Short-term rentals in Cyprus are increasingly at the centre of discussions about the shortage of affordable housing. The growing popularity of Airbnb and other platforms is often linked to a reduction in the supply of apartments available for long-term rent, but listings on booking websites alone are not enough to draw conclusions about the causes of rising prices.
As of 6 May 2026, Cyprus’s official register included 8,464 registered self-service accommodation units. At the same time, an audit by the Audit Office identified significant discrepancies between the register data and the actual listings available on short-term rental platforms.
The main question today is not so much whether tourist rentals should be restricted, but whether such regulation would actually lead to an increase in the number of apartments available for long-term residence. To understand this, it is necessary to consider not only Airbnb, but also rental prices, the volume of new construction, vacant housing and the specific characteristics of individual cities — especially Limassol and Nicosia.
Property registration system in Cyprus
The Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Tourism requires self-service accommodation to be registered before it is advertised and rented out. The registration number must be shown in the listing and used when transactions are concluded. More than 8,000 properties are included in the state register. However, according to the Audit Office, only a small proportion of them have valid licences.
This shows that one of the key challenges for the market is not only introducing new restrictions, but also ensuring compliance with the rules that already exist. Additional monitoring has become possible thanks to new EU-wide requirements.
What changed on 20 May 2026
From 20 May 2026, Regulation 2024/1028 governing the collection and transmission of data on short-term rentals applies across EU countries. The new system provides for the use of a single registration number, which must be visible in the listing. Platforms are also required to provide authorities with monthly information for each property, including its address, registration number and activity data.
For Cyprus, this is particularly important because such data make it possible to better understand how much housing is actually being used for short-term accommodation and whether genuine changes occur after restrictions are introduced. The legal framework for regulating short-term rentals in the EU is also shaped by the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union in the Cali Apartments cases (C-724/18 and C-727/18). The Court recognised that a shortage of affordable long-term housing may justify restrictions, but such measures must be necessary and proportionate to the objective pursued. The question, therefore, is not simply whether a ban should be introduced, but what form of regulation can actually increase the supply of affordable housing.
Why Limassol and Nicosia cannot be compared directly
Rental market conditions differ significantly from city to city. According to Global Property Guide data for March 2026, the average asking rent for a one-bedroom apartment was around €1,300 in Limassol compared with €650 in Nicosia. For two-bedroom apartments, the figures were €2,000 and €880 respectively, while for three-bedroom apartments they were €2,700 and €1,150. More recent Global Property Guide data also confirm the substantial gap between the two markets. At the same time, national trends show that rising rental costs cannot be explained solely by short-term rentals.
At the beginning of 2026, annual inflation in actual rents in Cyprus accelerated from 2.5% in January to 4.5% in April. At the same time, RICS/KPMG recorded annual growth in apartment rents of 5.79% in the fourth quarter of 2025, while house rents increased by 2.34%. This is why Limassol, Nicosia and resort areas require separate analysis. In each case, it is important to consider the number of vacant apartments, actual rental rates, the volume of empty housing, tourist demand, the number of short-term rental properties and the pace of new housing construction.
How much housing has already been returned to the market
One of the main tools for increasing the supply of long-term rental housing in Cyprus is the government “Renovate and Rent” programme. However, its initial results were more modest than originally expected. According to Ministry of Interior data presented on 18 February 2026, 76 applications had been submitted. Of these, 40 were approved, 16 rejected and another 20 were still under review. The total value of approved subsidies amounted to €1.2 million. The grant per apartment ranged from €15,000 to €35,000.
The government has already revised the programme’s conditions in an effort to make it more effective and increase the number of apartments returned to the rental market. Therefore, the key measure of success for Cyprus’s housing policy is not the number of new bans introduced or listings that disappear, but the actual increase in the supply of affordable long-term housing. It is also important to consider where exactly such apartments become available and at what price they are offered to tenants. For Limassol, where rental rates are significantly higher than in Nicosia, this issue is especially relevant.