31.03.2024
Constantinos Ioannou spoke at the 18th Real Estate, Land Management, Planning and Construction Conference, providing an overview of recent developments in the real estate sector and government priorities for urban development.
At the conference, Constantinos Ioannou noted the importance of providing a platform for real estate and land development professionals to explore the latest market trends. He highlighted the government’s commitment to improving public services and facilitating business operations in the construction sector, discussing measures taken to streamline licensing and titling processes. These measures include hiring and training new employees, as well as the creation of new licensing agencies.
In addition, Konstantinos Ioannou touched upon the upcoming reform of local self-government, which includes the transfer of licensing powers to regional self-government bodies from July 1. The aim of these changes is to process applications more efficiently and improve services under a single authority.
The government has taken specific actions to reduce delays and improve service quality, including simplifying government urban and spatial planning. Technology integration is also a key factor for increasing efficiency with the Ippodamos information system.
Effective January 1, 2024, new requirements have been introduced to ensure applications are accurate and complete, and efforts are underway to standardize procedures across the various licensing authorities.
Konstantinos Ioannou also emphasized the importance of training staff involved in the licensing process, and also noted changes in the title issuance process to reduce the time for application and issuance of titles.
To increase housing stock and provide affordable housing options for those in need, Build to Rent (BTR) schemes were introduced and urban planning incentives were reviewed.
Under these schemes, developers are given additional incentives if they deliver apartments at affordable rents. The importance of feedback from professional associations in evaluating these schemes was also highlighted.
