Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada Molina announced on Friday that her government will create thousands of affordable housing units as part of a long-term strategy to tackle gentrification.
Following a protest against gentrification in the Condesa neighborhood earlier this month, Brugada said that her Public Rental Housing program’s 20,000 new rental homes will address at least half of the city’s rental housing deficit during her six-year term.
The total investment is expected to exceed 600 million pesos ($31.8 million).
“We are discussing a fragmented city, a city under pressure from the issue of gentrification, or the displacement of families who have historically lived in the city’s neighborhoods and are being forced out of those places due to various factors,” Brugada said.
The mayor stated plans to launch a set of additional strategies aimed at stabilizing rental prices in the city. “We want the population living in Mexico City to stay in Mexico City,” she said.
Homes that are part of Brugada’s program will be rented at no more than 30% of the residing family’s income, according to the mayor.
Rents will start at approximately 3,000 pesos (US $160) a month for a 60-square-meter space for those earning the minimum wage, and 7,500 pesos ($400) for those earning three times the minimum wage.
“The increase in rents in Mexico City, especially in certain areas, has been excessively high, so the time has come to develop public policy that helps us ease tensions in those areas,” said Brugada.
The program will prioritize vulnerable groups such as youths, the elderly, workers who commute to central areas, single mothers, families who do not own their own homes, those whose income is less than three times the minimum wage and those who have been evicted.
The spaces are also expected to include a “care system,” offering childcare and education centers, laundromats, eateries and other key facilities, according to Brugada.
The mayor said that 1,000 rental housing spaces have already been acquired and will be renovated and offered to renters in the coming months.
Mexico City Housing Minister Inti Muñoz Santini announced that four more buildings were under development in strategic locations, such as the central Cuauhtémoc and Miguel Hidalgo boroughs.
The housing initiative was made possible thanks to the “highest budget ever for public and affordable housing in the city,” said Muñoz Santini.
The city has expanded its public land reserve by an additional 10,000 square meters for the housing developments, on top of the more than 9,000 square meters already available, according to Muñoz Santini.
The minister stressed that every year, at least 53,000 families look to rent a home in the face of rising prices, which has forced many to spend over 30% of their monthly income to rent or to move to areas far from their workplaces.
At the national level, in April, the federal government announced its aim to build 1.1 million new homes across Mexico during this six-year term of government (2024-30).
In July, the general director of the Institute of the National Housing Fund for Workers, Octavio Romero, announced that 7,612 or more homes are expected to be delivered before February 2026.
Make the apartments for sale rather than for rent with the monthly mortgage capped at 25% of monthly income. Home ownership builds wealth whereas rental does not. Over time, the city recoups its investment. It’s a win-win
They could also set up a program for the occupants to rent with the option to buy. The program putting aside a portion of the rent monies over the months/years as a down payment for purchase. Those programs do work.
But what they are proposing right now is just putting a bandaid over a huge gapping wound to appease some people. The protests will continue, including the one this coming Sunday.
You are right that homeownership builds wealth, but not everyone is ready for it. Owning a home means keeping it up, which is often expensive, staying in one place, which not everyone is ready to do, and most of all, anticipating a steady income for years to come. For someone who is not ready to own a home it can be quite damaging.
That said, rent-to-own programs and land trust programs are two ways that people who do want to buy a home can do so. Pre-homeownership classes can help people understand the commitment they’re making, and orient them to how to maintain their home as it ages.
I believe there is a new mortgage assistance program. While I agree with wealth building it isn’t always a desire particularly for those in college or young professionals. These prices and size look focused on that group.
I’d have to agree that both ownership and rentals contribute to the problem, esp. rentals. AirBnB went from a handful of rentals to over 20,000 now (rental impact). As for ownership a large NY based investment firm owns almost 250 properties in Condesa alone.
You can’t build an apartment for $30,000 mxn ($1,590 usd).
I appreciate the focus on vulnerable groups. And the “‘care system,’ offering childcare and education centers, laundromats, eateries and other key facilities” is so important. Ideally, these developments will be beautiful, energy efficient and attractive to potential tenants at all income levels to create a truly mixed-income community.
The first step worldwide is to ban the “entire home” section of Airbnb for anything less than 60 days. Airbnb has been disastrous for non-homeowners. I have been a person that rented my home on Airbnb, I discovered the error of my ways and the damage it does to a community.