As of today, out of the total number of tourist properties available for short-term rental in Cyprus, 8,071 are officially registered with the Sub-Ministry of Tourism, representing 35,894 beds.
This was announced by the head of the department, Costas Koumis, on Monday 13th January.
A more detailed breakdown by town shows that Paphos has the largest number of such establishments - 3,900 with 17,776 beds. This is followed by the free districts of Famagusta (1,775 institutions for 9,034 beds), Larnaca (1,139 institutions for 4,258 beds), Limassol (962 institutions for 3,650 beds) and Nicosia (295 institutions for 1,106 beds).
Koumis noted that the sub-ministry regularly receives complaints about facilities being rented out without a licence. The department refers such cases to the Parliamentary Committee on Tourism, which resolves the issues promptly and fines the offenders.
It should be recalled that a few years ago a new law came into force in Cyprus requiring persons wishing to rent out their properties for short-term stays to obtain a licence.
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. According to the new regulations, property owners in Cyprus who wish to rent out their property for short-term rentals through the services of AirBnB, HomeAway or booking.com must be registered with the National Housing Registry.
To do so, they must obtain a special serial number on an online platform that will be developed by the Ministry of Tourism in mid-2021. Both individuals and legal entities can apply. At the same time, they must have
- Be registered with the Revenue Department of the Republic of Cyprus (taxpayer identification number or VAT number, if required by the relevant legislation).
- Valid house insurance, at least against fire and natural disasters.
When registering with Airbnb, HomeAway or Booking, property owners should be asked for a serial number assigned to them by the Cypriot government in the National Registry. Without this, landlords will not be able to register on the online platforms.
Once obtained, the licence 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. Enforcement is overseen by the Sub-Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Cyprus.