A person living in a refugee estate building slated for demolition is refusing to move out unless the government first pays half a million euro for renovation works that the individual claims he undertook, it emerged in parliament on Tuesday.
The reveal was made by Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou during a discussion of the government’s Ktizo scheme – a €130 million long-term project giving incentives to tenants to relocate to new housing.
There were 358 refugee apartment buildings across the government-controlled areas. Living conditions in some of them were described as dangerous, with refugees fearing the apartments were on the brink of collapse.
Of the 358 buildings, 245 were deemed to be in satisfactory condition and 70 had problems requiring upkeep. The remaining 43 had severe structural issues and their renovation was deemed unsustainable and financially unviable.
Under Ktizo, tenants of these 43 unsafe buildings, opting out of being relocated to new housing, would receive a one-off grant.
For those beneficiaries choosing to participate and move into new government-subsidised housing, they would contribute out of pocket €10,000 for a single-bedroom apartment, €20,000 for a two-bedroom apartment, or €25,000 for a three-bedroom apartment.
The co-pay amounts to approximately 10 per cent of the value of the new apartment.
But last week, MPs remarked with dissatisfaction that to date only one new apartment building has been built out of the 19 planned.
Defending the slow pace of the scheme, the interior minister cited resistance from tenants.
He mentioned the case of one individual who lives in an unsafe building earmarked for demolition.
The person refuses to move out, demanding the government reimburse them for €500,000 for expenses they claim they incurred in renovating their apartment.
“If I decide to force them out, people will shout that we threw them out onto the street,” Ioannou told MPs.
Earlier, parliamentarians had suggested that, to speed up the process, the state should directly undertake construction of the new buildings for refugees. Under the scheme as it stands, private contractors undertake demolition, site clearance, removal of hazardous debris, and construction of new buildings.
But Ioannou countered it was not possible for the state to take over construction.
“How can I [meaning the state] enter a private property? Because after title deeds were issued for the refugees, we’re talking about private property.
“So, can I just barge into your home and tell you that I’ll build you a new house?”
The minister said that title deeds for refugee estate housing had been issued long ago – during the presidency of Glafcos Clerides (1993 to 2003).
Ioannou acknowledged that Ktizo is moving slower than hoped. Since its launch, just one new building has been completed, while a second one is almost finished.
Within 2028, he added, five more buildings would be ready for refugees to move into.
“We pay for 80 to 90 per cent of the value of the new apartments, and the rest is paid by the beneficiaries. If they do not want this, they have the option of taking the value of the land plus some assistance to move out, and I can tell you that so far we have given €80,000 to €90,000 to about 30 to 40 beneficiaries who opted out of the scheme.”
In addition, said the minister, the government pays the surveyor; the only thing that beneficiaries have to do is pick which apartment they want, he remarked.
He also pointed out that the apartments currently being built at a building in Latsia are worth €250,000 each.
Moreover, beneficiaries have another option: they can agree with the contractor that the latter undertake to sell the apartment, and out of the €250,000 the contractor keeps the €20,000 and gives the beneficiary the remaining €230,000 so that he or she can buy a house elsewhere.
“Solutions do exist,” said Ioannou. “What is needed is good will.”