Uruguay launches housing initiatives and debates unit sizes

The Uruguayan government is advancing new housing projects and debating regulations regarding living space. The Ministry of Housing and the National Development Corporation (CND) have launched a call to construct up to 360 homes in Montevideo. This initiative, part of a housing program running through 2030, involves building up to six collective housing buildings intended for middle and lower-middle-income households.

The program aims for a distribution of approximately 21 percent one-bedroom apartments, 66 percent two-bedroom apartments, and 13 percent three-bedroom apartments. The project is funded through a trust between the Ministry of Housing and Territorial Planning (MVOT) and the CND, with an estimated annual resource of 840 million pesos.

Separately, the National Housing Agency (ANV) reported that 63.4 percent of promoted housing units for 2026 consist of studios or one-bedroom apartments. This data comes amid legislative discussions in Parliament regarding a proposal to mandate a minimum habitable surface area of 35 square meters. While a 2020 decree currently allows studios between 25 and 40 square meters to access tax benefits, lawmakers are weighing habitability and quality of life against the need for smaller, more affordable units.