How many homes can one person legally own in Cuba?

Cuba is one of the few countries that caps how many homes a person may own. The rule is short, it is old, and it shapes a surprising amount of what happens in the market: it is why second properties get bought in a relative’s name, why some inheritances have to be resolved against the clock, and why the two-home provision in the new Housing Law drew so much attention.

This guide sets out the limit in force today, the limit that is coming, and what to do if you find yourself over it.

The limit today

Under the General Housing Law of 1988 and Decree-Law 288 of 2011, a person may own one home as a permanent residence and, in addition, one rest or vacation home. Two properties, but not two of the same kind: the second one has to be a vacation home, declared as such, and it is generally located outside the owner’s place of permanent residence.

The limit applies per person, not per household, so a married couple can hold two permanent residences between them if each is the owner of one. And it applies to ownership, not to occupation: living in a house you do not own does not consume your quota.

What is coming

The Housing Law approved on 30 July 2026 recognises the right of a natural person to own up to two homes, without prejudice to the one they hold as a vacation home. It does not abolish the cap; it raises it.

As with everything in that law, it is not yet applicable: it must be published in the Official Gazette and, per the text presented to the Assembly, 90 days must then pass. Buying a second permanent residence today on the assumption that the new limit already applies is the one mistake to avoid.

What happens if you go over the limit

The most common way to exceed the cap is not buying — it is inheriting. Someone who already owns their home inherits a second from a parent and finds themselves holding two permanent residences, which the current rules do not allow. The law does not confiscate it on the spot; it expects the situation to be regularised, and the usual routes are to sell, donate or swap one of the two within the applicable deadlines.

The second common route is co-ownership. Inheriting a share of a home with your siblings is not the same as owning a whole second home, and how it counts depends on how the estate is adjudicated. This is precisely the kind of detail worth asking a notary before signing the adjudication, not after.

• Sell one of the two homes to a buyer who is within their own limit.
• Donate it to a relative — cheaper in tax terms when there is consanguinity up to the fourth degree.
• Swap it in a permuta, with or without compensation.
• Adjudicate the inheritance so the property goes to a co-heir who has room, compensating the others.

Why the limit shapes the market

Two visible effects. First, purchases in a relative’s name: someone abroad who cannot be an owner, or someone on the island who already has their quota, buys with a family member on the deed. It works until the relationship does not, and no verbal understanding survives a registry entry that says another name.

Second, the rental market. Because you cannot legally accumulate residential property, there is no class of small landlords holding several homes, and the supply of quality long-term rentals stays thin. If the two-home limit takes effect and mortgage credit ever materialises, that is the part of the market most likely to change.

What counts and what does not

The usual confusion is not about the number but about what gets counted. These are the cases that generate the most questions, with the answer that applies under the rules in force.