The government is making their special housing incentives for affordable housing developments more attractive to developers and land professionals.
Speaking after the conclusion of a Council of Ministers meeting on Wednesday, Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou noted that it was decided to amend and expand the criteria to make the planning incentives and the ‘Built to Rent’ Scheme more attractive to the private and wider public sectors for the production of affordable housing.
Here’s a breakdown of the key changes:
- Smaller developers welcome: The minimum land area requirement has been significantly reduced. Previously, only large projects exceeding 4,000 sqm could qualify. Now, developments on plots as small as 2,000 sqm can benefit from the incentives. Even smaller projects of 800 sqm or more are now eligible in a separate category.
- Increased flexibility: The program now caters to a wider range of development types with the inclusion of additional categories and residential zones. Developers also have more freedom in determining the mix of residential units within their project, as long as it aligns with the development plan.
- More profit potential: The programme now allows developers to dedicate a larger portion of the built-up area to their own development (25% compared to the previous 20%). Additionally, the ratio favouring affordable housing has been adjusted slightly (from 25% to 20%).
- Planning made easier: Planning authorities now have the discretion to allow the purchase of visitor parking spaces, as long as each resident unit has a designated parking spot. Minor deviations in built-up areas for affordable housing purposes can also be approved to facilitate better project layout.
- Streamlined approvals: The Director of the Department of Town Planning and Housing will now be the designated approval authority for applications utilising the incentive programme. This aims to expedite the approval process.
