of 14 August published the agreement approving it — not the text of the law. It still needs a style review, the signature, the President’s endorsement and publication in the Gazette; and under the bill, the law takes effect 90 days after that publication. Law 65 of 1988 still governs today.
Will I get back the home that was confiscated when I emigrated?
No. There is no restitution provision. The bill expressly preserves rights acquired under the previous law, and consolidates the ownership of whoever lives in those homes today. If someone else holds title to it, that title remains valid.
I am leaving Cuba soon. Can my home still be confiscated?
Yes. Article 81.1 of Law 65 of 1988 is still in force and will remain so until 90 days after the new law is published in the Gazette — a date that does not exist yet. Until then, the safe route is the same as always: transfer the home legally before you leave.
I live abroad. Will I be able to buy a home in Cuba?
Not today: Law 65 reserves the status of "natural person" to Cubans "domiciled in the country". The bill drops that residence requirement for Cuban citizens, so in principle yes. Two caveats: the final text is not published, and the Regulations may set out the paperwork.
Can I inherit a relative’s home if I am classed as an emigrant?
Not today — article 80 of Law 65 and article 470 of the Civil Code both prevent it. The bill disapplies that incapacity for the award of the home. Note the nuance almost nobody reports: for the home only. Article 470 of the Civil Code is not repealed, so for the rest of the estate the incapacity remains.
How many homes will it be possible to own?
Today one, plus one holiday or seaside home. The bill recognises the right to own up to two homes, without prejudice to a holiday home already declared as such on the title. If the cap is exceeded, the last home acquired is lost.
Will foreign nationals be able to buy homes in Cuba?
Not in the way it has been reported. The bill opens a narrow, conditioned route: it requires significant investment in the Cuban economy or a need for residence on medical or similar grounds, residential use in an urban area, a transaction through a real estate agency that keeps a right of first refusal, and payment of taxes. It is not buying a house from a Cuban private owner.
I have an empty house in Cuba. Does the new law put it at risk?
Yes, in a different way. The bill requires the owner to restore the usable condition of a permanently unoccupied home that is deteriorating, even if it has not been declared derelict; and if neglect leaves it derelict, it allows the Municipal Housing Directorate to ask a court to declare the right forfeited. You would no longer lose it for emigrating, but for letting it fall apart. It also requires you to appoint a representative while you are away.
