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By Andrea Rodr铆guez

The Associated Press

HAVANA 鈥� A building on Villegas Street, in the heart of Old Havana, looks nothing like the stately two-story home it used to be a century ago, with its high ceilings, wrought iron railings, semicircular arches and stairs covered in white marble. Its former elegance is such that local lore says it used to belong to a marquise.

Today, everything inside the six-family unit is chaos.

The roots of a tree protrude through the wall of a makeshift toilet where birds have made their nests. The roofs of the first and second floors are propped up. There is rubble and fresh sand scattered everywhere. The walls seem to tilt, and the fa莽ade has completely disappeared, exposing a patio where one can see freshly washed clothes hanging.

The structure is one of many formerly luxurious houses in the island nation that in recent years have partially collapsed 鈥� or suffer visible damage. Barely 100 yards away, also on Villegas Street,聽a similar building fell inward earlier this month, causing three deaths.

Residents of the two-story home say they have repeatedly asked authorities for help to no avail. Years of neglect,聽inclement weather聽and a deepening economic crisis only aggravate the fear that their home will eventually collapse.

鈥淗ow can we not live in fear? Every time it rains I feel like small pebbles come falling down on me,鈥� said Maricelys Col谩s, a retired 64-year-old who has lived in the house with her 85-year-old mother for 59 years. 鈥淎nd a collapse doesn鈥檛 warn you.鈥�

The Cuban government in the past has acknowledged the problem of housing deterioration but added that the lack of material resources prevents repairs. Yet, many Cubans wonder why the pace of investment in tourism megaprojects such as hotels 鈥� a vital business sector that has failed to take off in at least the past two years 鈥� is not slowing to address the dire housing crisis.

The house on Villegas Street was built at the end of the 18th century or the beginning of the 19th on a plot measuring about 50 feet wide by about 200 feet deep. Three families live on the ground floor, where there used to be a main patio and rooms for the domestic staff. Three other families live on the more deteriorated top floor, where cracks abound and the staircase creaks as people climb it.

All residents say the building once belonged to the Marquise of Pinar del R铆o, a title granted by the Spanish crown when the island was part of its empire. The Associated Press could not verify that claim, but its elegant design is visible.

Nowadays, everything smells of mold.

AP interviewed all residents in the unit, except for an elderly man who was temporarily staying in a relative鈥檚 house. They unanimously reported having made efforts before the government, requesting to live elsewhere or to have access to materials for repairs. They said they never received a response.

The Cuban government did not respond to an email requesting comment.

Mario Luis Poll, a 57-year-old art restorer who has lived in the building for 19 years, walked around his unit showing the repairs he has done to try to hold the ceiling together after the floor of the room above his collapsed.

Right above him, 47-year-old musician Marcos Villa faces a different problem: Foliage from a tree is growing out of his improvised bathroom.

鈥淭he struts (the wooden posts that support the roof of the entire building) are almost just for decoration,鈥� Poll said, shrugging in a sign of resignation.

Cuba鈥檚 housing crisis聽is one of the most pressing challenges facing the island, where a humid climate, the passage of hurricanes and other storms, poor maintenance and a low completion rate of new ones are usually among Cubans鈥� top complaints.

Cuba鈥檚 director of housing, Vivian Rodr铆guez, said earlier this month that the island has a housing deficit of 800,000 homes, especially in the provinces of Havana, Holgu铆n, Santiago de Cuba and Camag眉ey.

Government figures from 2020 say Cuba had 3.9 million homes, of which nearly 40 percent were deemed to be in only fair or poor condition.

鈥淭he situation is critical,鈥� said Abel Tablada, professor at the Faculty of Architecture of the Technological University of Havana.

Rebuilding and restoring partially collapsed buildings 鈥渞equires many resources that the Cuban state does not have in these moments of acute crisis,鈥� he added.

The residents of the house on Villegas Street, tired of asking authorities for help, can only sigh about the fate of the former mansion they inhabit.

鈥淚f those marquises came back to life and saw this house, they would surely die again,鈥� joked Elayne Clavel, 26.