Hundreds of people have applied for the Mortgage to Rent scheme since it was relaunched. The total number of applications for the third quarter of 2024 is 2,417. Cypriots are showing great interest in the government scheme.
This was announced recently by a representative of KEDIPES, which is overseeing the project.
The organisation is now actively screening beneficiaries for compliance with the programme's criteria. Of the total number of applications, 1,674 are at the technical control stage, 386 are being evaluated, 98 have been approved and 259 have been rejected.
Recall that the government's Mortgage to Rent programme was first launched in 2023. The scheme proved so popular with residents of the island nation that the government decided to renew it in the autumn of 2024. The scheme covers overdue loans secured on a main residence up to €350,000. Beneficiaries are people from low-income groups and pensioners, whether or not they have applied to join the ESTIA and Oikia schemes.
The programme is also open to borrowers who have defaulted on their mortgage, but whose application to join the ESTIA and Oikia schemes has been rejected because they were deemed unviable due to low income.
A separate company, KEDIPES EED Ltd, has been set up to administer the new scheme and maintain separate accounting records, including a fixed asset register. As part of the scheme, arrangements have been made to insure the properties that will come into the ownership of KEDIPES. Call centres and service points have been opened in five towns in Cyprus, staffed by qualified personnel who are available to answer questions from the public and those interested in participating in the scheme.
KEDIPES' main function in the Mortgage for Rent programme is to purchase non-performing loans and other high-risk assets from Cypriot financial institutions.
As conceived, KEDIPES is supposed to buy mortgages from debtors. The troubled borrowers will then be allowed to rent their property from the 'bad bank' for 14 years. During this period, they are charged rent at 65% of the market average. At the end of this period, they can get the property back if they pay the arrears. The current price of the property for borrowers in arrears is equal to the price at which KEDIPES purchased the property, less the rent paid over 14 years. If the borrower is unable to repurchase the property, for example due to lack of funds or death, his next of kin are entitled to do so under the same conditions. Finally, if the conditions of the scheme are not met, KEDIPES can sell the property at its discretion after 14 years.
Applications for the government's Mortgage to Rent scheme can only be submitted in paper form to the KEDIPES offices at the following addresses:
- 7 Grigori Afxentiou Street, Nicosia, 1096;
- 97 Gladstonos Street, Oasis Complex, Block E, 3rd Floor, Limassol, 3032;
- 5 Giorgos Christodoulidis Street, Larnaca, 6041;
- Kinira and Koriou Junction, 7, 4th floor, Paphos, 8011;
- Griva Digeni Street 4, Paralimni, 5281.
For more information about the project, please call: 22 743400.