Buildings that have been illegally erected without a building permit are legalized and for this purpose the Ministry of the Interior has put a relevant bill to public consultation.
At the same time, those buildings that are being built or will be built until a relevant bill is approved which is forwarded for approval.
The legalization is promoted by suggestion and preparation by ETEK and includes conditions that must be met, including the static adequacy of the building, the energy efficiency of the building, and so on.
As the president of ETEK, Mr. Konstantinos Konstantis, explains to "F", the basic provisions of the bill include the requirement that the building be covered by a planning permit. At the same time, it must comply with the regulatory requirements in force at the time of its completion (e.g. structural adequacy, accessibility, fire protection, energy efficiency, electrical and mechanical installation requirements).
In particular, regarding the accessibility and fire protection requirements, the president of ETEK states that it is provided that the competent Authority requires the compliance of the building with the requirements of the Accessibility and Safety in Use Regulation, as well as the Fire Protection Regulation.
In the event that it will not be possible for the building to fully comply with the provisions of the relevant Regulations, the designer will submit to the competent Authority a report as specified in the relevant Regulations (61IA(3) & 61HA/3).
In addition, provisions are included for the resolution of disputes between the designer and the competent Authority on the aforementioned issues.
Finally, as Mr. Konstantis states, a visual inspection of the building (building infrastructure, load-bearing structure, electrical and mechanical installation) will be required to ensure that there are no damages/damage that are considered worrying and/or make the building or part of it dangerous.
The Ministry of Interior announced that in collaboration with the Scientific and Technical Chamber of Cyprus (ETEK), it has prepared a Bill entitled "the Regulation of Roads and Buildings (Amendment) (No. 2) Law of 2026", which was put to public electronic consultation for a period of one month.
According to the Ministry, "this Bill amends the Law on the Regulation of Roads and Buildings with the introduction of a new article, which provides for a special procedure for the regularization of buildings erected without a building permit having previously been obtained, provided that their construction was completed before the entry into force of the proposed amending law". In other words, buildings that will be erected after the approval of the bill are not covered. Of course, taking into account that several months will pass before the proposed bill is discussed and approved (the dissolution of the Parliament, the election of new MPs, the reopening of the House, the establishment of the new parliamentary Committees, their reopening, the scheduling of meetings, and so on) those who are already building illegally (without a building permit or those who have not even started erecting buildings) have enough time ahead of them to complete ongoing projects or and designs.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, the procedure applies to buildings that have a planning permit and requires the submission of studies and inspection certificates by competent designers, in order to document the compliance of the building with the requirements that were in force at the time of its construction in terms of static adequacy, energy efficiency and electromechanical installations, as well as to identify any damage or damage that requires repairs or makes it dangerous. In addition, compliance with the provisions of Regulations 61HA (Accessibility and Safety in Use) and 61IA (Fire Protection) is required, to the extent possible.
What does the new bill provide for the legalization of buildings?
If the competent authority ascertains that all the required conditions are met, a building permit is issued as well as an approval certificate with notes, in accordance with article 10B of the Law and at the same time a relevant note is entered in the title deed of the property. In addition, the submission of an application under the proposed procedure will be possible for a limited period of time (18 or 36 months), at the end of which the measures provided by the Law for buildings erected without a permit will apply, while the fees for the issuance of the permit will be calculated on the basis of Regulation 62 and will be imposed twice. Based on the proposed bill, a new article is added to the existing legislation which provides for the following:
"Notwithstanding the provisions of this Law or the Regulations issued pursuant thereto, for a building which has been erected without obtaining a permit in violation of the provisions of Article 3 of the Basic Law and the completion of the work on the building took place before the date of entry into force of this amending Law, an application may be submitted for the granting of any permit that the competent Authority has the power to issue under the provisions of the Basic Law, provided that:
(a) The building does not fall into the category of importance IV, according to Eurocode 8 Part 1.
(b) For the construction of the building, a planning permit has been issued under the Town and Country Planning Law, which reflects the existing condition of the building on the ground.
(c) At the time of construction of the building, the owner of the plot complied with and fully implemented all the legal regulations in force at that time in relation to:
(i) The energy efficiency of the building.
(ii) Static adequacy.
(iii) The electrical and mechanical installation of the building.
(d) The owner of the building appoints an appropriate designer or designers for the preparation and dispatch to the competent Design Authority in relation to:
(i) The assessment of the static and structural adequacy of the building at the time of construction of the building.
(ii) The assessment of the state of accessibility and fire protection of the building.
(iii) The assessment of the condition of the electrical and mechanical installation at the time of construction of the building.
(iv) The assessment of the energy performance of the building at the time of construction of the building.
Furthermore, the owner of the building must appoint a designer who carries out an inspection of the building and issues a Building Inspection Certificate certifying the current condition of the building, including safety in its use and accessibility, fire protection and whether the building has damage or damage or damage that makes it or may make it dangerous or is of such a nature that it needs repair.
In addition, the owner must appoint an Electrical Engineer and a Mechanical Engineer. It must also obtain a certificate from the Electricity Authority of Cyprus on the date of inspection of the electrical installation and electricity supply, as well as a fire protection and accessibility study.
