Brugada Wants a 60-Square-Meter Minimum for New Mexico City Homes

Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada Molina wants private developers to follow the same minimum home size the city already applies to its social housing: 60 square meters. She raised the idea while presenting the draft of the General Development Plan (PGD) 2025-2045, according to Publimetro México. Nothing has been banned, and the city has not set a date for any new requirement.

The proposal targets the so-called “departamentos huevito” (egg apartments), very small units sold in several parts of the city, some of them under 50 square meters.

What exactly did Brugada propose?

Asked about developments that sell compact units, Brugada said the city government already treats 60 square meters as the minimum in its social housing programs. She argued that the same figure should be considered for private projects too. Publimetro reported that she acknowledged the regulations would first have to be reviewed.

She told reporters that decent housing means a space of at least 60 square meters. The city’s Housing Secretariat (Secretaría de Vivienda) already includes that criterion in its operating rules for government programs, so the aim is to study whether it can apply outside them.

Are small apartments now prohibited?

No. According to Publimetro, there is no announcement of an immediate ban on building or selling smaller homes, and no deadline for private developers to build only units of 60 square meters or more. The city government still has to analyze the legal and planning tools needed before it can impose new obligations on the private sector.

The idea would require reviewing the urban planning instruments and the provisions that govern new real estate projects. It is not yet known whether a future change would include exceptions, transition periods or special conditions for developments that already hold permits.

Why does it matter?

The proposal puts the size of new homes into the discussion about real estate growth in the capital, where apartments keep getting smaller. For renters and buyers, including newcomers looking at compact units in popular neighborhoods, a minimum size would change what developers are allowed to offer, but only if it becomes a binding rule. At the moment it is a stated intention from the head of the city government.

Brugada tied the question to the right to adequate housing. She said that guaranteeing it means reviewing the conditions and dimensions of the homes being built in the capital.

What happens next?

The city government has to work out the legal and planning mechanisms. Publimetro reported that Brugada said her administration will keep reviewing the matter so that the criterion is not limited to government-built housing. No timeline was given.

Until a rule is published, small apartments remain legal in Mexico City.

Source: Publimetro México