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The Provincial Housing Directorate of Sancti Spíritus is encouraging each multifamily building in the area to open its own bank account linked to the neighborhood council, a measure that practically anticipates the model of mandatory fees outlined in the draft of the new Housing Law that is still awaiting parliamentary approval.
The impulse arose from a specific contingency: the breakdown of a water pump left 19 buildings in the Olivos 1 neighborhood in the city of Sancti Spíritus without water service, as reported by Radio Vitral Sancti Spíritus.
Yuslevi Vázquez Castillo, legal deputy director of Housing in the area, explained that the solution requires both technical actions and community organization, and emphasized the need for buildings to have their own funds in place before such breakdowns occur.
"Having that fund prevents the need to simultaneously collect a fee that could directly impact the neighbor, especially in the current economic situation," noted the official.
Bank accounts must be authorized by the municipal directors of the sector through a resolution, and their management will be entrusted to the boards of the neighborhood councils, which the authorities also call to strengthen with functional organizational structures.
The measure aims to reduce the risks of delinquency and ensure the staggered operation of services and repairs in shared properties.
What is happening in Sancti Spíritus precedes the legal framework that the regime aims to impose on a national scale.
The proposed new Housing Law, consisting of 190 articles and 91 pages, establishes in its Chapter XI the creation of management boards in all multifamily buildings across the country, with the authority to set mandatory monthly fees for common expenses.
Article 157 of the text is explicit: "The agreements adopted by the Board of Administration have binding effects for all holders," with no possibility of exemption from payment.
Among the expenses covered by these fees are cleaning, maintenance, preservation, and rehabilitation of common elements such as stairways, patios, cisterns, water pumps, and elevators.
The project was submitted for public consultation until February 28, 2026, and bears the signatures of Juan Esteban Lazo Hernández, president of the National Assembly, and Miguel Díaz-Canel, although the approval dates are left blank.
All of this takes place within the context of a structural housing crisis that the regime has been unable to reverse: the official deficit exceeds 805,000 homes, 35% of the housing stock is in regular or poor condition, and by 2025, only 22% of the annual construction plan was completed, with just 2,382 homes finished out of the 10,795 planned.
Once the law is approved, the Council of Ministers will have 60 days to issue the regulations, and the text will come into effect 90 days after its publication in the Official Gazette.
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