05.02.2023
The former Minister of the Environment of Ireland (Alan Kelly) announced that developers should build affordable housing for citizens.
The minister realized that the minimum apartment size set by the rules was more than people could afford. He suggested the following:
| Existing rules | New rules | Cyprus* |
| One bedroom 55 sq.m. | 45 sq.m. | 55 sq.m. |
| Two bedrooms 90 sq.m. | 73 sq.m. | 90 sq.m. |
| Three-room apartment 100 sq.m. | 90 sq.m. | 100 sq.m. |
| Studio (new concept) | 40 sq.m. | 45 sq.m. |
*Depending on location
In addition to the reduced size, Kelly added measures to ease parking requirements, especially in city centers, to encourage people to also be closer to their jobs in addition to affordable downtown living/renting.
Setting minimum apartment/living space sizes is a red flag for our firm, and we’ve been fighting this nonsense for over 20 years without success.
Each time, the director of the planning department argued that Cypriots should live in a “decent” space, and not in “boxes”. And instead of studying what people can afford and predict what measures are needed to solve the housing problem in terms of affordability, they provide the “big and powerful” locals with sufficient minimum living space, as if all Cypriots were earning the same amount. .
This excess of space has recently been captured by EU statistics, which show that Cypriots live in housing units that are about 15-20% larger than the average size in the EU.
Very few countries with planning zones, building densities, heights and regulations have this minimum living area figure.
Considering that for residential units the average resale price is now around €2200/sqm and for those next to the beach €6000/sqm you can estimate that 5sqm could make a difference of € 10000-30000. With VAT and transfer fees included, the difference can reach €10,000–€40,000 (only for 5 sqm).
Accommodation is in cycles. We start living in small apartments, and as the family and incomes get bigger, we move to bigger rooms. This means that initially the downsized apartments not only reflected the affordability of the now “poorer” Cypriots, but also made the sale of such apartments more attractive.
We managed to develop several projects, although there are older ones with a 2-room apartment of 60 sq.m. Today they are the most sold, especially for country houses.
In Agios Elias (Protaras area) there is a project consisting of 60 sq. 80 sq.m. with a difference of 30,000 euros with limited demand.
In a project in Larnaca next to the beach, the sale price is 300,000 euros (100 m from the beach), while the sale price is 60 sq.m. would amount to approximately EUR 180,000 (and other additional costs).
To those who are against these smaller units, I say: if you can buy a Mercedes, why buy Minivans? It is, of course, a matter of price. However, there are no “standard” restrictions on cars and other goods for “blue-blooded” Cypriots to have housing of “proper” size.
I blame the then director of planning, the Cyprus Technical Chamber and the Association of Architects for not grasping the basic human/economic circumstances of the country. Not to mention the Developers Association, which seems to have no position on this issue (even though they are the main group of people who benefit from this).
We seem to be the only “free” voice in the wilderness of nonsense, and I feel narrow-mindedness and stupidity should be punished.
Those who cannot understand the basics of the construction industry should either be sent home (if civil servants) or pay compensation for the damage they caused (financial and human) to the treasury of this country.
Considering that almost 25% of buyers are foreigners, the local market and the availability of the foreign market cannot be ignored, given the significant percentage it represents in terms of demand.
Can we “borrow” Mr. Kelly to study the futility of our planning requirements?
After all, it took another Irishman (Mr Urikan) to fix the Bank of Cyprus!
