More refugees set to get title deeds for housing

Greek Cypriot refugees living on housing estates, and whose homes feature minor irregularities, will be able to acquire a title deed, the interior minister said on Tuesday.

Constantinos Ioannou said the relevant legislation would go to the cabinet this Thursday. Once it gets the nod there, it would be tabled to parliament.

Ioannou said the owners would be able to transfer the deed to their children, or mortgage the property.

However, they could not sell the property until the minor irregularities are sorted out.

Government refugee settlements and self-housing programmes provide state-supported residential solutions for displaced persons.

Self-housing, or self-help schemes, grant plots or financial aid to assist in constructing permanent homes. Since 1976, over 14,000 plots of land have been granted to eligible individuals for building homes.

Speaking at the House refugees committee, Ioannou also said that refugees wanting to buy or build homes in areas close to the Green Line and disadvantaged areas would soon be entitled to 20 per cent more assistance from the state.

Where for example one person in the household is a refugee, he or she would be entitled up to €65,000.

According to the minister, the Service for the Care and Rehabilitation of Displaced Persons has a budget of €50 million. The government is mulling increasing the grant amounts for next year.

Regarding the Ktizo scheme, Ioannou said that in May two more apartment buildings will be ready, plus four more by the end of the year.

The programme involves upgrading or replacing unsafe older settlement apartment blocks.

In April 2023 the government launched Ktizo, a €130 million long-term project to provide “respectable living conditions” on refugee estates. The scheme involves giving incentives to tenants to relocate to new housing.

There are 358 refugee apartment buildings across the government-controlled areas. Living conditions in some of them have been described as dangerous, with refugees fearing the apartments are on the brink of collapse.

Of the 358 apartment buildings, 245 are deemed to be in satisfactory condition and 70 have problems that need maintenance. The remaining 43 have structural issues and their renovation is deemed unsustainable and not financially viable.

On the government’s housing policy in general, Ioannou told MPs that the key focus is driving prices down.

A main reason for high real estate prices is the “imbalance between supply and demand”, he said.

“Our efforts concentrate on increasing the housing stock, to deflate prices.”