Cyprus launches housing schemes for families and eligible households

Nicosia, Cyprus. The government on Wednesday announced two housing schemes intended to expand affordable housing options, including a measure allowing families to add an extra floor to existing homes.

Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou said the schemes were part of a broader housing policy aimed at increasing available housing stock and creating more opportunities for citizens to acquire a home.

Additional floor scheme

The first scheme will allow owners of existing homes, subject to specific conditions, to construct an additional floor for their children or grandchildren, even where the building has exhausted its permitted building density.

“In simple terms, we are giving owners of existing homes the opportunity, under specific conditions and regardless of whether the building density has been exhausted, to construct an additional floor to house their children or grandchildren,” Ioannou said.

The scheme will apply throughout Cyprus, subject to specific exceptions set out in its terms.

Use of existing property

The government said the measure had a social dimension, as it would enable families to make better use of property they already own, reducing the need to seek alternative housing and lowering construction costs.

It is also intended to improve the use of existing housing stock and planning capacity in towns and communities.

Under the scheme, an additional housing unit may be created within an existing building or through an extension, the addition of a floor or the use of undeveloped space on a plot.

The new unit may have a buildable area of up to 150 square metres, increasing to 180 square metres under certain conditions on larger plots.