Documents required to buy or sell a home in Cuba

The most important part of a home sale in Cuba is not the price — it is the documentation. A transaction with papers in order is signed within weeks; one with title problems can take years, or simply never become legal.

Here is the list of documents involved in a typical sale, both for the seller and for the buyer.

Seller documents

Property title: the deed or resolution proving that the seller owns the home. It may be a previous purchase deed, a donation, an inheritance adjudication or the title granted decades ago under the urban reform.

Ownership and liens certificate: issued by the Property Registry, it confirms who the current owner is and whether the home has charges, seizures or restrictions. Always request a recent one — it is the buyer’s best protection.

If the home comes from an inheritance, there must be a declaration of heirs and the corresponding adjudication, signed by all heirs. An unresolved inheritance is the most frequent documentation problem in the Cuban market.

Technical documents of the property

The official description of the home (surface area, boundaries, rooms) must match reality. If the property had additions or modifications that were never legalized, the technical report and floor plan must be updated before the deed can be signed.

This procedure is handled with the Physical Planning office and can take time, so it is worth resolving before putting the house up for sale. A listing with "papers up to date" sells noticeably faster.

Personal documents of both parties

Buyer and seller must present a valid identity card. If either party acts on behalf of someone else (for example, a relative abroad), they need a notarized power of attorney expressly authorizing them for that transaction.

Remember that only Cubans residing on the island and foreigners with permanent residency can own homes.

The deed and the taxes

With the documentation complete, the sale is signed before a notary through a public deed. The notary reviews the documents, certifies the transaction and delivers authorized copies to the parties.

Both parties pay taxes on the value of the transaction — the current reference rate is 4% for each — and payment is credited when the deed is signed before the notary. The declared value cannot be lower than the minimum reference values set by the Ministry of Finance and Prices (Resolution 313 of 2024); the notary or the ONAT office will confirm the current figures.

After signing

The last step is registering the deed at the Property Registry so the new ownership is officially recorded. Do not leave it for later: registration is the new owner’s definitive guarantee.

Keep copies of all the documentation: deed, tax payment receipts and certificates. You will need them for any future procedure involving the home.