The government plans to speed up property auctions by outsourcing valuation work to private assessors, according to the Interior Ministry’s 2026 budget.
The measure is outlined in the interior minister’s speech submitted to parliament, where the ministry’s budget is being debated today. The ministry is being renamed the Ministry of Interior and Civil Protection.
The budget lists a series of changes, including “accelerating the auction process by assigning valuation work to private valuers”, according to the document.
The minister’s speech also addresses housing policy, which affects thousands of families and particularly young couples facing unaffordable property prices and prohibitive rents.
The budget projects that 1,476 housing units will be added to the market over the next two years, of which 251 will be offered at affordable prices.
The minister’s estimate is based on the number of applications for development permits submitted by October 2025 under government housing schemes.
The Cyprus Land Development Corporation has already generated €8 million through the purchase of planning incentives, which it will use to build affordable homes for purchase or rent, according to the minister.
Next year’s budget includes €35 million for housing programmes, including Planning Incentive Schemes and Build to Rent projects, which grant developers additional building coefficients of 25-45%.
The minister will also reference fast-track licensing, which has processed 1,328 applications for single and double houses and 253 applications for apartment blocks of up to 20 flats and developments of up to 12 terraced houses.
This means more than 3,500 families will solve their housing needs permanently in a much shorter time, according to the minister.
The minister will announce that an enforcement and inspection unit will be created within the Town Planning and Housing Department in 2026 to carry out on-site inspections of major strategic developments licensed by the department. The unit will strengthen inspections and boost transparency and public confidence in the authorities and their procedures, according to the budget.
State grants to local authorities for 2026-2028 total €439 million, or €146 million per year, excluding approximately €15 million for road maintenance and approximately €12 million for lost revenue from licensing fees. Municipal grants remain stable at €117 million annually through 2028, plus road maintenance and lost development permit revenue.
The minister will also reference the Special Action Plan for the revitalisation of Nicosia’s walled city, which includes €8.3 million for student accommodation.
Displaced beneficiaries of the housing scheme for mountainous, remote and disadvantaged areas will receive a 20% increase in grants under the 2026 scheme.
The 2026 budget allocates €83.8 million for refugee housing policy, whilst the 2026-2028 Medium-Term Fiscal Framework sets aside €247.6 million.
For rural revitalisation, the 2026-2028 period includes development projects worth over €116 million and €16.7 million for community building construction or upgrades. An additional €55.5 million will go to community councils in free areas, whilst annual support allowances of €9 million benefit more than 31,000 residents of mountainous and remote areas.
The 2026 state grant to the Custodian Fund for Turkish Cypriot properties stands at €6.5 million, and €19.5 million for 2026-2028.
The ministry plans to list 1,000 buildings as protected in 2026, in addition to 7,000 buildings already protected in previous years.
The upcoming parliamentary elections have been budgeted at €6.2 million.
To reduce bureaucracy at the Land Registry, the ministry is pursuing changes, including the gradual modernisation or abolition of some of the 150 forms and applications submitted to the department.
The Interior Ministry’s 2026 budget totals €779.7 million, representing an increase of €28.3 million compared to the approved 2025 budget and nearly €130 million compared to 2024 actual expenditure.
Personnel costs are budgeted at €107.7 million, operational expenses at €54.4 million, transfers at €322 million, other co-financed projects at €110.8 million, other revenue/expenditure at €0.6 million, expropriations at €51.2 million, projects under construction at €113 million and loans at €20 million.
Development expenditure, excluding €20 million from co-financed funds, totals €277.7 million and represents 40% of the ministry’s total budget. Current expenditure stands at €481.9 million, representing 60% of the total.
Budget implementation for 2025 is estimated to remain at 85%. The minister considers this rate particularly satisfactory, “as its achievement reflects effectiveness in implementing planned actions and prudent use of available resources”.
The Interior Ministry manages European funds for projects totalling €635.6 million for the 2021-2027 programming period, with the European Union contributing €482.7 million through the Internal Affairs Funds, European Structural Funds and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.
