Press Releases

Reduction of 83,9% in the Number of Building Permits Issued

The Statistical Service announces that the number of building permits authorised during July 2024 stood at 97 compared to 604 in July 2023. The total value of these permits reached €42,9 million and the total area 28,3 thousand square metres. These building permits provide for the construction of 156 dwelling units.

During the period January-July 2024, 4.879 building permits were issued compared to 4.212 in the corresponding period of the previous year, recording an increase of 15,8%. The total value of these permits increased by 24,4% and the total area by 26,4%. The number of dwelling units recorded an increase of 24,7%.

The noteworthy decrease in the number of building permits issued in July 2024 is to a large extent the result of the transfer as from the 1^st July 2024 of the authority of issuing building permits from the Municipalities and the District Administration Offices to the newly founded Local Government Organisations (LGOs) and the problems encountered in the operation of the new integrated information system “Ippodamos”.

The delay observed in the publication of the building permits statistics for July 2024 is a result of the existence of significant deficiencies and weaknesses in the recording by the LGOs of the necessary data in the “Ippodamos” system. These shortcomings and weaknesses persist to this day, greatly hampering and delaying the production of statistics on the building permits authorised.

The Statistical Service has repeatedly raised the issue with the Ministry of the Interior and the LGOs, as well as with the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy and every effort is being made to resolve the problems as soon as possible and to continue the uninterrupted production of statistics.

Methodological Information

Scope and Coverage

The purpose is the collection of basic data concerning residential and non-residential buildings as well as other construction activities, such as civil engineering projects, division of plots and road construction, by district (both urban and rural areas). For each type of project, information is compiled on the number of permits authorised, the area and the value of the project and the number of dwelling units that are expected to be built. For the categorisation of the various construction projects, the EU Classification of Types of Construction (CC) is being used.

Data cover all building permits authorised, including those for demolitions and permits being re-issued. However, permits renewals and permits for the division of buildings are not included.

Data Collection

The Statistical Service traditionally received on a monthly basis from all the local administration authorities, namely the Municipalities, the District Administration Offices of the Ministry of Interior and the Agios Tychonas Community Board, copies of all the building permits they issued. The information contained in these forms was appropriately coded by the Statistical Service in order to produce the statistics.

As part of the administrative reform, the authority of issuing building permits was transferred as from the 1^st July 2024 from the local administration authorities to the newly founded Local Government Organisations (LGOs). At the same time, the integrated information system “Ippodamos” was put into operation and all applications are now processed by the LGOs electronically, including a large volume of older applications that were apparently submitted in printed form before the 1^st July 2024. Unfortunately, the operation of “Ippodamos” was accompanied by a series of technical and procedural weaknesses and delays that had a serious impact on the production of statistics in a timely, accurate and reliable manner.

For more information visit CYSTAT Portal, subtheme Construction, CYSTAT-DB (Online Database), Predefined Tables (Excel) or contact Mr Achilleas Moustakas: Tel.: 22602156, E-mail: amoustakas@cystat.mof.gov.cy.

The Predefined Tables, available in Excel format, include data up to December 2022. Data from January 2023 onwards are available only in the CYSTAT-DB Online Database.

(AS/MS)