Justice and Human Rights Puerto Rico Project #52066

Not alone: Legal support to stop foreclosures

by Ayuda Legal Puerto Rico

Not alone: Legal support to stop foreclosures

Project Report | Feb 9, 2026
Policy informed legal support to protect housing

By Ariadna Godreau Aubert | Founder and director

For many families, losing their home doesn’t happen overnight. It starts with a notice they don’t understand, a court date they’re afraid to attend, or a policy change that quietly removes a layer of protection. Derecho a Tu Casa exists to step in at that moment—before displacement becomes inevitable.

In 2016, this program was created to defend the right to stay. It provides legal accompaniment to tenants and homeowners facing eviction, foreclosure, or other housing threats, while also helping people understand their rights and options. As the housing crisis continues to grow, Derecho a Tu Casa has adapted to meet new challenges. The program has been modified in response to shifting policies, court practices, and enforcement trends that directly affect whether people can remain in their homes.

Legal accompaniment is at the core of this work. We walk alongside people as they navigate complex legal processes—reviewing documents, preparing court filings, communicating with landlords or agencies, and making informed decisions under pressure. This support matters because legal systems are rarely designed with vulnerable communities in mind. Accompaniment helps reduce fear, confusion, and isolation, and gives people a real chance to assert their right to stay.

Legal education and awareness is a key part of the program. Through workshops, materials, and one-on-one conversations, Derecho a Tu Casa helps people recognize early warning signs, understand their housing rights, and take action before a crisis escalates. Knowledge becomes a tool for protection—not just for individuals, but for entire communities.

What makes this program especially effective is how direct legal work is strengthened by informed policy analysis. By closely monitoring housing policies and legal developments, we are able to adapt our strategies and provide guidance that reflects the reality people are facing right now. At the same time, the cases we accompany reveal where the system is failing, informing broader efforts to defend housing stability and the right to stay.

The need for this work continues to grow. More families are being pushed toward displacement, often with limited protections and few resources. Continued support is essential to expand legal accompaniment, strengthen community education, and respond quickly to emerging threats.

By supporting Derecho a Tu Casa, you are helping people stay in their homes, protect their dignity, and build stronger, more resilient communities.

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Aug 26, 2025
Holding Ground: Families, Homes, and Defense

By Ariadna Godreau Aubert | Founder and director

Puerto Rico is living through a housing crisis that goes far beyond broken roofs or late payments. It is a crisis of belonging, of dignity, and of power. Families are asking themselves: Can we make a future here, in our own land?

The numbers tell a painful story. Median household income remains under $25,000. Yet in 2024, the average cost of a new home climbed to $367,717—a jump of 18.4% in just one year. Existing homes now average $213,000. Seven out of ten Puerto Ricans are priced out of owning a home.

Behind these numbers are families pushed out by speculation and investors, entire communities forced to choose between leaving or losing everything. The pressures are relentless—rising costs of power and essentials, fragile health and income, and foreclosure processes that ignore these realities.

This is why Derecho a tu Casa exists. We believe housing is not a privilege, it is a right. We stand with families in court and in the streets, demanding protections for the homes where they have invested their time, labor, and dreams. We make visible what systems prefer to erase: that every family deserves safety, stability, and the chance to stay rooted.

The fight is not easy. Federal oversight is being dismantled; agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Office are being weakened. Discriminatory policies require complaints—including those about language discrimination—to be processed in English, erecting yet another barrier.

But we refuse to stand down. The landscape is shifting, the challenges are multiplying, and so must our courage. Derecho a tu Casa is entering a new decade ready to fight harder, build stronger, and push for the collective vision of housing as a human right.

Your support is not charity—it is solidarity. Donate now to keep families in their homes, defend dignity, and turn this fight into lasting change. Every donation is a stand for housing justice.

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Apr 28, 2025
On context and the urgent support of housing

By Ariadna Godreau-Aubert | Founder and Director

Recent policy changes - and threats - to the right to housing and the accountability requirements regarding financial institutions and banks concern families with mortgages. Defunding strategies directed to agencies that look out for consumer rights and are called to process complaints presented by those affected by predatory lending practices, together with an ample restriction to public assistance, translate into further housing insecurity for many.

While these changes occur at the United States level - and have not impacted laws when this report is written- the relationship between the EEUU and Puerto Rico brings these dangers home. Immediately, we experienced a new delay in complaints presented to federal agencies, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. We are also aware of drastic and harmful shifts in the Fair Housing Act protection, including restrictions to protect people based on disparate impact practices and omissions. If the Executive Orders adopted by this new federal administration have a more profound impact, we could see less protection on the ground for individuals who belong to protected classes - such as race, religion, sex, and gender (including domestic violence), and national origin. Disparate impact, or indirect discrimination caused by practices or omissions caused by powerful actors such as financial institutions and mortgage banks, could remain impune.

A legal empowerment project that promotes legal awareness among families with mortgages while accompanying those affected in complex litigation scenarios is needed. Even more, when this same project ensures local advocacy to guarantee spaces where these families can demand protection and remedies based on violations suffered. If there has been a time when donating to support projects with a clear perspective on housing as a right, it is now.

Yet, at different levels, donors may feel conflicted in their contributions. We have seen a heightened caution coming from private funders - big and small- based on fear and uncertainty and the impact of an overwhelming haul of rights and protection on our everyday lives. Because we share the context, we understand. As human rights defenders and advocates, we also know that it is precisely in scenarios of restrictions and exclusions of historically marginalized individuals and causes that our solidarity is more urgent and relevant.

We call all our donors to support our projects and continue contributing to the causes you thought important some years ago, knowing that your support is vital and instrumental.

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