On 12.09.22 the Interior Minister of Cyprus announced, that the first stage of the fast-track licensing (town planning and building permits) which started in October 2020 for the construction of small projects has proven successful and there will be now implemented for larger projects too.
The second phase towards simplifying and expediting the process for town planning and building permits began on the 15th of September whereby permits for up to four houses can be granted at once, or 12 housing units in a row, as well as 20 apartments, and mixed-use buildings (office, commercial, and residential) up to 1,000sqm.
The applications must be sent through the IT system ‘Ippodamos’, and payments to be made through the ‘Ariadne‘ government portal. The planning authority will have 30 days to reach its decision for each application.
The final third phase will begin once parliament has passed the bill named ‘facilitating strategic investments’ which covers developments over €20m. The timeframe to issue a decision on the application will be no more than 12 months.
