ILLEGALS IN SETTLEMENTS AND SELF-HOUSING ALSO GET A TITLE - THEY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SELL IF THE IRREGULARITIES ARE NOT REMOVED - Filenews 2/4
Refugees who violated the law with illegal additions to government settlements and self-housing will be given a title deed.
As stated by the Minister of the Interior, Mr. Konstantinos Ioannou, the decision concerns cases of beneficiaries of displaced persons, who until today did not have the possibility of securitization due to urban planning interventions and irregularities in their premises.
A relevant decision was taken by the Council of Ministers at today's meeting and as Mr. Ioannou clarified, these units cannot be sold unless the illegalities are first lifted.
As the minister stated, "title deeds or lease certificates will be issued in accordance with the procedure applicable to unauthorized works, provided that the illegalities will be listed on the titles and with a prohibition on transfer for sale purposes until the illegalities are lifted. In short, securities will be issued with a note that there are illegalities and these securities will not be able to be used for sale purposes, but can be used for inheritance purposes or, if and when the banks accept it, for mortgage purposes."
According to Mr. Ioannou, the issuance of 7,859 title deeds or lease certificates is currently pending, of which 838 cases do not have the right to acquire a title due to interventions that fall into foreign real estate or public spaces, or urban planning irregularities within the plot of the property.
The minister also said that so far 17.418 title deeds or lease certificates have been issued to beneficiaries in the government refugee housing settlements and self-housing.
In his statements after the end of the Council of Ministers, the Minister of the Interior stated that "with the decision, the injustice suffered for years by refugees living in government settlements and self-housing, in relation to the owners of private units, is restored".
Answering a relevant question, he explained that in the private sector there was the possibility of issuing a title deed to premises with urban planning illegalities, with a relevant note on the title. He further stated that the decision will solve the problem of issuing the securities and the note that will be inserted will be removed if the illegalities are removed. They will not be able to sell it to third parties, but they will be able to transfer it to anyone they wish or have a mortgage put in the bank. They therefore acquire a title deed that has some added value," he said.
He also said that the decision is part of the wider refugee housing policy, in the context of which "the Government has proceeded with important reforms and actions, with the aim of fair, transparent and equal treatment of the refugee world". Indicative of the Government's will to ensure equality before the law and meritocracy among the displaced persons, Mr. Ioannou continued, "are the radical reform of the way Turkish Cypriot properties are managed and disposed, the changes in the housing plans of the Service for the Care and Rehabilitation of Displaced Persons, as well as the treatment of long-standing problems, such as those of the unsuitability and danger of apartment buildings in refugee settlements, with the implementation of the "ktiZO" Plan".
Asked about the progress of the implementation of the "ktiZO" Plan, Mr. Ioannou said that the completion and delivery of the first two apartment buildings is expected within the next few weeks and by the end of this year, the delivery of four more apartment buildings. As the Minister noted, "the implementation of the Plan is left to the beneficiaries and, unfortunately, in some cases there are delays for the beneficiaries themselves to decide. Hence we see that, while everyone has started from the same starting point, some apartment buildings are being delivered now, some by the end of the year and some others are in the early stages." Finally, he clarified that the new apartment buildings have more apartments and, therefore, replace a larger number of apartment buildings.
