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Statements by the Minister of Interior Mr. Konstantinos Ioannou
The new revised Housing Plans for the Revitalisation of Mountainous, Arid and Disadvantaged Areas, Specific Rural Areas and the Allowances for Supporting Residents of Mountainous and Remote Areas were approved by the Council of Ministers at its meeting today. These are housing schemes providing financial assistance for the acquisition of housing in mountainous, marginal and disadvantaged areas and specific rural areas, which will be implemented from 2019.
In his statements after the end of the Cabinet meeting, Minister of Interior Mr. Constantinos Ioannou stressed that the Housing Schemes and the Allowances to support residents of mountainous areas "were successfully implemented by the previous Government in 2019. Characteristically, since the start of their implementation until today, 1,500 applications have been approved under the Plans, corresponding to the granting of financial assistance of approximately €55.4 million. In 2023, approximately 14,000 beneficiary households, corresponding to approximately 29,500 persons, benefited from the allowances, with a total grant of €7.5 million."
Despite the very encouraging response from citizens and the modifications made to the Schemes in previous years, he continued. Ioannou, "we had received many suggestions and proposals to improve the Plans in order to maximise the benefit for the beneficiaries and resolve problems that have occurred over time. Therefore, through various meetings and discussions with organised groups and Local Authorities, the Commissioner for Mountain Community Development and ordinary citizens, it was considered appropriate to make further changes to correct some distortions, broaden the scope to allow more beneficiaries to benefit from them and make them more attractive to citizens". The Interior Minister noted that additional time was needed to complete the process of reviewing the Plans, noting, however, that the final result includes the vast majority of the main suggestions made by the various contacts.
Indicatively, among others, the following modifications were made:
- Upgrading the category of specific communities on the basis of criteria and including new communities and areas, which means including more beneficiaries.
- Modifying the criterion in such a way that cases in which construction work has not been completed are considered eligible, regardless of the date of commencement of the work.
- Extending the validity of the Plan to December 31, 2025 and converting it to a two-year Plan to allow sufficient time for stakeholders to secure the necessary planning and building permits required to apply for the Plan.
- Granting an exemption as to the date of acquisition so that applicants who acquired a dwelling by donation alone in communities falling within the categories of "mountainous and disadvantaged areas" and "extremely mountainous, small and remote areas" before the start of the current Plan notice year may participate in the Plan (i.e. 1.1.2024), in order to provide an opportunity to repair such dwellings for home ownership, even if the inheritance was acquired earlier.
- Granting a letter of pre-approval to participate in the Scheme to facilitate the beneficiary to secure a loan for the remaining amount.
- Simplification of the payment procedure, with payment of the amount in three instalments, the first of which is granted as an advance payment, in order to allow for the commencement of work more immediately.
- Changing the eligibility criterion for foreign student beneficiaries in such a way that, upon completion of their studies and their return to Cyprus, they are entitled to immediate participation in the Housing Schemes and Allowances.
With regard to the Support Allowance for residents of mountainous areas, the following changes are envisaged, among others:
- Inclusion of additional Communities, such as the Community of Troodos and the Municipality of Pano Lefkara, taking into account the population census of 2021.
- Inclusion of foreign students among the beneficiaries.
- Increase of the allowance granted to pensioners from €85 to €165, an amount equal to that received by non-pensioner beneficiaries.
The submission of applications for the Housing Schemes starts on 3 June 2024 with a deadline of 31 December 2025. In addition, applications for Subsidy Schemes will be submitted from 3 June 2024 until 5 July 2024.
In conclusion, Mr Ioannou reiterated "the Government's commitment to the implementation of actions and policies that will strengthen mountainous, marginal and disadvantaged areas, as well as the countryside, by granting incentives that can help to maintain the existing population in these areas, but also to attract new ones."
In conclusion, Mr Ioannou reiterated "the Government's commitment to the implementation of actions and policies that will strengthen the mountainous, marginal and disadvantaged areas, as well as the countryside, by granting incentives that can help to maintain the existing population in these areas, but also to attract new ones. "The revised Housing Plans we are presenting today represent a significant upgrade of the policy to date and are part of our integrated housing policy, in line with our decision to strengthen the National Mountain Community Development Strategy," he stressed.
"In view of the implementation of the Local Government Reform, we are constantly looking for ways to create conditions for the revitalization and cultural, tourist and economic development of rural areas."
"In view of the implementation of the Local Government Reform, we are constantly looking for ways to create conditions for the revitalization and cultural, tourist and economic development of rural areas. Our goal is to create strong and resilient communities, for the benefit of local communities," the Interior Minister finally explained.
Then, asked to comment on the increase in the allowance to be granted to pensioners, Ioannou pointed out that the decision took into account the needs (e.g. for heating, etc.) of pensioners, who stay more at home. "To equalize and remove this inequality, pensioners will receive the same allowance as non-pensioners, at an additional cost to the Republic of about €900.000 per year," the Interior Minister said.
(MQY)
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