The moment young people decide to find a flat and claim their independence, they’ll smash straight into brutal reality. Even a “decent” salary can’t cover the cost of housing—and that’s become the norm for our society now. The average age at which adult children leave home is 27.5 in Cyprus and 26.4 across Europe.
It’s a tired observation, the problem has reached the scale of a humanitarian crisis, and promises of “affordable housing” get trotted out every election cycle. Research shows that across EU countries, house prices have shot up by over 50% and rents by nearly 30% in recent years, whilst the supply of new housing has plummeted.
In Cyprus, every political discussion on the subject is limited to piecemeal management, never grounded in a comprehensive urban planning strategy and never factored into development plans. In the era of the construction boom, towers and “investment opportunities,” housing is gradually becoming a privilege.
Decent housing is a basic human right and cannot be treated like some sort of charity handout. And unfortunately, as long as the housing crisis is seen as collateral damage from “development,” the younger generation will remain a statistical problem to be managed.
The government recently announced, in triumphant tones, the construction of 500 housing units across four districts, intended to house young couples and single people. The measure is welcome, of course—it’ll provide immediate housing solutions to a small number—a very small number, unfortunately—of vulnerable young beneficiaries. But it’s a piecemeal measure in the logic of subsidies and other financial sticking plasters that bring the “fever” down a bit without getting anywhere near the causes or cure of the “illness.”
Beyond the quantitative issue, quality concerns appear to be emerging as well. The Architects’ Association notes that the Design and Build method chosen to implement the project doesn’t guarantee the necessary quality standards. “Although the need for housing is urgent, the solution cannot be limited to mass production of homes without vision, comprehensive planning and clear quality specifications,” it states, raising the additional issue of “ghettoisation” through the creation of “isolated and fragmented housing pockets, a development that runs counter to the principles of a sustainable, inclusive and socially balanced city.”
And lest we forget, this measure isn’t here to correct some “natural” market distortion, but to patch up the consequences of developmental policy choices made in recent years. Choices by a state that put immediate profit, foreign capital inflows and the service of vested interests above people and society’s needs. Perhaps we’ll remember that next time we’re discussing “our brightest minds leaving for abroad” or “the falling birth rate threatening our survival.”
