WILLEMSTAD – Forty-five vacant homes managed by Fundashon Kas Popular (FKP) have been renovated and assigned to families in need of housing in just three months, according to former PAR Member of Parliament Ana Maria Pauletta. She says the results demonstrate that restoring existing vacant homes could provide Curaçao with a faster way to reduce its longstanding housing shortage while new homes are being built.
Pauletta said the 45 properties had been standing vacant before being repaired and returned to use following sustained attention to the issue since May 2026.
“Forty-five homes mean 45 families that now have a place to call home,” Pauletta said, describing the results as evidence that Curaçao should invest more systematically in bringing existing housing stock back into use.
According to Pauletta, having a home is about much more than simply having four walls and a roof. For many residents, it provides the security needed to build their lives and make a space their own. She noted that some people have waited 20, 30 or even 40 years for an opportunity to obtain adequate housing.
The former parliamentarian pointed to the large number of vacant properties across Curaçao as an opportunity that should receive greater attention. Citing a 2024 report by the Social and Economic Council (SER), Pauletta said there are approximately 8,900 vacant homes on the island.
That total includes FKP properties. According to Pauletta, some FKP homes become vacant because of their state of maintenance, while others remain empty after previous residents move out.
She criticized the practice of leaving such properties unoccupied until sufficient maintenance or renovation can be carried out, arguing that this can result in homes remaining vacant for years despite the considerable demand for affordable housing.
The progress made since May, she said, shows that a more active renovation policy can produce relatively quick results.
Pauletta also pointed to the FKP housing project at Tera Kòrá, where she says at least another 25 social housing units could potentially be made available.
Curaçao cannot construct all the new housing it needs overnight, Pauletta acknowledged. However, she argued that this makes it even more important to identify existing properties that can be renovated and returned to the housing market more quickly.
“Every home that we manage to put back into use means one fewer family that has to continue waiting,” she said.
Pauletta is calling for a broader housing strategy that combines the construction of new social housing with substantial investment in renovating vacant properties that can still be restored.
According to her, the 45 homes brought back into use over the past three months provide a practical example of how Curaçao could make better use of its existing housing stock while pursuing longer-term construction programs.
For Pauletta, addressing Curaçao’s housing shortage therefore should not be limited to how many new homes can be built. It should also include a systematic effort to identify, renovate and rapidly reassign existing vacant homes to families waiting for adequate housing.