Constantinos Ioannou: Improvements are coming to housing policy schemes - Announcements within the week

Incentives for the development of the countryside and mountainous areas, as well as the housing plans that make up the government's housing policy, have been summarised in an article by the Minister of the Interior, Constantinos Ioannou.

Referring to the incentives voted by the Council of Ministers last week, for the development of mountainous areas and the countryside, the Minister notes that a substantial upgrade of the Housing Schemes granted for the revitalisation of rural, mountainous, disadvantaged and remote communities has been implemented.

As he states, in conjunction with the development of employment, education, health and leisure infrastructure, "our aim with the revision of the Schemes is to create conditions and give incentives, especially to our young people, to choose these areas for their residence.”

The Minister notes that the initiative came about after dozens of suggestions from the Commissioner for the Development of Mountain Communities, the Union of Communities, organised groups, and also the citizens themselves.

"It is a fact that, since 2019 when the previous Government implemented the Schemes with enormous success, they were embraced by the citizens and proof of this is the 1,500 approvals given so far, with an investment of €55.4 million," he points out.

Ioannou states that by revising the plans, an attempt is being made to correct weaknesses, with the aim of making the Schemes more attractive to citizens. Initially, areas such as Peristerona and Astromeritis have been included and the category of other communities was upgraded, so that the beneficiaries would receive an increased subsidy.

As he notes, the subsidy ranges from €20,000 to €70,000 based on other criteria. In addition, the duration of the Schemes is extended from one to two years, so as to give the interested parties sufficient time to secure the necessary permits required to apply.

"At the same time, we were receiving complaints regarding the exclusion of citizens who acquired a house through donation some years before. Wanting to give them the opportunity to benefit from the Schemes, we excluded from the criteria the date of acquisition of the property, assuming that the repair will be done for owner-occupancy," he states.

In addition, the Minister also refers to the process of securing a loan. As he said, it was decided that the beneficiaries will be granted a pre-approval letter so that they can approach the banking institutions to borrow the remaining amount.

"Combined with the simplification of the payment process and the payment of the amount in three installments, of which the first is an advance payment, it is easier for citizens to secure a loan and, therefore, to start work faster," he underlines.

Additionally, Ioannou states that a fair request that has come to him concerns the exclusion of students from the Schemes if they are studying oversea for a period of two years after their return and notes that this has been resolved by lifting this restriction. In this way, he notes, we achieve our goal of attracting young people to the mountain communities, who bring with them experiences and knowledge, contributing to the development of their communities.

In addition to the Housing Schemes, Ioannou states that it was deemed appropriate to review the allowance for mountainous communities, including more communities, at the same time as correcting some points that, as he says, which were unfair to groups of beneficiaries, such as the unequal treatment of pensioners, who received a lower allowance than non-pensioners.

The increase from €85 to €165 of the allowance brings all beneficiaries on an equal footing and contributes to the maintenance of the existing population in these areas, the Minister points out, adding that the inclusion of students studying overseas among the beneficiaries is aimed in the same direction.

"All of the above revisions harmonise the Housing Schemes for rural and mountainous areas with the Government's objectives for housing policy and the strategy for rural development," he notes.

The Minister also referred to the Housing Policy Schemes, such as "Built to Rent" and the revised urban planning incentives to increase affordable housing stock and citizens' access to it.

"As a Ministry we are in close contact with land development professionals who have warmly embraced the two schemes and have suggested specific amendments to improve them.

I am delighted because next week, we will be able to announce these improvements, which I am sure will benefit the citizens as the ultimate recipients of our efforts," the Minister says.

Furthermore, Ioannou said that very soon the implementation of two more Housing Policy Plans will begin, the "Renovate-Rent" and the subsidy for 200 cases of young families under the age of 41.

He emphasised that they are two extremely important Schemes, which will provide short-term solutions to alleviate the serious housing problem. He clarified that the applications will be made through a special Cyprus Land Development Organisation electronic platform, as the executive arm of the housing policy, and the green light is expected from the Law Office for them to be implemented.

"As part of a wider social policy, through which the state aims to provide solutions to the citizen's daily life, the housing policy aims to improve the quality of life of our fellow citizens, not only in the urban centers, but mainly in areas facing the risk of abandonment," the Minister concludes.

(Source: InBusinessNews)