Housing hard after divorce in Cuba

It is easier to obtain a divorce than it is to find somewhere to live in Cuba, a report from the Associated Press has indicated.

According to the news agency, the housing crisis on the communist island is such that couples who go through a marital separation are often forced to continue living in the same house for weeks, months and even years after they are officially no longer married.

In Cuba the state controls the majority of property and anyone wishing to move house must seek official approval.

For one estranged couple, divorce came about much more quickly than finding new accommodation and as such they are still living under the same roof.

Mirta, a 45-year-old woman from Havana, divorced her husband of 18 years in 1997 but they still share the same two-bedroom apartment with their children because neither could move out.

She explained: "We use the same kitchen, same bathroom. We have separate bedrooms, but the electricity, the telephone, the refrigerator - there's only one. If you're going to get dressed, you have to hide in the bathroom or in the bedroom. There's no privacy."

Recent figures indicate that there were 35,837 divorces in Cuba in 2006.

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