Filenews 27 September 2025 - by Vasos Vassiliou
The District Local Government Organizations (EDAs) were "drowned" in applications related to the issuance of planning permits and building permits and until August 16,526 urban planning applications and 21,450 applications for the issuance of a building permit were pending for examination, bringing the total number to 37,976.
The numbers are alarming, not only because it is a large volume but also because of the pace of processing applications. Specifically, based on data from the Ministry of Interior, in August 2025, in Nicosia the processing rate ranged from 83% for urban planning applications and 143% for building permits (the percentage is higher than 100% because a number of applications that were already pending is also being processed).
In Limassol, the processing rate was 106% and the construction rate was 128%.
In Larnaca, the rate of processing of new applications ranged from 137% for urban planning applications and 163% for building applications.
In Paphos, it ranged from 175% for urban planning applications and 109% for building applications.
Finally, in Famagusta the rate ranged at 113% for urban planning applications and for building applications at 133%.
The Ministry of the Interior sees the glass as half full on the issue of the pace of licensing, noting the following:
1. The pace of processing has improved, with the result that (except in individual cases) everyone is examining more applications than they receive.
2. The absolute number of applications they are examining has gradually increased and shows a steady upward trend despite the fact that the pending issues remain high, probably because the number of applications submitted is increasing at the same time.
3. There is a significant decrease (about 25%) in old pending issues, but at the same time a small additional accumulation in pending issues after 01.07.24.
Minister's messages to the EDA on the pace of processing
The Minister of Interior, Mr. Konstantinos Ioannou, whose opinion we asked for on the pace at which the EDAs are moving and on the prospect of processing the pending issues, stated the following:
"The operation of the Provincial Self-Government Organizations and especially the transfer of the licensing sector to the Organizations was the biggest challenge we expected to face with the implementation of the Local Government reform. In order to support the newly established EDAs as much as possible, we took care in a timely manner - even before the start of the reform - to take various actions, including, among others:
1. The secondment of licensing officers from the Department of Town Planning and Housing and the District Administrations.
2. The implementation of a series of 22 measures to simplify the licensing process.
3. The implementation of the radical reform of the licensing sector by introducing a rapid and automated process for the examination and issuance of applications.
4. The removal by legislative amendment of the provision for the concession of 60% of the revenues from licensing to the Municipalities, in order to ensure the financial viability of the Organizations.
5. The approval of budgets, organizational charts and staff positions exactly as submitted by the Organizations themselves on the basis of their needs that they recorded.
6. The reinforcement of the EDAs that have proceeded with staffing by the end of the year of the seconded personnel from the TPO and the Armed Forces.
Esupport and reform actions for faster licensing
Regarding the analysis of the data, the minister comments: From the data we receive on a monthly basis, I see a gradual improvement and an increasing trend in the rate of processing of applications by the EDAs.
This is certainly encouraging, says the minister, who, however, observes that there are still many pending issues that require the attention of the EDAs.
Mr. Ioannou acknowledges that there is also an issue of staffing the EDAs, stating:
Given the support we have given as a Ministry to the Organizations, to ensure their administrative and financial independence and their proper functioning, I expect a greater response from the EDAs. I want, however, to be fair when I say that some EDAs are in a much better state and conditions have largely normalised, recruited the necessary staff and picked up pace. On the contrary, in some EDAs, the efficiency has not yet reached the expected level, which in my view is due to their delay and understaffing. The State, but first and foremost and above all the citizens, expect a greater effort from the EDAs, speed and a more effective response to their needs."
It is worth noting that many of the applications submitted now fall into the categories that are processed up to 40 working days. The list of these applications shows the following picture:
Category A: (detached houses and duplexes – 20+20 working days
SUBMITTED:
DETACHED HOUSE: 957 applications of which 625 were processed
Total: 1,368
TWO RESIDENTIAL UNITS 407 applications of which 243 were processed
Total:868
Category B: (developments) up to 12 houses in a row and four-storey apartment buildings up to 20 apartments and a basement – 40+40 working days
SUBMITTED:
THREE RESIDENTIAL UNITS 73
FOUR RESIDENTIAL UNITS 30
UP TO 12 HOUSES IN ROW 19
RESIDENTIAL APARTMENT BUILDING UP TO 20 APARTMENTS 201
Total: 323
PROCESS COMPLETION:
THREE RESIDENTIAL UNITS 58
FOUR RESIDENTIAL UNITS 25
UP TO 12 HOUSES IN ROW 12
RESIDENTIAL APARTMENT BUILDING UP TO 20 APARTMENTS 122
The NGOs see a gradual de-escalation in pending issues
The NOAs themselves, who needed time to adapt, although they acknowledge that the procedures need to be speeded up, believe that the water has entered the ditch.
They also note a gradual reduction in urban planning applications and applications for a building permit that were pending before the reform. According to the data at their disposal, the situation is as follows:
In February 2025, 7,658 applications for planning permission were pending across Cyprus, while in August (the last month when data are available) 5,746 were pending.
As for building permits, in February 2025 12,365 were pending across Cyprus and 9,277 in August.
