Cuba permits citizens to buy and sell homes

Cuba has granted its people the right to buy and sell their homes for the first time since the 1959 revolution.

The Thursday edition of the government's Official Gazette said sales and purchases of real estate would be allowed starting on Thursday of next week.

Cuban nationals living in the country and permanent residents are eligible. One person can own up to 2 houses.

A four-percent tax will be imposed on both the buyer and the seller. The government expects a revenue increase due to the tax.

The measure follows October's removal of a ban on buying and selling cars.

Cuba, which has suffered a chronic economic crisis, decided at its Communist Party convention in April to introduce a partial market economy.

Many Cubans welcome the reforms, but some are voicing concern that they could expand the gap between the haves and the have-nots and trigger social unrest.

Friday, November 04, 2011 13:36 +0900 (JST)