Filenews 12 August 2025 - by Michalis Hatzivasilis
The owners of rental vehicles react to the intention of the Police to withhold money from "Z" companies for extrajudicial purposes from cameras.
According to the president of the Cyprus Association of Rental Car Owners, Konstantinos Kontos, the legislation as it stands today, obliges vehicle rental companies to keep all the customer's details and those who do not, are accountable to the Department of Road Transport (TOM). The TOM must supervise companies if they fill in the full details of tenants and even reminded that the legislation also provides penalties for those who do not comply.
Mr. Kontos expressed the Association's opposition, as in 2021 when the issue was discussed again, with the suggestion to withhold money from tourists for photolabeling purposes. As he said, the budget of a tourist when he comes to Cyprus is limited and if you reserve an amount for him to be denounced by the cameras in order to pay for the out-of-court case, then he will spend less.
The only way for tourists not to leave without paying their fees is to transmit their details to the airports. Thus, according to the president of rental vehicle owners, during passport control, they will be located and obliged to pay the fine before leaving.
«Finally," added Mr. Kontos, "the TOM must do proper supervision of vehicle rental companies and impose fines where necessary, so that the phenomenon of incomplete data that does not help to identify a person is not observed."
The issue, as "F" wrote yesterday, is coming back from the Traffic Police, after problems were found in the identification of rental vehicle drivers who are reported by the cameras, because the companies do not receive their full data. As a result, hundreds of unpaid out-of-court payments are piled up, which is why ways are being studied to prevent this from happening.
The issue is broader because, apart from tourists, many who are reported by the cameras are locals and the vehicles are rented by companies. When they are reported for a violation, the company does not declare who the driver was on that particular day and the out-of-court case remains unclaimed. Now, with the amendments promoted by the Ministry of Transport, the hope is expressed that the issue will be resolved, since the vehicle rental company will also have the obligation to declare the driver, otherwise it will also be responsible for paying the out-of-court fee. All the changes that are promoted will be put up for discussion in the Parliament, when the bill is sent for a vote. At the moment, the bill, without the regulation for rental vehicles, is posted for public consultation
