As of today, out of the total number of tourist properties available for short-term rental in Cyprus, 8,248 are officially registered with the Sub-Ministry of Tourism, representing 36,640 beds.
This was announced by the head of the department, Costas Koumis, on Tuesday 18th February.
If we look more closely at each town, Paphos has the highest number of such establishments. This is followed by the free areas of Famagusta, Larnaca, Limassol and Nicosia. There are now 1,275 applications awaiting approval and another 1,170 pending.
Koumis said the sub-ministry regularly receives complaints about properties being rented out without a licence. The department refers such cases to the Parliamentary Tourism Committee, which promptly resolves the issues and fines the offenders.
At the same time, he stressed the interest of owners of short-term rental properties to join the national register. Koumis said that the increase in registrations was the result of targeted information campaigns carried out by the Cyprus Tourism Sub-Ministry. Acknowledging the economic contribution of short-term rentals, Koumis said that the sector competes with the hotel industry, which poses some problems in controlling the activities of such properties. Looking ahead to 2025, Koumis was optimistic about new record figures for Cyprus' tourism sector.
In two years, we have fully recovered from the loss of the Russian market, achieving growth of more than 25 per cent in both arrivals and revenues,' Koumis said.
It should be recalled that a few years ago, a new law came into force in Cyprus requiring persons wishing to rent out their property on a short-term basis 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 AirBnB, HomeAway or booking.com services will be required to register 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.