Government scheme allows homeowners to build units for children and grandchildren
A new government scheme permits eligible homeowners to add a residential unit for children or grandchildren, subject to size, location and transfer restrictions.
Nicosia, Cyprus. Homeowners will be able to build an additional floor or extension to house their children or grandchildren under a new government scheme, the interior ministry confirmed on Thursday. The measure allows a new residential unit even where a property has exhausted its permitted building density.
Scheme provisions
Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou described the measure as “a targeted intervention which creates more opportunities for affordable housing, practically supporting families and especially the younger generation”.
Owners may create the new unit by adding a floor above an existing approved residence, incorporating it within the shell of the current building, extending the building or constructing it in remaining free space on the plot.
Exclusions and limits
The scheme excludes listed buildings, individual apartments in existing apartment blocks, land in tourist zones and sites in environmentally protected areas.
It cannot be used to legalise unauthorised structures already in place when the scheme was published.
The new unit may have a buildable area of up to 150 square metres, rising to 180 square metres for plots with a net area of at least 1,000 square metres.
Permit conditions
Once a planning permit is issued, applicants must submit a building permit application within one year or the planning permit will lapse.
A planning condition will require the property’s title deed to be amended, restricting the sale or transfer of the extended home for 10 years, except in inheritance cases.
Any planning permit issued under the scheme will be valid for a maximum of three years.
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