Cyprus expands housing support with two new schemes

The government on Wednesday announced two new housing schemes aimed at expanding affordable housing options, allowing families to add an extra floor to existing homes and making state-owned plots available to eligible households. Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou said the schemes formed part of a broader housing policy designed to increase the available housing stock and give people more opportunities to secure a home. “Our housing policy is a continuous and multi-level effort, with a clear goal, to expand housing options and create more opportunities for citizens to acquire a home,” Ioannou said. The first scheme will allow owners of existing homes, subject to specific conditions, to construct an additional floor for children or grandchildren, even where the existing building has exhausted its permitted building density. “In simple terms, we are giving owners of existing homes the opportunity, under specific conditions and regardless of whether the building density has been exhausted, to construct an additional floor to house their children or grandchildren,” Ioannou stated. The scheme will apply across Cyprus, with specific exceptions set out in its terms. The government said the measure had a clear social dimension because it would allow families to make better use of property they already own, reducing the need to find alternative housing and lowering construction costs. The scheme is also intended to make better use of the existing housing stock and planning capacity in towns and communities. Under the scheme, an additional housing unit can be created within an existing building or through an extension, the addition of a floor or the use of undeveloped space on a plot. The new unit can have a buildable area of up to 150 square metres, rising to 180 square metres under certain conditions on larger plots. The scheme also provides for concessions concerning parking spaces and imposes a 10-year restriction on transferring the new unit, except in cases of inheritance. The second scheme concerns the allocation of state-owned plots to families based on income criteria, with the dual objective of supporting households struggling to acquire a home while strengthening local communities. “Through the scheme, we are making use of available state land and making it available to families that meet the established criteria, so that they can acquire their own home for owner-occupation,” Ioannou said. “The plots will be made available at 25 per cent of their market value,” he added. Eligible applicants will be Cypriot citizens under the age of 45, with the scheme covering families with children, couples without children and single-parent families, subject to specific income, family and other criteria. The measure is intended to give younger and low- to middle-income households a way to acquire land at a significantly reduced cost. “At the same time, the allocation of plots in rural and mountain communities contributes to their strengthening and revitalisation,” Ioannou said. Applications to participate in the scheme will be made through the presidents of community councils, who will forward preliminary requests to the relevant district administrations so that the assessment and subdivision of proposed plots can begin. Around 570 plots across all districts will be allocated in the coming period to beneficiaries who previously expressed interest during the first phase of the scheme. Further plot subdivisions will then be carried out in communities that have expressed interest. Particular emphasis will be placed on mountainous, remote and disadvantaged areas, while detailed guides for the two new schemes are expected to be published on the Interior Ministry’s website in the coming days. Ioannou said the two measures formed part of the government’s wider response to the housing challenge, centred on increasing the housing stock and strengthening citizens’ ability to secure accommodation. The minister stated that existing measures were already producing measurable results. The housing scheme for young people and young families aged up to 41 has supported 700 beneficiaries, at a total cost of €26 million. “The strong response creates the prospect of reopening the scheme, provided the necessary resources are secured,” Ioannou said. Housing schemes for mountain, border, disadvantaged and rural areas had also supported both housing and community development, with 1,075 applications approved between 2023 and 2026 at a total cost of €43 million. Housing schemes administered by the Service for the Care and Rehabilitation of Displaced Persons were also continuing to address the needs of refugee families, the minister said. More than 6,500 applications were approved between 2023 and 2026, involving a total amount of €168 million. The government was also advancing its scheme for the construction of affordable housing on state land, with the aim of creating 460 modern and quality homes for young people and families at highly affordable rents. The architectural competition has been completed, standard development designs have been selected and the next stages of implementation are under way. Ioannou also said the Cyprus Land Development Corporation (CLDC) had been reactivated and strengthened as a key arm of the government’s housing policy. A total of 702 housing units are currently at the implementation, licensing or planning stage, while the development of 135 plots is also being promoted. Planning incentive schemes and the Built to Rent initiative are expected to add more than 4,100 housing units to the market over the next three years. Of these, 1,142 are expected to be made available for affordable purchase or rent. More than €22 million is also expected to flow into the CLDC’s Special Affordable Housing Fund, allowing the organisation to create around 250 additional units. “The schemes for student and collective accommodation are also progressing, expanding the options available to students and workers and addressing specific housing needs,” Ioannou said. The minister said the reform of fast-track planning approvals had also already produced measurable results. By the end of August, 2,533 detached and semi-detached houses had been licensed within 40 working days, while 1,242 apartment blocks and terraced housing developments had been licensed within 80 working days. The developments concern more than 15,000 families, who are estimated to be able to obtain their homes around a year and a half earlier as a result. “These figures reflect in practice the government’s direction on housing, towards greater supply, more options, faster implementation and meaningful support for citizens,” Ioannou said. He pointed out that housing was one of the government’s most important policy priorities because it directly affected quality of life, young people and families, demographic trends, citizens’ financial security and social cohesion. “That is why we are proceeding with a comprehensive and continuously evolving framework of policies, increasing the housing stock, making use of state and private land, supporting citizens and speeding up procedures,” Ioannou said. “The new schemes we presented today are part of this overall effort,” he added. “Most importantly, our housing policy is not remaining on paper, it is being implemented and is already delivering tangible results,” Ioannou continued. “We will continue in the same direction, enriching and adapting our policies to the real needs of society and making use of every available tool and possibility of the state,” he stated. The President of the Union of Cyprus Communities, Andreas Kitromilides, welcomed the announcements, particularly the measure allowing an additional floor to be constructed. “The issue of extending by another floor will help our communities very, very much,” Kitromilides said. “It was an issue which, when we examined the policy as the Union of Communities, we raised and demanded, so that communities could now have not only an extension to one floor, meaning from one to two, but also to a third floor,” he added. “These are certainly issues that we are constantly looking at together with you,” Kitromilidis said. “We see the support and I believe that through our co-operation we will find several more things that can help the countryside, because the countryside really needs the government’s support, and we see that on this issue we have you with us,” he added. Meanwhile, Diko MP Panicos Leonidou said the package represented another measure strengthening housing policy and helping address the housing problem, particularly for young couples. He congratulated the government and referred to Diko’s contribution, saying such co-operation should continue with other political parties. “The housing problem is not the problem of one party or one person,” Leonidou said.