There are hopes that the acute problem of high rents in Limassol might be eased somewhat over the next five years with the construction of some 750 apartment units of various sizes, promoted by the Limassol Municipality and the Cyprus Land Development Organization. The ambitious plan was recently presented to the Ministry of the Interior, with Mayor Nikos Nikolaidis saying he was optimistic it can be implemented. The municipality's proposal, aimed at tackling the housing problem of lower and middle income classes, provides for the allocation of affordable housing apartments, with a monthly rent of around 350 euro, based on income criteria.
Three municipal blocks of flats in Agios Nikolaos and Agios Ioannis, which were built as early as the 1940s, are proposed to be utilized to this end. The proposal before the Ministry provides for the demolition of the existing blocks and the construction of new ones. The understanding is that based on the net area of the three plots, totalling 41,725 sqm, it is possible to build more than 700 residential units. According to the proposal of the Municipality, these apartments could be built and rented over the next five years to new couples, families and students in a way that ensures a balanced composition of the tenants of each apartment building and avoids the creation of ghetto-type arrangements.
"We are talking about apartments with rent of at least 25% less than the market value", Mr. Nikolaidis told ‘’Entrepreneurial Limassol’’, noting that the project could be implemented gradually through the Cyprus Land Development Organization. Meanwhile, the Cyprus Land Development Organization has applied to the European Investment Bank, to secure additional funding, that is beyond the amount being collected through the criteria included in the foreign investors' naturalization plan, who are now required to pay 75,000 euro to the Organization.
