More than 100 buildings damaged or destroyed in recent wildfires in the Limassol mountains were constructed without any permits.
An inspection by the Limassol District Local Government Organisation found that 104 of 710 buildings affected by the fires had no permits whatsoever, meaning they were completed without securing planning permission or building licences.
The number of unauthorised structures could rise further, as inspectors identified another 221 buildings lacking sufficient documentation or traceable permits, according to the organisation.
Building permits were found for 336 cases, though only 293 have been fully verified. The remaining 43 cases require further examination of discovered files.
Of the 710 inspected buildings, only 293 are confirmed as partially licensed and legal. The remaining 417 structures either possess only planning permission, have no permits at all, or require further investigation.
Planning permission alone was secured for 49 buildings from the total examined, whilst 104 were constructed without any authorisation.
The inspection findings break down as follows: 336 buildings with identified building permits (293 confirmed, 43 requiring re-examination), 49 with planning permission only, 104 without any permits, and 221 lacking sufficient documentation.
Kourion mayor Pantelis Georgiou had previously estimated that 20-30 per cent of fully or partially destroyed homes were unauthorised structures built outside legal residential zones.
The actual percentage may prove higher, with the 104 unlicensed buildings already representing 13-15 per cent of the total inspected properties.
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