Every time rents rise, the political debate follows the same familiar script. Calls emerge for rent caps, higher taxes on vacant properties, tighter restrictions on Airbnb, and new penalties for landlords.

These proposals may generate positive headlines and create the impression that policymakers are taking decisive action, but they fail to address the underlying cause of the housing crisis.

Rents are not increasing because landlords have suddenly become more greedy. They are rising because the supply of homes has failed to keep pace with demand. In Cyprus, that shortage is not simply the result of market forces. It is largely the consequence of years of ineffective planning, excessive bureaucracy and delayed infrastructure delivery.

Housing supply is the real problem

The basic economics of the housing market remain unchanged. When demand exceeds supply, prices rise. The rental market is no exception.

For years, the Cypriot state has struggled to create the conditions needed for a healthy flow of new housing. Instead of enabling development, public administration often slows it down through outdated planning processes and unnecessary delays.

Increasing the number of available homes is the only sustainable way to improve affordability over the long term.

Planning reform must replace political short-termism

Planning policy should provide certainty for both residents and investors. Instead, zoning decisions are too often characterised by exceptions, political intervention and piecemeal amendments.

Residential zones should be determined using transparent, evidence-based planning with a long-term outlook measured in decades rather than electoral cycles. Predictable planning rules encourage investment, increase housing delivery and reduce opportunities for speculation by those with privileged access to planning decisions.

A stable planning framework benefits the entire property market while helping to expand housing supply.

Delayed planning permissions increase housing costs

The planning approval process remains one of the greatest barriers to residential development.

It is difficult to justify projects waiting years for the necessary approvals before construction can begin. Every month of delay increases financing costs, which are ultimately passed on to homebuyers and tenants.

Lengthy bureaucracy also discourages investment and slows the delivery of much-needed housing to the market, placing further pressure on rents.

Streamlining planning permissions is therefore not simply an administrative reform—it is an essential housing policy.

Infrastructure should follow residential zoning

Planning reform alone is not enough.

When land is designated for residential use, roads, pavements, drainage systems and other essential infrastructure should be delivered promptly. Without these basic services, land may remain technically residential while being practically impossible to develop for decades.

The costs should reasonably be shared by landowners who benefit from the increase in land value. Those unable to contribute immediately could repay the costs later, at a fair interest rate, when they sell or develop their property.

This approach would unlock significant areas of residential land that currently remain undeveloped despite existing planning designations.

Airbnb is not the root cause

Short-term holiday rentals are frequently presented as the principal driver of rising rents. The reality is more nuanced.

In genuinely tourist areas, short-term accommodation is a legitimate economic activity that supports the wider visitor economy. In predominantly residential neighbourhoods, however, existing planning rules should be enforced consistently.

The issue is not Airbnb itself. The real problem arises when the state fails to uphold the land-use policies it has established.

Avoid repeating past mistakes

Cyprus should also avoid returning to policies that artificially inflate housing demand.

The disgraced golden passport programme created a surge in property demand, pushed prices sharply higher and damaged the country’s international reputation. Housing policy should never depend on temporary or distorted sources of demand that inflate prices without improving long-term housing supply.

Reform the state, not the landlord

Targeting landlords may be politically popular, but it does little to solve the structural imbalance between supply and demand.

The more challenging task is reforming the institutions responsible for planning, licensing and infrastructure delivery. Yet these are precisely the reforms capable of increasing housing supply, improving affordability and creating a healthier property market.

Without meaningful structural change, policies such as rent controls, additional taxes and further market restrictions may offer political reassurance, but they will do little to help the households struggling to pay their rent each month.

If governments are serious about lowering rents, they must stop treating the symptoms and begin addressing the cause: an inadequate supply of homes created by a planning system that has failed to deliver.