24.01.2023
In 2021, the number of owners in Cyprus increased slightly, with the majority of Cypriots still living in private houses and apartments.
According to the Eurostat report “Housing in Europe”, in Cyprus, 69.8% of citizens lived in their own home in 2021, compared to 68.6% in 2020, and 30.2% rented their dwelling, compared to 31.4% in 2020.
Percentages in the EU are similar, as in 2021, seven out of ten owned the property they lived in, and three out of ten rented a house.
Residents of Cyprus prefer houses to apartments
Cypriots still clearly prefer houses to apartments, despite a slight decrease recorded.
An estimated 72.5% lived in a house in 2021, up from 73% in 2020, and 26.4% lived in an apartment (up from 25.6% in 2021). A small percentage (1.1%) lived in houseboats and campsites.
The size of a dwelling can be measured as the average number of rooms per person. According to Eurostat , the EU had an average of 1.6 rooms per person in 2021, while Cyprus averaged 2 rooms per person and 2.6 people per family (2.3 people per family in the EU).
Cyprus has the lowest overpopulation
The quality of housing can be measured in many ways. First, if people live in a crowded house. In the EU in 2021, 17.1% of the population lived in such a house, compared to 19.1% in 2010. In 2021, the highest rates of overpopulation were observed in Latvia (41.3%), Romania (41.0%) and Bulgaria, while Cyprus maintains the lowest percentage of overpopulation, only 2.3%.
The opposite of an overcrowded house is a sparsely occupied house, that is, it is considered too large for the needs of the households living in it. The classic reason for housing is the elderly or couples who stay at home after their children have grown up and moved away. In the EU in 2021, a third of the population (33.6%) lived in such a house, and this figure has remained fairly stable since 2010.
It is worth noting that in 2021 the highest unemployment rates were recorded in Malta (71.8%) and Cyprus (70.9%).
On the other hand, in the EU in 2021, 6.9% of the population could not provide enough heat in the house. Cyprus ranked third in this category with 19.4%, indicating that one in five households cannot adequately heat their home.
Leaking roofs in 40% in Cyprus
In terms of leaking roofs, 14.8% of the EU population experienced such a problem in 2020. It is noted that the highest percentages were observed in Cyprus (39.1%), Portugal (25.2%) and Slovenia (20.8%).
