The Cypriot Cabinet of Ministers has approved significant changes to the housing schemes for displaced persons under the state programme 'KtiZO'.
The main changes include an increase of €5,000 in the income limits for all categories of home construction and purchase programmes, as well as the unification of income criteria for home renovation programmes.
The new policy also allows applications that exceed the income criteria by a percentage to be approved, with the difference being deducted from the final amount of financial assistance.
In addition, the calculation of the home purchase subsidy will now be based on the date the property is connected to the electricity grid, rather than the date of the purchase contract.
It has also been decided to raise the age limit for foreign students applying for housing subsidies to 25 years for women and 26 years for men who have completed compulsory military service.
The minimum age of properties to be renovated has been reduced from 20 to 15 years.
The new provisions concern cases where one spouse has not been displaced but owns a residential property that was sold at least five years before the marriage or civil partnership.
Cypriot Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou said the changes were made in response to comments made by the Parliamentary Committee on Refugees, the All Cyprus Refugee Union and eligible displaced persons.
He stressed that the changes were aimed at benefiting more eligible beneficiaries and at addressing the current problems faced by refugees in Cyprus seeking accommodation.
New income limits:
- Up to €30,000 for single persons
- Up to €50,000 for couples or single parents
- Up to €55,000 for families with one child
- Up to €60,000 for families with two children
- Up to €70,000 for families with three or more children
Speaking separately about a housing project in the Strovolos area of Nicosia, Ioannou announced that a new building with 30 apartments is under construction, 18 of which will be for eligible beneficiaries of the ktiZO programme from three demolished buildings.
The Strovolos municipality has given the residents of the demolished buildings until the end of January 2025 to vacate their homes.
The 'Ktizo' programme divides beneficiaries into three categories:
- Category 1 - includes first, second, third and fourth generation refugees who have inherited emergency housing, if they have a housing title.
- Category 2 - includes those refugees who bought properties in housing estates with money allocated to them by the state.
- Category 3 - includes residents who have bought an apartment from refugees.
In the case of demolition and construction of a new building in place of the emergency flats, there are fixed prices: 40,000 euros for a one-room flat, 60,000 euros for a two-room flat, 75,000 euros for a three-room flat. This amount is only partially covered by the state subsidy. The amount of the state subsidy for the demolition of a building and the purchase of an apartment in a new building:
- Category 1 - 30 thousand euros for a one-room flat, 40 thousand euros for a two-room flat, 50 thousand euros for a three-room flat;
- Category 2- 20,000 euros for one-bedroom flats, 30,000 euros for two-bedroom flats, 40,000 euros for three-bedroom flats;
- Category 3-0.
The remaining amount is to be contributed by the beneficiaries from their own resources.