On Wednesday 23 July, owners of flats in buildings deemed uninhabitable and evicted under Cyprus' 'KtiZo' programme said that the process of demolishing the emergency buildings had stalled.
In addition, they said, many of the premises have been illegally occupied by squatters.
A squatter is someone who lives in an empty apartment.
Dozens of people complained that government officials forced them to leave their legal homes and move into rented accommodation almost a year ago. Since then, the issue of their property has not been resolved. But almost all the homes have been looted: everything from solar panels to meters, electrical appliances, doors and windows have been removed.
Many owners said they agreed to the proposed terms because they were promised new complexes would be built quickly, something they now regret. While the evictees rent other people's flats at inflated prices, their own flats are occupied by squatters. The squatters are not embarrassed by the state and condition of the buildings; they have covered the places where doors and windows used to be with pieces of cloth and feel very comfortable in their free accommodation.
If the authorities had allowed us to stay until all the demolition work had been completed, we would have been able to stay in our homes without receiving rent [from the state] and without having to apply for the extra amount demanded by the owners of the homes we are renting," the refugees said.
As beneficiaries of the KtiZo scheme are entitled to a rent subsidy for 24 months, many are concerned about what will happen if the process drags on. It should be noted that, according to the rules of the scheme, the amount of the rent subsidy is determined according to the type of housing the beneficiary has been living in. Thus, for a one-bedroom flat, the subsidy is €400 per month, for a two-bedroom flat it is €600 and for a three-bedroom flat it is €800. As rents in Limassol are much higher than in other Cypriot cities, beneficiaries who own property here receive €600 for a one-bedroom flat, €800 for a two-bedroom flat and €1,000 for a three-bedroom flat.
In early March 2023, the House of Representatives Committee on Refugees expressed concern about the condition of the buildings housing displaced persons from the occupied areas of the island.
In particular, it noted that they were not earthquake-proof and were generally uninhabitable. The Ministry of Urban Development, which is responsible for repairing these buildings, stated that it was not profitable to repair the houses because they were built with materials that were fifty years old.
There are currently 2,932 houses for Greek Cypriot refugees built on an area of 901,129 m2 owned by Turkish Cypriots. There are ten government settlements in Paphos, seven in Larnaca, eight in Limassol and seven in Nicosia. These properties are managed by a special service set up in 1991. Many of the properties are in very poor condition due to a lack of investment.
After lengthy discussions, the Cypriot Minister of the Interior announced that the government would allocate €100 million for the renovation of temporary housing in refugee settlements. It has been decided to renovate the dangerous facilities in stages. The large-scale project is expected to be completed within 10 years.
Recently, the residents of 43 of the most dangerous apartment complexes were evacuated with the payment of subsidies. People were offered two options:
- temporarily relocate to another place and then receive an apartment in a new house built on the site of their demolished complex;
- receive a lump sum compensation from the state for their property and a share of the land.