The Nicosia District Local Government Organisation (DLGO/EOA) has recommended conditional approval to legalise a reception hall in Nicosia. According to the Audit Office, the hall operates as a music and dance venue without the required planning and building permits. Six planning applications have been submitted for the building since 2018.
In a memorandum, Auditor General Andreas Papaconstantinou said the state had failed to enforce the law, even though the case was made public in a special report in 2025. The memorandum also said the building has no certificate of final approval, and that conditions attached to an earlier planning permit granted by way of exemption have not been met.
Papaconstantinou said the procedure was still under way eight years after the first application, without legality having been restored. In his view, this showed how ineffective state procedures are. He said sending enforcement notices without taking other measures had not restored legality.
He described the case as a real test of the state’s ability to act when a breach of the law is known to both the authorities and the public. If legality could not be restored even in such a case, he said, there was reasonable concern about cases that were not inspected or did not become widely known.
Findings of the 2025 report
According to the Audit Office’s 2025 report, works on the building started and were completed without the necessary permits. During the retroactive licensing process, key conditions of the exemption permit were gradually changed. These covered the cession of a plot of land to the state, the size of a space set aside for film use and the demolition of unauthorised buildings.
The report found that the Cabinet had made demolition of the unauthorised buildings a condition for issuing a planning permit, but the Town Planning Department later changed that condition. The Deputy Ministry of Tourism granted the premises an operating licence as a restaurant, even though the development had not first obtained a certificate of approval, which is a prerequisite.
According to an enforcement notice that planning authorities sent in May 2024, the whole building operates as a reception hall and hosts events classed as music and dance venue activities, without the necessary planning and building permits. The report also said there was no evidence that the approved space was actually used for its intended film use.
The auditor general noted that not all of the administrative and legal measures available in such cases had been taken. He added that these measures do not always prevent breaches in any case.
Wider criticism
Papaconstantinou said the state’s practice of examining and licensing unauthorised developments after the fact was counterproductive. In his view, it leads to cases such as this one and appears to serve as an excuse for the authorities not to take administrative or legal action.
He said the Audit Office’s concern was heightened by low penalties for planning and building offences and by delays in court cases. These, he said, may mean that starting construction illegally has practically no real consequences. He added that when authorities withdraw court cases after a building permit has been issued retroactively, enforcement of the law is weakened and its deterrent effect is reduced.
According to the auditor general, the situation creates unfair competition, because those who break the law gain an advantage over those who follow it. He said this sends very negative messages and is gradually eroding public trust in the state.
He said the claim that the current legal framework lacks the tools for tougher action could not serve as a permanent excuse, even if it was valid. Authorities should make full use of the means available and, where these prove inadequate, propose stronger measures to parliament promptly. Otherwise, he said, limited and superficial handling effectively keeps breaches of the law going and wastes public resources on dealing with their consequences.
DLGO response
In its reply to the Audit Office, the Nicosia DLGO said the space for film use was fitted out and kept separate, and had been used in the past to film a television programme. It argued that leaving a licensed development unused, rather than using it for an unauthorised purpose, is not illegal. It also said the whole building is used as a reception hall, but not always.
The DLGO said it had thoroughly assessed the pending applications. On 18 May 2026, its Development Licensing Directorate sent a report to SYMEPA, the board that examines planning exemptions, setting out the DLGO’s positive views, subject to conditions. These views followed decisions by its Licensing Committee on 22 January 2026 and its board of directors on 26 March 2026.
