Planning amnesty has very limited scope

Earlier this week, I wrote a letter to the Cyprus Mail about the Planning Amnesty, which they kindly published earlier today.

They titled my letter ‘Title deed amnesty has very limited scope‘, which I’ve republished below.

I was quite excited when I read “Buildings amnesty approved, thousands to receive title deeds”, which was published in the Cyprus Mail Friday, September 13. At last, I thought, the government’s got a grip on sorting out the mess with illegal constructions and tainted title deeds.

However, on second thoughts, as the article was published on Friday 13th, I should have known better!

The amnesty has very limited scope. The most glaring omission is that only foreigners with Alien Registration Certificates (ARC) can apply as the online application system (Ippodamos) requires foreign applicants to enter their ARC number.

So what about non-Cypriots with holiday homes who are not permanent residents? Why has the system been designed prevent a sizable proportion of non-Cypriots benefitting from the amnesty? Is this a cunning plan by the government to reduce the workload on civil servants?

And what about the non-ARC holding foreigners who have title deeds, but who are unable to sell their properties because building irregularities have resulted in tainted title deeds? It’s also worth noting that the amnesty doesn’t include a large number of irregularities that result in a tainted title deed.

From the many emails I receive, similar to Lionel Grancourt’s letter “Victim of the title deed nightmare”, which was published in the Mail on August 4, shoddy work by property developers is the overwhelming cause for building irregularities, which the amnesty attempts to correct.

Does the government really believe that developers responsible for planning irregularities will be willing to pay to get them legitimised, bearing in mind that these developers have sold the properties and banked the proceeds?

The government needs to think again!
Nigel Howarth, Erimi

Here’s a few of the issues the Planning Amnesty fails to address:

• Unfinished/lack of roads and/or pavements
• Unfinished/lack of green area
• Unfinished/lack of surface water drainage
• Parking spaces configured incorrectly
• Lack of disabled parking spaces
• Lifts not installed according to the permit
• Balcony railing heights built less than 1.1m from the parapet
• Electricity sub station built in wrong place
• Boundary walls too high
• Access in wrong place
• Lack of sewage green card
• Final approval certificate not issued
• Communal facilities not inspected
• Nowhere to keep rubbish bins and/or not enough bins
• Swimming pool changing rooms and facilities not built according to permit
• Properties built facing wrong direction
• Street lighting not installed
• Parking areas blocked in and covered
• Biological sewerage systems not installed as required by permit
• Buildings failing to meet fire regulations
• Buildings encroach on land belonging to someone else

I’m sure there are more. Please tell me the planning issues you are facing in your comments below.