Documents required to buy or sell a home in Cuba

The most important part of a home sale in Cuba is not the price — it is the documentation. A transaction with papers in order is signed within weeks; one with title problems can take years, or simply never become legal. And unlike the price, the paperwork is not negotiable: either it exists, or it has to be created.

Here is the complete list of documents involved in a typical sale, for both seller and buyer, with what each one is for, who issues it, and what problem it hides when it is missing.

At a glance: who provides what

Before the detail, here is the map of the transaction. If you are buying, your job is to check the seller’s column; if you are selling, having it ready before you publish the listing is what speeds up a sale most.

Seller documents

Property title: the deed or resolution proving that the seller owns the home. It may be a previous purchase deed, a donation, an inheritance adjudication or the title granted decades ago under the urban reform. It is the founding document of the transaction: without it there is nothing to sell.

Ownership and liens certificate: issued by the Property Registry, it confirms who the current owner is and whether the home has charges, seizures or restrictions. Always request a recent one — it is the buyer’s best protection and the only way to learn what the seller may not be telling you.

If the home comes from an inheritance, there must be a declaration of heirs and the corresponding adjudication, signed by all heirs. An unresolved inheritance is the most frequent documentation problem in the Cuban market, and the one that most often derails a sale halfway through.

Technical documents of the property

The official description of the home — surface area, boundaries, rooms, number of bedrooms — must match reality. If the property had additions or modifications that were never legalized, the technical report and floor plan must be updated before the deed can be signed.

This procedure is handled with the Physical Planning office and the Municipal Housing Office, and it can take time, so it is worth resolving before putting the house up for sale. A listing with "papers up to date" sells noticeably faster, and when that phrase is true it is worth a percentage of the price.

• Barbacoas and mezzanines that do not appear on the plan.
• Rooms built on the roof terrace or in the yard.
• Garages enclosed and converted into a bedroom.
• A home split into two independent units.
• A change of use on the ground floor for a business.

Personal documents of both parties

Buyer and seller must present a valid identity card. If either party acts on behalf of someone else — a relative abroad, for instance — they need a notarized power of attorney expressly authorizing them for that transaction, with the powers listed precisely.

Remember that only Cubans residing on the island and foreigners with permanent residency can own homes. The new Housing Law approved on 30 July 2026 changes that regime, but it is not in force: it must be published in the Gaceta Oficial and its entry-into-force period must pass. Until then, the earlier rule governs.

The deed and the taxes

With the documentation complete, the sale is signed before a notary through a public deed. The notary reviews the documents, certifies the transaction and delivers authorized copies to the parties. Law 175 "On the Notariat", in force since 7 January 2026, is the rule governing that act today.

Both parties pay taxes on the value of the transaction — the current reference rate is 4% for each — and payment is credited when the deed is signed before the notary. The declared value cannot be lower than the minimum reference values set by the Ministry of Finance and Prices (Resolution 313 of 2024); the notary or the ONAT office will confirm the current figures.

After signing

The last step is registering the deed at the Property Registry so the new ownership is officially recorded. Do not leave it for later: registration is the new owner’s definitive guarantee, and it is what will let you sell, swap or donate the home in future.

Keep copies of all the documentation: deed, tax payment receipts and certificates. You will need them for any future procedure involving the home, and the next buyer will ask for them when you decide to sell.

Signs that a file is going to cause trouble

You do not need to be a lawyer to spot a weak file. These are the situations that, in practice, delay or block a sale in Cuba.

• "I am still processing the title": the home is not registered in the seller’s name.
• Heirs who do not appear, or who live abroad and have granted no power of attorney.
• The registry description says two bedrooms and the house has four.
• The seller does not want to request an up-to-date ownership certificate.
• An intermediary who can show neither a power of attorney nor any link to the registered owner.
• Pressure to sign before some document "that is on its way" arrives.