Housing Crisis and Gentrification in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico's housing crisis is a direct product of colonial conditions: hurricane damage, austerity, and tax incentive-driven gentrification create a pincer movement that squeezes Puerto Rican residents from both ends.

Unrepaired Hurricane Damage: Years after Hurricane María:
- Thousands of homes still have blue tarps as roofs
- FEMA housing assistance was denied to many applicants due to complex documentation requirements (many Puerto Rican homes lack formal titles due to informal inheritance practices)
- HUD recovery funds were slow to disburse — billions allocated by Congress remained unspent years later
- Many families, unable to repair homes, simply left the island

Act 60 Gentrification: Puerto Rico's Act 60 (formerly Acts 20/22) offers mainland investors:
- 4% corporate tax rate (vs. 21% federal rate)
- 0% capital gains tax
- 0% tax on dividend income
- Requirement to purchase property and establish residency

This has driven a wave of wealthy mainland investors into Puerto Rican neighborhoods:
- Property values in Dorado, Condado, Old San Juan, and other areas have surged
- Short-term vacation rentals (Airbnb) have removed housing stock from the long-term market
- Rental prices have increased significantly in desirable areas
- Long-time residents have been priced out of their communities

The Colonial Paradox: Puerto Ricans are being displaced from their homes by a tax code they cannot change (Congress controls Puerto Rico's tax relationship to the U.S.) and replaced by mainland residents who come specifically to avoid taxes they would pay on the mainland. The colonial system creates the conditions for displacement: the fiscal crisis, the tax incentives, and the inability to regulate this process all flow from Puerto Rico's territorial status.