Close to 19,000 families await public housing as PR recovers hundreds of units used for criminal activity

By THE STAR STAFF

Nearly 19,000 families remain on the waiting list for public housing in Puerto Rico, underscoring the island’s growing affordable housing shortage at a time when high housing costs and limited availability have become a major public concern.

Juan Rosario Hernández, administrator of the Puerto Rico Public Housing Administration (AVP by its initials in Spanish), has confirmed that 18,832 families are currently waiting to receive lease agreements for apartments in public housing projects across the island.

The waiting list comes as Puerto Rico continues to grapple with a lack of affordable housing options, leaving thousands of low- and moderate-income residents dependent on government-assisted housing programs.

At the same time, Rosario highlighted what he described as a significant success in efforts to reclaim public housing units that had been illegally occupied or used for criminal activities, including drug and weapons trafficking.

Rosario said the AVP has been working closely with the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Puerto Rico Police Bureau “every day” to identify and recover apartments that had been taken over for illicit purposes.

“As of today, we have recovered approximately 410 units,” Rosario said in an interview with Radio Isla. “This is an achievement for the administration that had not been seen in a long time.”

Rosario said the recovered apartments have created new opportunities to expand housing availability for families in need, particularly in high-demand areas of the San Juan metropolitan region as well as municipalities such as Adjuntas and Jayuya.

He added that the recovery effort was launched after officials found discrepancies between the agency’s housing inventory and the apparent availability of units. Through intelligence work and law enforcement cooperation, officials were able to identify apartments that were no longer being used for their intended purpose and return them to the public housing system.

The administrator said the reclaimed units have been restored to the agency’s inventory and are being prepared for occupancy by eligible families.

In addition to the families waiting for public housing apartments, Rosario noted that another 840 individuals holding Section 8 housing vouchers are also searching for available housing, highlighting broader pressures facing federally subsidized housing programs on the island.