The Ministry of Interior is striving to complete the simplification of the development control system by July 1 of this year through a package of 22 measures agreed upon with the Cyprus Scientific and Technical Chamber (ETEK).
One of the key measures is the elimination of urban planning and building permits for small developments, specifically for houses and buildings with up to 12 apartments.
It is noteworthy that obtaining even simple permits used to take months or even several years. While the procedures have been streamlined over time, delays persisted, depriving citizens of the opportunity to commence construction promptly, incurring costs and inconvenience.
Interior Minister Konstantinos Ioannou, who regards this package as the most significant and crucial restructuring of urban planning licensing, states, “The actions taken will significantly alleviate the current major problem of delays, which is a burden on developments. Especially with the abolition of urban planning and building permits for small developments and greater involvement of private architects, development completion is expedited, as each citizen can proceed with their own schedules.”
The Minister also emphasizes the substantial change brought about by the digitization of the submission and examination of urban planning applications through the “Hippodamus” System.
A significant change in the licensing process, expected to reduce delays in application reviews, is the advance consultation with services such as the Fire Department, Water Development Department, Environmental Authority, and the Public Works Department.
The modification was deemed necessary because, in many cases, delays in reviewing applications were due to incomplete submissions and the delayed provision of necessary information by applicants.
Through the “Hippodamus” Information System, relevant processes will be handled electronically, reducing the time for application reviews by the Planning Authority.
Another significant challenge causing delays in issuing urban planning permits was the understaffing of Planning Authorities.
Identifying the problem, the Ministry of Interior, in collaboration with Municipal Authorities, has hired 105 individuals who will be trained and eventually staff Provincial Self-Government Organizations. By June 30, the hired individuals will process a number of pending applications in existing municipalities, with the first 35 taking on duties on January 15.
It has also been revealed that different Planning and Building Authorities applied different practices during the application review, resulting in divergent processes, inconsistency, and time-consuming bureaucratic procedures causing delays in decision-making.
To eliminate practices causing unjustified delays, a working group from relevant Departments and ETEK is in the process of developing a standard/examination handbook to be followed by all Provincial Self-Government Organizations.
© In-Cyprus.com
Mind boggling, if the problem is in the planning department resulting in the the delay to get a building permit, then the sensible course of action is to address that. Standardise and streamline the process. There seems to be little thought gone into any sort of joined up planning at present, heaven knows what will result with no controls in place.
Wil that mean that house owners will be able to carry out modifications or extentions to existing property without the need to obtain a permit or building control? Will builders indiscriminatly build on unstable ground? What about archaeological sites, will they be built over.
Typical of the Cyprus Government, no forethought of the consequences of it actions.
Rather than fixing the system, they’ve decided to bin it.
They did the same thing with the Streets and Buildings Law. Article 10 of the law, Cap 96, provided that no-one can occupy a building unless it has been issued with a Certificate of Final Approval. But as this Article was totally ignored and has been watered down, despite it ensuring the health & safety of the building concerned.
“10.-(1) No person owns or uses or acts so that any other person owns or uses any building or part of a building, until a certificate of approval is issued by the competent authority in relation to the said building or part thereof, regardless if a permit was granted for the building or part of it, based on article 3 of this Law.
(2) The license holder, within a period not exceeding twenty-one (21) days from the completion of the work, in relation to which the license was issued in accordance with the provisions of article 3, must notify the competent authority of the completion and to apply for a certificate of approval:
It is provided that, even after the expiry date of the building permit, the competent authority may visit the construction site of the building for which the permit was issued and in the event that it finds that the building is occupied or used, without an approval certificate having been issued in accordance with the provisions of subsection (1), to proceed with the implementation of the provisions of subsection (5) of this article, subsection (1) of article 20, subsection (1) of article 21 and subsection (1) of article 23:
It is further provided that the holder of the building permit must inform the supervising engineer of the date of completion of the work of the entire building or part of the work.
(3) The supervising engineer within a period of thirty (30) days from –
(a) the completion of the work or subject in relation to which the license was issued in accordance with the provisions of article 3, or
(b) completing a large proportion of the work, or
(c) the start of use of the whole or part of the work, without having completed fully or precisely all the works provided for in the building permit, must submit to the competent authority a certificate certifying the completion of the work or the matter, in accordance with the permit issued as above or the stage and degree of execution of the work or part thereof and the matters in which the work is not in accordance with the permit, respectively.
(4) The competent authority, if it deems it appropriate, within a reasonable time from the completion of the work, may request the supervising engineer to submit a full report regarding the execution of the work for which a permit was issued, the stage at which it is the performance of the work and any matter in respect of which the work performed is not in accordance with the licence.
(5) The competent authority, following a relevant application submitted by the license holder or any person having an interest in the building or the subdivision or ex officio, issues a certificate of approval of the work, when satisfied that the work has been completed in accordance with the licence:
Provided that, where a certificate of approval is issued ex officio, the competent authority shall have power to require the supervising engineer to submit a report in accordance with subsection (4):
It is further provided that in the event of a certificate of approval being issued upon application submitted by any person having an interest in the building or subdivision or ex officio, the competent authority may require the payment of the relevant fees from the person in question and, in case of refusal to pay the fees , the authority informs the Director of the Department of Cadastre and Land Surveying appropriately, so that the due rights become necessary and compulsorily payable before the transfer and registration of a unit to the owner or to a person who has an interest in the building, in proportion to the obligation that already exists and applies regarding various taxes and fees, in respect of which proof of payment is required prior to registration:
It is further provided that a certificate of approval issued in accordance with this article, legalizes any work to which it refers and may be issued regardless of the existence of a valid urban planning permit or building permit.
(6) The competent authority may issue a certificate of approval for part of the work or subject for which a permit was issued.
(7) The competent authority shall always send to the District Lands Officer a copy of each approval certificate issued in accordance with this Law.”