Govt continues audit of use of Turkish Cypriot properties

The government is continuing its audit of the use of abandoned Turkish Cypriot properties in territories controlled by the Republic of Cyprus, Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou said on Thursday.

He told CyBC radio that more than 4,000 rental contracts for Turkish Cypriot properties have now been inspected for misuse, with earlier reports having suggested that more than 300 such contracts had been terminated.

Those reports also made reference to a total of 275 contracts signed by municipalities which were inspected, with violations of terms found in 31 cases.

Following the audit, municipalities began to comply with their terms in 13 of those cases, while 13 warning letters were sent, and five contracts were terminated.

Additionally, 589 contracts signed by village councils were examined, with auditors finding 47 violations of terms. In 12 cases, full compliance was reached thereafter, while 32 warning letters were sent and three contracts were terminated.

Ioannou on Thursday also made reference to the fact that the laws surrounding the use of abandoned Turkish Cypriot properties were changed last year.

The government now allocates properties based on a set list of criteria and a points system and having removed the discretionary power of the interior minister of the day to take unilateral decisions on the matter.

Previously, Ioannou had hailed the law change as a “decisive step in the effort for the rational management of Turkish Cypriot properties”, pointing out that Turkish Cypriot-owned land makes up 10.14 per cent of the Republic’s total land area.

In addition, he said, the money earned from the lease of those properties will amount to around €6.56 million this year.

He added that the government had “focused on the modernisation of practices and procedures”, saying that the previous legal state of affairs had “created inequalities” among Greek Cypriot displaced persons who utilise Turkish Cypriot-owned land.

The points system, he said, is based on “specific, objective, and measurable criteria”, while he said that the decision to remove the interior minister’s discretionary power has “limited the possibility of preferential treatment”.

“In simple terms, the decision to grant Turkish Cypriot properties does not depend on a single person, but all potential beneficiaries are evaluated and scored fairly and meritoriously with the same criteria, based on their financial and family situation, so that their real needs are effectively served,” he said.