“A Country That Never Finishes Building Itself”: Why Peru Has So Many Unfinished Homes

Peru is a nation where construction seems to perpetually stall, leaving countless homes unfinished and shaping a unique urban aesthetic. In neighborhoods like Los Olivos in Lima, it's common to see houses with exposed rebar and unpainted facades, a stark contrast to the completed homes that dot the landscape. Alejandra Gómez and her aunt, Mirsa Amasifen, exemplify the generational effort required to build a home, with their own house taking 25 to 30 years to complete across three floors.

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Building the first floor took ten years. The second six. The third between six and eight. In total, 25-30 years. Three generations have lived here.

This widespread unfinished construction is not merely an aesthetic quirk but a reflection of deeper societal and economic realities. Urbanist Wiley Ludeña of the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú describes the country as "a country that never finishes building itself," likening the capital to a "giant informal city, as if it were all a permanent construction site." This situation is particularly prevalent outside of middle and upper-class neighborhoods.

One commonly cited reason for leaving homes incomplete is tax avoidance, with some believing that ongoing construction leads to lower property taxes. However, the reality is far more intricate. Limited financial resources, families expanding faster than housing can be built, policies that offer more encouragement than solutions, and the overwhelming reliance on self-construction all contribute to the problem. It is estimated that 7 out of 10 houses in Peru are self-built, one of the highest rates in Latin America.

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Peru is a country that never finishes building itself.

The trend of unfinished homes intensified from the 1960s onwards, coinciding with rapid rural-to-urban migration driven by industrialization. The government viewed self-construction as a solution, albeit one that lacked significant state financial support. Amasifen's own experience reflects this, having moved from the highlands to Lima and settling in an area that was once farmland. Initial homes were made of adobe, later replaced with concrete as resources allowed.

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It is like a giant informal city, as if it were all a permanent construction site.

While areas like Los Olivos have largely become formalized, the legacy of informal settlement and continuous expansion persists, marked by the prevalence of incomplete projects. This creates a mixed visual landscape in most Lima neighborhoods, a common sight in other Peruvian cities as well. Ludeña notes that these settlements, initially seen as havens where people built according to their means, have evolved into an "urban hell lacking services, a sick city due to state abandonment in technical advice."

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It is profitable. While they are under construction, they pay fewer taxes.