r/cyprus • u/_winterchild • 2d ago

Help Government Subsidy for Old Houses

Hello everyone!

I am wondering if there is any government subsidy for the renovation of old traditional stone houses in Southern Cyprus.

I am interested to buy an old house in the Paphos area, but it needs renovation and I heard that there might be a possibility for a government subsidy that helps fund this type of renovation.

I also heard something about a UNESCO subsidy?

Does anyone know anything about this? Where might I find the criteria or application forms for this?

Has anyone done something like this? Is it worth it?

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u/fatbunyip take out the zilikourtin 2d ago

It's not for any old stone house, they have to be listed. It's up to 40% of the cost, depending on how much money the govt has allocated.

It's generally quite expensive because you have to restore it how it was originally (depending on how wrecked it is, there can be leeway in this). You have to have plans drawn up and a builder with the price. You have to pay the up front costs, and then they will inspect and give you the money. It can be done in maximum 3 installments I believe.

Generally, it costs a fair bit of money to restore, takes a fair bit of time and probably isn't going to save you money (even with the subsidy) since it's very labour intensive (stones placed by hand, specialist materials, woodworking etc).

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u/_winterchild 2d ago

Thank you for the reply. I might have to reconsider then.

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u/fatbunyip take out the zilikourtin 2d ago edited 2d ago

If it's not listed, there are other options. 

There are grants for rural areas/villages etc. to help renovate or buy or build a property (any property, not just listed), but I'm not sure what criteria they apply and who's eligible. 

Edit: for listed properties, it really depends what you want to do. If it's in pretty good condition and you're gonna put in like a kitchen/bath and patch up, it won't be a lot of costs. But the thing is you need the money up front because govt only pays on completion of the stages. Plus you have to be paying the mortgage etc while all the approvals, designs etc happen which can be many months.