PROPOSALS to regulate the licencing of property whose owner rents them online through organisations such as AirBnB have been put before the House by MPs Averoff Neophytou (DISY)and Elias Myrianthous (EDEK).
Their proposals would amend the current law on hotels and tourist accommodation by adding provisions that would include the registration and licencing of “self-handled” accommodation (furnished villas and other dwellings). They will also set a licencing framework, technical and functional specifications and other terms and conditions relating to ‘self-catering’ property offered for rent.
The proposals are part of an overall drive to upgrade the quality of the tourist product of Cyprus.
The proposed register of self-catering accommodation will be created and managed by the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) and based on regulations adopted by the Council of Ministers These will include the criteria and specifications that self-catering accommodation should meet. (Note that the CTO is to be transformed into a State Department of Tourism).
Owners of self-catering accommodation will be required to register with the Tax Department.
Hi Aggis, so what you are saying is estate agents can legally rent out property short term to tourists without CTO approval, which is nearly impossible to get, whereas the owner cannot?
It’s designed to protect their hoteliers and real estate agent with their corrupt licensing laws.
Are Estate agents able to legally rent out property on short term basis to tourists without registering with the CTO? If so, I need to find a friendly estate agent…..
Currently estate agents are also able to rent and manage properties legally. Is this something that will be removed from our authority?
Ed: This is something we’ll have to wait for the politicians to decide.
It seems odd to me to start penalising those people who are helping the tourist development in Cyprus.
The hotels encourage an all inclusive package, which may be good for the families concerned and the hotels but effectively prevents them from paying twice, when they eat outside the hotel in the increasingly diverse tavernas. Moreover, few of those all inclusive tourists venture outside the hotel at all.
On the contrary, those who book accommodation through AirBnB etc are the very people who enjoy the whole of Cyprus and all that it has to offer. Car rentals, eating out, going to the beach, sailing, scuba diving etc are all activities enjoyed by those who choose to be independent and vary their holidays to suit themselves.
In the grand scheme of things, surely this is something that should be encouraged for the benefit of all who live on this lovely island.
No chance of them putting all that effort into issuing title deeds and sorting out the developers instead?
I thought not.
The various developers I saw before I bought were all at pains to say ‘if you buy it is an investment you can rent out during the summer’ season. March until October.
So not such an investment now.
Cyprus Government are ace at making laws with the best intentions and absolutely useless at enforcing them. What is the point, there are no sanctions for those that break the rules.
I do not see as such a bad thing, at the moment it is virtually if not impossible to register a property with the CTO either as a B&B or self catering, so of course you must do this illegally.
If they do come up with some regulations making this possible then I would not be against it, yes tax will need to be paid but at least I could be legal at last.
Just an additional step in the ‘screw them from purchase to sale’ property scam in Cyprus.
It appears that the government is now swiftly jumping on the bandwagon to collect taxes from homeowners who rent out their properties (we have been paying our tax to the UK authorities as required), but continue to make excuses as to why we cannot get a title deed.
We have been listening to the excuses of various lawyers, banks and developers for 12 long years, soon we wont even be around to receive our deeds and our children will have to sort out the mess.
Perhaps that’s what everyone is hoping for…..at least in the Cypriot system, certainly not our children
If apartment owners were given their title deeds they might pay new fees, but in their absence no fees will be paid. Not much any organisation can do about it either.
Just another way the Goverment robs the apartment owner. W’t they