The real estate company of the military group Gaesa increases the rent of homes and offices by 15 times by applying the rate of 24 pesos to the dollar
EFE/14ymedio, Havana, June 17, 2025 — Cuba’s main state-owned real estate company will require its foreign tenants to pay their rents in hard currency beginning on July 1, a move that promises to be a major detriment to international companies. This is the latest step in the government’s increasing dollarization of the economy.
The Cubija real estate agency, a subsidiary the Palco company, has sent letters to foreign tenants, both companies and individuals, informing them that, as of July 1, their monthly rents must be paid in U.S. dollars at the official exchange rate of 1 dollar to 24 Cuban pesos.
This rate was established at the outset of Cuba’s currency unification in 2021, which independent economists warned at the time was unrealistic. Though a lower rate of of 120 pesos to the dollar was later established for individuals, the exchange rate for businesses has remained unchanged. The current street-market rate is currently 375 pesos to the dollar.
The move represents a significant disruption for international companies which, until now, were being paid in Cuban pesos, often by the state itself
The move represents a significant disruption for international companies which, until now, were being paid in Cuban pesos, a currency that cannot be used outside of Cuba and increasingly less so within the country itself.
Secondly, because the official exchange rate is so much higher than the rate on the open market, some foreigners could be paying rents fifteen times higher than what they are paying now.
For these two reasons, according to EFE, some tenants have — both individually and collectively — written letters to Cubija objecting to the measure, with some even refusing to comply. The company is owned by GAESA, a business conglomerate controlled by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba.
In its initial letters to tenants, Cubija explained that it is taking this step after the Ministry of Economy and Planning approved a “foreign currency financing scheme” for the Palco business conglomerate, citing Resolution No. 20/2025, dated March 31, 2025.
These schemes are being implemented for the benefit of certain foreign companies, allowing them to retain a portion of their hard currency earnings. Currently, Cuban banks do not have the reserves to back up the vast majority of their customers’ deposits and the state banking system does not have the ability to withdraw cash.
The government has imposed what effectively amounts to a freeze on assets. For almost a year, banks have been severely restricting cash withdrawals, especially withdrawals of hard currency, which have become nearly impossible according to several foreign companies.
As EFE reported in April, the Cuban government informed foreign firms with operations in the country that they would not be allowed to repatriate hard currency from their accounts, a move which has caused widespread discontent among the companies, some of which hold millions of dollars in Cuban banks.
Some companies claim their hard-currency bank accounts are not operating as promised
In exchange, some firms were offered the opportunity to open hard-currency bank accounts with the assurance that they would be able to access the funds in these accounts and that these funds would be secure. Some companies have told EFE that the accounts are not operating as promised.
In desperate need of foreign currency, the Cuban government has, in recent months, implemented several emergency measures in an effort to raise it. These include the opening of dollar-denominated stores and requiring payment for certain services and fees in foreign currency.
The Cuban government retains a monopoly on foreign trade. It currently imports roughly 80% of what the island consumes, most notably fuel and food, because domestic production has largely collapsed.
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