Interior Minister announces updated housing plan to support young people and couples

Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou has announced the second call for the Housing Scheme providing financial assistance to young people and young couples under the age of 41, noting that it has been updated.

As stated by the Minister, the Scheme was evaluated based on the comments submitted by interested parties and is being re-announced with improved criteria, so as to be more attractive and serve its purpose more effectively. The electronic platform www.housing.moi.gov.cy has reopened and will remain open until November 30, 2025.

According to the Minister of Interior, the second call includes improving amendments, concerning:

1. An increase in the maximum usable area of ​​a residence from 100 sq.m. to 150 sq.m.
2. A reduction from 10 to 5 years of the requirement for use of the residence for permanent home ownership.
3. An increase in the maximum gross family income limit by €5,000 for all categories.
4. Participation in the Young Couples and Families Scheme, even if one member of the couple has already reached 41 years of age at the time of submitting the application.

233 valid applications are moving forward

During the first call for the Scheme, which was in force from 15 November to 31 December, 2024, 275 applications were submitted, of which 233 were valid and 42 were invalid. The 233 valid applications have already been forwarded to the District Administrations and their examination has begun. It is recalled that the grant ranges from €20,000 to €50,000 according to the composition and income of the family applying.

Continuing, Constantinos Ioannou stated that he had the opportunity to inform the President of the Republic and the Council of Ministers about the performance so far of the other housing policy plans and measures.

Great interest in the Build to Rent Scheme - Over 1,500 residential units

Referring to the urban planning incentives and the Build to Rent Scheme, which provide for the granting of an additional building coefficient of up to 45% of the current one, Ioannou underlined the very great interest from entrepreneurs in the construction sector.

More specifically, he pointed out, "interest has been expressed by 36 developers, some of whom have already signed an agreement with the Cyprus Land Development Corporation, while others are in the development planning stage or have submitted an application for a planning permit."

From the interest so far, it is estimated that a total of over 1,500 residential units will be produced.

Furthermore, by utilising the right to buy out the building factor, based on the data so far, it is expected that an amount of €7 million will be paid to the Corporation's special Affordable Housing Fund to be channeled into the implementation of its programmes for the construction of affordable housing units."

In relation to the Housing Schemes for remote, mountainous and disadvantaged areas and specific rural areas, since the review in May 2024, a total of 262 applications have been submitted. Of these, 70 have been approved for a total amount of €3 million, while the rest are under review.

Finally, regarding the Renovate-Rent Scheme, Ioannou noted that the Cyprus Land Development Corporation's electronic platform remains open for submission of applications from owners of idle premises. So far, he added, 277 interested owners have registered on the platform and 21 applications have been submitted and are being evaluated by the Corporation.

(Source: InBusinessNews)