PROBLEM
The housing crisis in Puerto Rico has deepened and property abandonment has increased disproportionately in vulnerable communities:
vacant houses, with a rate of 24% and double growth since 2000
373,424
Schools closed with 81% in optimal condition to reopen
and reuse them
673
closed businesses, industrial spaces and empty lots
UNCOUNTED
PERCENTAGE OF HOUSES
UNEMPLOYED BY MUNICIPALITY
Source: US Census American Community Survey 2018
THE MUNICIPAL RESPONSE
In recent years, Puerto Rico has legislated tools to provide municipalities and communities with the best management of their housing abandonment problem. Even so, many municipalities have not taken advantage of the legislation, either due to lack of knowledge, economic limitations or a presumption that programs to reduce public nuisances can be slow and expensive. Meanwhile, the housing crisis has deepened and property abandonment has increased disproportionately in vulnerable communities.
They lack effective programs to reduce public nuisances
They underestimate unemployment rates in their own jurisdiction
They have not acquired a single property. Those who do tend to pay more
HOW DO THEY AFFECT?
Vacant and abandoned properties affect us all in different ways, individually and collectively. They expose communities to a series of risks and, above all, they have a multiplier effect that encourages neighboring properties to also be abandoned. They affect everyone, and public nuisances are spreading in private developments, neighborhoods and plots.
HEALTH
It exposes us to pollution, asthma, psychological effects and other diseases.
FISCAL
It is spent on police, firefighters, maintenance and demolition.
INSECURITY
They lend themselves to violence, vandalism and the sale or use of drugs.
TAX BASE
There are fewer properties that contribute taxes.
DESTABILIZES
They lower the value and promote the abandonment of neighboring properties.
ENVIRONMENTAL
They attract landfills and clandestine discharges and abandoned vehicles.