Until recently, it was difficult to rent out your property in Cyprus, as you had to spend time registering the property in the cadastre.
However, after the Cypriot Parliament passed a bill that regulates the short-term rental of real estate through online services, everything became much easier.
Property owners have more time to record the fact of short-term renting out their property. The new law also removed the requirement to obtain the consent of the house committee or, in case of its absence, all apartment owners to rent out one particular property through Airbnb.
Another change is that the concept of "residential zone" has been abolished. That is, while previously renting out was not possible everywhere by law, but only in areas designated in the city planning plan as a "residential zone," now any object can get permission to rent out, you just need to submit an application to the cadastral service and be listed in the registry.
By the way, all these factors combined to popularize Airbnb in Cyprus. Today, it is one of the top platforms for short-term rentals in the country. Interestingly, interest in the service is constantly growing not only among property owners but also among tenants who actively use it.
To date, of the total number of tourist properties available for rent in Cyprus, 8,510 are rented through the Airbnb service.
At the same time, only 6.7 thousand accommodation facilities are officially registered in the register of the Ministry of Tourism. According to experts, there is a tendency on the island to repurpose real estate as an investment asset, rather than to meet the demand for accommodation. The financial attractiveness of Airbnb is obvious: revenues vary significantly depending on location. Analysis shows that in popular tourist destinations such as Protaras, Ayia Napa, and Paphos, annual income from renting out an apartment or house to tourists can range from €13,000 to €63,000. These figures are constantly increasing. For example, only last year in Ayia Napa and Protaras, the income of owners who put their properties on Airbnb increased by 27% and 43%, respectively.
Note that in January 2020, a new law came into effect in Cyprus that requires those wishing to rent out their properties for short-term rentals to obtain a license. The new law 9(I)/2020 amended the existing "Law on the Regulation of the Establishment and Operation of Hotels and Tourist Facilities of 2019 (N. 34(I)/2019)" and aims to regulate the operation and licensing of small entrepreneurs. Once obtained, the license is valid for three years and is automatically renewed upon payment of a special fee.
Violators of the law face a fine of €2,000 and repeat offenders face a fine of €4,000.