Parliament debates refugee property compensation

A proposal to create a national fund to compensate owners for the loss of use of properties in the north was discussed by the House refugees committee on Tuesday.

The discussion centred on a bill submitted last September by Disy, alongside amendments tabled by Akel, with the finance ministry assuring MPs that draft regulations are being prepared and will be brought before the House once completed.

“If the regulations are ready, they will be submitted to you,” a ministerial official said, adding that the government’s approach was to focus compensation on the value of land and to exclude applicants who had already sought redress through the properties committee.

The meeting further examined progress and persistent problems surrounding the ‘Ktizo’ project, a government scheme providing grants for the renovation or replacement of ageing apartment blocks in refugee housing estates.

Officials briefed the committee on a revised guide to the scheme, intended to address ambiguities that had slowed implementation.

Senior officer from the town planning department Irene Yiannakou said the new guide had been completed following an intensive effort.

“We had committed that within 15 days we would complete the revised plan,” she said.

“The guide has been completed, in its entirety we are talking about a 500-page text. It was a difficult and labour-intensive process. All the definitions have been included in the new guide.”

“We examine each apartment building individually and resolve, on a case-by-case basis, all its issues,” Yiannakou affirmed.

Ownership complications continue to pose obstacles, especially where heirs or potential heirs are involved.

“Until they become owners, there are bound to be bureaucratic problems,” Yiannakou told MPs.

The regulations must first go before the board of directors and then for legal review at the finance ministry.

“There are differences, especially in interpretations and definitions,” the interior ministry’s Yiannos Sophocleous said, “we have started the process.”