The National Institute of Territorial Planning and Urbanism published this Wednesday the , which establishes the new procedure that users of state-owned land must follow to build, reconstruct, remodel, divide, or expand homes and other properties.
The regulation, issued on August 28, appears in the and will take effect seven calendar days after its publication.
The procedure applies to state lands that are idle or poorly utilized, granted in usufruct to individuals and legal entities, and regulates the acquisition of three fundamental instruments: the Certificate of Territorial and Urban Regulations, the Work License or Authorization, and the Certificate of Habitability-Usability.
Before starting the procedures with the Municipal Directorate of Territorial Organization and Urbanism, the usufructuary must obtain the consent of the director of the company that manages the land or the president of the Agricultural Production Cooperative that owns it.
If the pronouncement is favorable, it must be documented in writing, with a stamp and signature, and it will be one of the necessary documents to initiate the process.
Up to 30 days for the first certificate
The first step will be to request the Certificate of Territorial and Urban Regulations. For this, in addition to obtaining a favorable opinion, the applicant will need to submit the written application, the Certificate of Registered Holder, and the usufruct contract.
Once the application has been filed, the authorities will conduct a site visit to take the necessary measurements and prepare a sketch or plan indicating where the constructions can be located and the distances between them.
The Municipal Directorate of Land Management and Urbanism has up to 30 working days to complete the procedure: 15 days to coordinate the proposal with the consulting agencies and another 15 days to prepare the certificate.
The document will establish, among other elements, the location of the constructions within the plot, the percentage of land occupancy, the materials and construction types, the access points, and the prohibition of using the facilities for purposes other than those authorized.
Two-year licenses and permits for minor works
With that certificate, the usufructuary will be able to commission the executive project and subsequently apply for the Work License or Authorization.
For that process, you must submit an application along with the executive project, descriptive report, and the relevant plans, sketches, or drafts.
The Municipal Directorate will have up to 10 working days to align the investment with the consulting organizations and another 10 days to review whether the project complies with the established regulations. If errors are detected, they must inform the interested party, who will have up to 10 working days to correct them.
Once the executive project is approved, the Work Permit must be issued within a period of up to 20 working days and may be granted in full or partially, the latter in cases where there are several independent construction objects or when the construction is carried out in phases.
The license will be valid for two years. If work does not begin during that period, it will become invalid; however, it may be extended for up to an additional year at the request of the usufructuary.
The regulation distinguishes this license from the Work Authorization, intended for minor interventions external to existing constructions, including the installation of renewable energy sources. This document must be issued within 10 business days and will be valid for one year.
During the execution, inspectors from Territorial Planning and Urbanism will be able to monitor the works to ensure that they comply with the license and the approved project.
A housing unit must have at least 25 square meters
Once the authorized work is completed, the usufructuary must request the Certificate of Habitability-Usability. When the construction is exclusively a residence, a Habitability Certificate will be issued.
The authorities will have up to 30 working days from the request to issue the document. To process it, it will be necessary to submit the corresponding application and the Work License.
The resolution also establishes the conditions that a dwelling must meet in order to obtain the Certificate of Habitability before the term of the Construction License expires.
In those cases, the constructed space must have independent access, at least three rooms —a bedroom, a bathroom, and a kitchen— and a minimum usable area of 25 square meters, in addition to fulfilling the other legal requirements for habitability.
To issue the Certificate of Habitability-Usability, the sanitary conditions, availability of potable water, liquid waste disposal, operation of energy efficiency installations and renewable energies, and the physical boundaries of the houses will also be verified, as applicable.
Once the document is obtained, the usufructuary will have up to seven working days to present it, along with the Certificate of Registered Holder, to the municipal delegate of Agriculture, who must update the registration and confirm the legality of the construction.
Another aspect addressed by the resolution is who bears certain expenses. The cost incurred for the services to obtain the land registration certification is the responsibility of the entity that manages the land or the owning Agricultural Production Cooperative. Only by prior agreement between the parties may it be paid by the usufructuary.
New rules following the reform of agricultural legislation
Resolution 18/2026 is part of the reorganization of the legal framework regarding land that the Cuban regime has pushed forward this year.
Law 185, "Law on Agricultural and Forestry Land," approved on July 29, repealed Decree-Law 358 of 2018, which regulated the allocation of idle state lands in usufruct.
Likewise, Decree 175, the regulation of the new law dated August 27, annulled Joint Resolution 1 of 2012 from the Ministry of Agriculture and the former Institute of Physical Planning, which established the procedure for constructing, reconstructing, remodeling, expanding, and legalizing improvements on land granted in usufruct.
The new procedure arrives after the Government initiated another process in 2024 to try to regulate and legalize the existing constructions on state lands allocated to producers.
In September of that year, new restrictions were announced for building homes on land under usufruct, amid an official process aimed at reviewing the structures erected on those lands.
The Government had then approved Agreement 9933 of the Council of Ministers, which established a process for the organization and legalization of investments in lands allocated for usufruct with a planned duration of five years.
The also opened the possibility of legalizing certain houses built between 2008 and 2023, as long as they met the established criteria and were related to agricultural or forestry production.
Buildings that did not meet the required conditions could be subject to the government program addressing construction illegalities.
The issue has gained greater significance this year with the reform of agricultural legislation and the Government's attempts to increase the exploitation of idle state lands amid the ongoing production and food crisis in Cuba.
In June, the ruler Miguel Díaz-Canel ordered to speed up the allocation of idle lands and expand usufruct to various economic actors as part of the official strategy to increase agricultural production.
The new Resolution 18/2026 now outlines the administrative steps that those who, after receiving those lands in usufruct, intend to build or modify housing and other constructions related to their use must follow.
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