On 1 July 2024, Cyprus radically changed the procedure for obtaining building permits. Applications are now only accepted online through the integrated information system Hippodamos. The programme has been in operation for two years, but before that it was limited and only for certain types of applications. It turns out that not everything is going smoothly.
Recently, it was revealed that the system is constantly experiencing operational failures, causing widespread problems in the delivery of public services.
In particular, the time taken to issue building permits has increased significantly, rather than being reduced. In Nicosia and Limassol alone, 17,000 applications are currently pending. And the number is increasing every day. This is worrying for the officials who run the offices of the district organisations of ΕΟΑ (Επαρχιακών Οργανισμών Αυτοδιοίκησης) in these cities. According to Konstandinos Yiorkadzis and Yannis Tsouloftas, the system operates at a low level, is not efficient and is slow in processing applications. The problem is so serious that the president of the Chamber of Science and Technology (ETEK), Konstantinos Konstantis, has sent a mailing to all district offices recommending that applications be processed manually by staff.
As a reminder, applications can be submitted by architects or civil engineers (depending on the type of project) registered with ETEK.
Unlike the old procedures, the Hippodamos system itself assigns applications to the right departments. This means that the applicant now only interacts with one authority. It was expected that the innovations would reduce bureaucracy and inconvenience for the public, as well as speed up the processing of applications. In reality, however, everything turned out differently.