Cypriot Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou said on Tuesday 3 September that one in seven contracts for Turkish Cypriot properties in the Republic had been found to be in breach of lease agreements.
Speaking to the House Committee on Refugees, he said that the Turkish Cypriot Property Management Service has been carrying out inspections of leases on Turkish Cypriot properties for more than a year. The initiative was launched 'in order to clarify the extent to which the beneficiaries have implemented the relevant provisions'. So far, 92 per cent of all inspections have been completed. Out of 3.7 thousand contracts, violations have been found in 503 cases and legal proceedings have been initiated.
Ioannou mentioned that the government intends to amend the current legislation, which provides for the implementation of a new procedure for the distribution of Turkish Cypriot property in the Republic of Cyprus.
In particular, applicants will be assessed on the basis of clear, objective and measurable indicators when concluding leases.
This will limit the powers of the Custodian of Turkish Cypriot Property. The old system was often open to abuse. Now we will be able to achieve equality and transparency," Ioannou stressed.
He added that under the new amendment 'the distribution of Turkish Cypriot property will depend on the socio-economic status of the applicants and the composition of their families'.
At the same meeting, he said that the construction of new houses for refugees under the KtiZo plan would begin by the end of October.
The €130 million government scheme, which involves demolishing apartment blocks built after 1974 and replacing them with new buildings, with the government paying part of the rent to those affected, was unveiled in April last year but has been plagued by various delays.
This was partly due to the reluctance of tenants to leave their homes or pay private sector rents.
In April, Ioannou announced that work on the new buildings would begin in July, but this has not happened.