Officials have hinted foreigners will be able to buy and sell properties in Cuba soon, which in turn would open the floodgates for golf course and marina projects.
People close to the Cuban government expect new real estate regulations permitting foreigners to buy and sell properties to be published in the Gaceta Oficial soon, according to cubastandard.com.

The expectations were triggered by the announcement from tourism minister Manuel Marrero that the government had reached consensus about ground rules for residential real estate ownership by foreigners.

“A policy was approved that permits real estate development associated with tourism, fundamentally golf courses, marinas and other complementary tourism investments,” said Marrero, who added that the government was in “advanced talks” with foreign investors.

Although no firm details have yet been given, the new regulations could see foreigners offered an ‘usufructo’ model, under which they can own property under lifetime leases, 50 years and up.

The usufructo model would allow foreigners to buy, mortgage and sell properties, or pass them on as an inheritance during the life of the lease.

Another set of regulations that could be included in the law package concern issues such as length of stay for foreign part-time residents, and import and export rules for residents’ personal goods, such as furniture or automobiles. Currently, foreigners are allowed to stay up to six months at a time.

Tony Zamora, a Miami real estate lawyer who has researched foreign investment in Cuba for more than 10 years believes the new policy could see a construction boom of as many as 7,000 condominium units in 13 golf course developments.

The new regulations will also open up opportunities for construction of marina-only condominium projects, Zamora suggests.

What’s more, while the Cuban government is seriously discussing only 13 golf course projects, it designated around 80 sites as suitable for golf course development, according to Zamora.

This would be the government’s second run at residential real estate construction for foreigners, after it aborted a first run in the late 1990s.

The foreign investment law of 1995 specifically allows the sale of real estate to foreigners for tourism purposes and offices. However, the government has been struggling for years to establish the ground rules for foreign real estate buying, a delicate topic in Cuba’s egalitarian political system.

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