Opposition Disy on Monday called for a “holistic” approach to tackling the problem of affordable housing, while for its part the government promised more programmes to help young people get on the property ladder.
“Government intervention so far, although moving in the right direction, has been piecemeal and has not managed to deal with the problem,” Disy leader Annita Demetriou said at a news conference.
“Young people, young couples face difficulty in finding affordable housing, to either rent or buy,” she noted.
“They also find it hard to secure a loan, as interest rates are high, and they know they need to have a steady job with a good salary in order to be able to repay the loan.”
Demetriou cited a combination of factors which create an imbalance between supply and demand of housing units. Whereas demand – boosted by foreign nationals – keeps growing, supply lags behind. Affordability is also related to rising construction costs, while red tape slows down the issuance of buildings permits. Meanwhile, developers prefer projects for high-end customers.
The Disy leader outlined her party’s recommendations to alleviate the situation. One is to expedite the issuance of town planning and building permits by local government authorities. If need be, these authorities should hire people from the private sector.
In addition, tweaks are necessary to government schemes designed to increase the housing stock. Although such schemes do provide incentives to developers – like a higher buildable area – they are also restrictive in other ways. For example, the minimum surface area of eligible land plots should be reduced, so that more people can apply.
Local zoning plans should also be updated to allow for more residential buildings. Another proposal involves allowing for a higher buildable area for young couples who intend to build on top of an existing house belonging to the parents.
As far as student housing goes, Disy called for more government funding for the University of Cyprus and the Technical University of Cyprus.
The party also proposed land reclamation, a topic of discussion for many years, in order to unlock idle plots of land and make them available for construction.
At the same time, the Cyprus Land Development Corporation (Koag) should be allowed to expand into the business of renting out housing units. The organisation should also be allocated state land where it would build housing units to be sold or rented at lower-than-market rates.
In tandem, Disy proposes changes to the income tax for households where one of the earners is below the tax threshold.
The government meanwhile said it remained vigilant about the issue of affordable homes. Queried on a radio show, under-secretary to the president Irini Piki said the administration aims to introduce “more permanent solutions” to its existing schemes.
Piki telegraphed that on October 30, two new schemes would be rolled out concerning affordable housing for young couples.
