More than 1,500 people have so far benefited from special housing schemes targeted at rural and mountain areas, the government said on Thursday.
The schemes are designed to help young people obtain a house of their own and at the same mitigate urbanisation.
To date, €56 million in grants has been disbursed under these programmes.
In force since June of this year, the schemes have been extended so that applications may be filed until the end of 2025.
In a statement, the interior ministry described the various tweaks made to the schemes.
For instance, their duration has been extended to December 31, 2025 so as to give beneficiaries ample time to secure the town planning and building permits required for participation. Previously, people had complained they could not secure these permits on time, which disqualified them from the schemes.
Another change impacting eligibility relates to the state of the house to be built. Under the old rules, only those applications were approved where construction was at the stage of the frame – or ‘the bones’ – of the house.
Now, any applicant is eligible so long as construction works on the house are not complete, and regardless of when the construction works began. Applicants must submit a valid construction permit, while at the time of applying the residence itself must not have been connected to the electricity grid.
As far as the payments schedule goes, the government grant is disbursed in three tranches. The first instalment – 20 per cent of the grant – is paid as an advance on the signing of the agreement, and without the applicant being required to have already secured self-financing or construction works having begun. Next, 60 per cent of the grant is paid when 50 per cent of the construction project is reached; the remaining 20 per cent is given on completion of construction.
Also eligible for these grant schemes are young people studying abroad. Their time spent overseas is now treated as if they continued to live continuously in Cyprus during this time, so that on their return to the island they are instantly eligible to apply.
