On Friday 13 September, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the draft of a new urban planning amnesty, thanks to which thousands of property owners will be able to obtain titles.
This was announced by the Minister of the Interior, Konstantinos Ioannou, who is the initiator of the innovations, immediately after the end of the meeting of MPs.
According to Ioannou, the urban planning amnesty will last for 6 months. Owners of problem properties will be able to take advantage of the benefits until March 2025. At the same time, the new rules will only apply to those structures that are arbitrarily installed in fully completed and licensed buildings. In other words, the residential complex must be completed and have a building permit.
To legalise illegal constructions, such as a balcony glazed without special permission or an unauthorised pergola, the owners have to pay a fine. The fine will range from 300 to 3,000 euros, depending on the nature of the offence, the property and its location.
This decision is of great importance for thousands of citizens who for years have been unable to formalise their property titles due to minor building violations. This initiative will solve problems of excessive building ratios and other deviations from the norms. All funds generated by this programme will be used for the construction of affordable housing in Cyprus," Ioannou said.
Full details of the urban planning amnesty are expected to be published soon on the website of the Cyprus Ministry of Urban Development. Applications for the new programme will be open for six months.