Filenews 28 December 2025 - by Angelos Angelodimou
A few days ago, the President of the Republic had stated that housing holds an important place on the agenda of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU. In fact, he noted that the Government will work to adopt specific actions at the European level, as well as that it will utilize the European affordable housing plan.
It is a fact that housing is one of the top issues for Cypriot society, as it concerns one of the most basic needs of citizens. Who have grown up with the idea of acquiring housing not as a privilege of the few, but as a good for everyone. However, in recent years this idea has become more and more distant for middle- and low-income citizens, and if the situation continues as it is, this problem will grow. Therefore, the State, stakeholders and market professionals are looking for solutions so that housing does not turn into an illusory dream.
President Christodoulides had added to the above that for the first time the issue of housing was discussed at the level of the European Council last October and "after our intervention, with a recent decision of the European Union, the existing funds from the Cohesion Fund can be used for housing purposes", he said. It is recalled that during the same period of time, the President of the Republic and the Minister of the Interior announced the Housing Plan for the Construction of Collective Accommodation Units, within the framework of which approximately 500 new housing units will be built, which will be granted at an affordable rent, to families or single individuals, on the basis of specific criteria, with an emphasis on the new generation.
The Assembly of the European Federation
As mentioned above, housing and its individual issues concern the whole of Europe and are therefore discussed at various conferences and assemblies of professional bodies and organizations, with the aim of finding solutions and simplifying procedures. At the beginning of December, the General Assembly of the European Federation of Construction Industries (FIEC) was held in Brussels, in which a delegation of OSEOK participated.
As it turns out, several European countries face the same or similar challenges as Cyprus in terms of the housing issue. At the same time, similar or inversely proportional issues arise, which concern European societies. A glaring example is the issue of water, with some countries affected by drought, such as Cyprus and others suffering from floods and suffering significant damage.
In particular, the issues of affordable housing and the cost of acquiring a home, the delays in licensing, the problems in the water supply and the energy efficiency of buildings, were among the main issues discussed at the FIEC General Assembly. The Cypriot delegation of OSEOK recorded the developments that are taking place at the European level and at the same time submitted proposals and noted the peculiarities of our country, with the aim of having equal treatment, both in the funding from European funds, and in the correct wording of the legislation, which is being promoted at the European level and which we will be called upon to adopt.
Energy efficiency of buildings
Speaking to "F", the Secretary General of OSEOK Stefanos Pierides, who participated in the Assembly in his capacity as Head of the competent Environmental Committee of FIEC, said, among other things, that some of the problems that occur in our country afflict other European markets as well, while to our surprise, he pointed out, we found that on some issues, our country is in a fairly good situation compared to other countries. In particular, in relation to the issue of the energy efficiency of buildings, Mr. Pierides noted that it is possible that an extension will be given to the 18-month time frame for the member states to implement the new relevant directive adopted in 2023 by the EU.
However, he said, it is important for Cyprus that the proposals of some southern European countries, including Cyprus, were accepted, that the part of cooling buildings should be of equal importance to the part of heating for the purposes of financing with European funds and evaluating the implementation of the legislation. The big challenge for Cyprus, Mr. Pierides said, is to keep buildings cool during the hot summer months, in contrast to the goals of northern countries which are to keep buildings warm during the cold winter months.
Water Management
There was an extensive discussion on the issue of water, which seemed to concern several European countries. Either because there is drought and savings and proper management solutions are required, or because they receive large amounts of rainfall and as a result are subject to disasters. Asked about the case of Cyprus, Mr. Pierides noted that proposals were put on the table, such as the use of smart water consumption meters, the use of sensors, which are able to detect faults and there are no large water losses, and even the use of detectors, which can detect possible faults before they even appear, so that the point that may present a problem can be proactively changed. All these, infrastructure and prevention projects, should be financed by European funds, noted Mr. Pierides.
Affordable housing and time-consuming procedures in Cyprus and elsewhere
We asked Mr. Pierides whether the issue of affordable housing was discussed, since, as it seems, in addition to Cyprus, it also concerns other European countries. As he told us, this is indeed a big issue that concerns a significant number of countries, with the main point being the duration of licensing and the time-consuming procedures. In fact, he pointed out, the problem with time-consuming procedures may also prevail in Cyprus, however, there are countries with a much bigger problem, something we did not expect to see, he noted. Another positive element that emerged for Cyprus was the fact that the plans prepared by the Ministry of Interior and implemented by the KOAG were considered by several countries as good practices that could be adopted by them as well.
Some of the proposals that were put on the table, with the aim of reducing time-consuming procedures, are to set limits on the number of objections that someone can submit, but also on the period of time that they can be submitted, while some practices applied by Ireland, in terms of funding, with the granting of a lump sum, were also discussed. so that someone is able to pay the advance payment requested by the banking institution for the granting of a loan.
Authorisations and audits
The issue of licensing was another issue discussed at the FIEC General Assembly. The proposals submitted for discussion were to establish a procedure for the issuance of licenses and not two as is currently the case, in the context of the simplification efforts that are being made.
That is, instead of having the process of examining the impacts before the start of the project, where the Department of Environment is involved, and then the process of conducting a consultation, which takes place in the context of issuing the urban planning permit, a single procedure should be established, where all the checks will be carried out together.
