The Mayor of Deryneia, Andros Karagiannis, in his letter to the Minister of the Interior, Konstantinos Ioannou, dated November 2, refers to the issue of the Housing Plan for the Revitalization of Mountainous, Critical and Disadvantaged Areas - Strovilion - Deryneia area and cites the recommendations of the Municipality as requested during a meeting held held on October 17.
In his letter, the Mayor requests the "acceleration of the Application Evaluation and Approval Process, since there is a considerable delay in the payment of the house purchase amount to the land development entrepreneurs, since the beneficiaries must first be approved for the loan from Emporiki Bank, which needs written confirmation that the applicants meet all the required criteria'.
The simplification of the application evaluation criteria is also requested, noting that "through the Portal of the Department of Cadastre and Land Surveying, the required certificates can be checked and they do not need to be presented by the applicants, thus causing further delay".
Another suggestion is the purchase of property by students, stating that "many students before the end of their studies or even when they owe lessons, return to Cyprus, so as not to be forced to pay rental costs abroad. However, when they submit an application, they are rejected, since they are not considered permanent residents of Cyprus".
The Mayor of Deryneia in the letter also refers to the repatriated Cypriot citizens and notes that "several go abroad for work, acquire some financial comfort and decide to invest in the purchase of a residence in Cyprus, in order to repatriate. They will be able to return to Cyprus upon completion of the residence, but unfortunately their application is rejected since they are not considered permanent residents of Cyprus for the last two years" he notes and asks for a simplification of the procedures.
Another suggestion of Mr. Karagiannis to the Ministry of the Interior is to increase the amount of financial support, stating that "taking into account the increase in inflation and the prices of construction materials, we believe that the amount of Financial Support should be increased. It should also be increased and the age limit should exceed 41 years of age, since due to the economic crisis many young people are late getting married and starting a family."
Regarding the matter of buying a property before submitting an application, the Mayor notes that "there are mainly people who take advantage of the opportunities to secure a property at a lower price, mainly European citizens, who suddenly decide to sell their properties at a special price, for to leave Cyprus urgently. In the province of Famagusta where many British nationals live, this phenomenon is common, but the payment of the entire amount (advance payment) by the buyer to the seller, automatically makes him an ineligible applicant for financial assistance from the scheme in question".
In his letter to the YPES, the Mayor also refers to the owners of other property, saying that "in Cyprus, many parents take care to transfer their home to their children before their death. Unfortunately, their children - applicants, are considered non-beneficiaries, since it appears that they own a second residence that is used for private residence."
Regarding student apartment owners, Mr. Karagiannis states that "many parents, instead of paying rent during their children's studies, decide to buy a small studio or apartment in another university town to cover their housing needs during their studies their children. This small apartment cannot satisfy the needs of a modern family with 2 or 3 children", he notes and adds that "the possession of another residence automatically ranks these people among the non-beneficiaries for taking advantage of the specific plan and this injustice should be removed".
Finally, Andros Karagiannis also refers to the provision of Housing Incentives in the Turbine Area of Deryneia, explaining that for this particular Project "several recommendations were made through the Famagusta District Administration. We request that exceptionally enhanced financial assistance be granted to the approximately 20 remaining residents of Strovilia to improve and upgrade their existing homes, which were built 50-70 years ago."
He adds that "the special grant of 50-150 thousand euros could be granted only once to the beneficiaries to attract the interest of their children and grandchildren to own residence in this area of utmost importance for the Republic of Cyprus. The whole matter is judged to be highly political and national", says the Mayor of Deryneia, calling on the Minister of the Interior so that the specific issue "receives the required attention".
Source: KYPE