Filenews 2 September 2021 - by Adamos Adamou
The fee that owners of self-catering accommodations have to pay for registration in the register of the Deputy Ministry of Tourism will not be the only one, in the context of the attempted regulation of short-term rentals made through electronic platforms, such as that of Airbnb.
Already, as confirmed by the president of the Union of Municipalities and mayor of Larnaka Andreas Vyras in his statements to "F", that legislative regulation is being attempted for the payment of an overnight fee to those who have villas, houses and apartments for short-term rentals.
According to him, this is likely to be achieved by adding the category of "self-catering accommodation" to the list of premises that currently pay overnight fees, which includes, among others, hotels, organized apartments, tourist villages, etc. He, in fact, said that there is already provision for the above in the bills promoted for the reform of local government, the fate of which, as we know, depends on the decisions of the Parliament, which will be taken shortly.
However, it is not excluded that, in case there is a delay in the promotion of the reform, there will be an amendment of the existing legislation that concerns only this issue, since the Union of Municipalities has long ago put before the Ministry of Interior this pending issue, which will obviously be another source of income for the local government. The settlement of the issue should also allay the concerns they occasionally express about unequal competition.
Moreover, the legislation that was promoted after a law proposal and amended the Regulation of the Establishment and Operation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation Law aims in the same direction. The same regulation, which was passed in early 2020 by the Parliament, now obliges those who have self-catering accommodation through electronic platforms to register in a specific register/list at the Deputy Ministry of Tourism. The legislation gave a two-year grace period for registrations in the relevant register and for obtaining a relevant license from the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, which expires in early February. In view of this, the Deputy Ministry of Tourism has for some time announced the commencement of registration of self-catering accommodation in the register, informing that from 7.2.2022, the date of application of the relevant law, the Deputy Ministry of Tourism may carry out ex officio inspection in any self-catering accommodation, to verify the existence of a permit for registration in the register of self-catering accommodation, as well as the observance of the terms of its registration as a self-catering accommodation. The registration fee for self-catering accommodation is €222 for each self-catering accommodation every three years, based on regulations also approved by the Parliament.
The Deputy Ministry of Tourism, through the NDT, reminded yesterday that the process of submitting applications for the registration of premises (villas, residences, apartments) in the register of self-catering accommodation continues, urging all interested parties to proceed with the registration of their premises, following the procedure described on the website of the Deputy Ministry of Tourism.
It also reminds that the applicants must have, prior to the submission of the application, (1) Registration with the Tax Department (Tax Identification Number and/or VAT where provided for under the relevant legislation) of the Republic of Cyprus and (2) Insurance Coverage of the Accommodation in force – at least against any risk, for fire and civil liability. According to the Deputy Ministry, the applicant will be able to advertise and/or rent the self-catering accommodation , - after February - provided that it is registered in the Register of Self-Catering Accommodation and has received a special mark and registration number from the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, which will be indicated on each platform where the accommodation will be advertised, as well as in all relevant transactions. The Deputy Ministry also recalls that the proceeds from the rental of self-reserving accommodation are subject to income tax and VAT based on the provisions of the respective laws. They will also be subject to overnight fees for local authorities, which, as we have mentioned, is being attempted to be regulated holistically through the reform of local government.
