Cyprus Mail
CyprusEducationFeatured

Students being forced to ditch studies over high cost of rents

ufni life (2)

University students in Limassol are forking out anywhere from €800 to €1,200 a month for renting a single-bedroom apartment, with many of them forced to ditch their studies as they can no longer afford accommodation, lawmakers heard on Thursday.

The House interior affairs committee, discussing prohibitive rent prices across the island, also heard there is no dedicated rental subsidy or support scheme for students.

The head of the Land Development Corporation told MPs that a scheme dubbed ‘Affordable Rent’ had been launched in the Nicosia, Limassol and Larnaca districts. But the scheme ran into financing difficulties and funding has been discontinued.

A finance ministry official confirmed this, saying funding for the rent scheme would have come from the citizenship-by-investment programme or CBI. A small portion of the proceeds from these investments had been earmarked for the Land Development Corporation.

However the government nixed the CBI in late 2020, on the back of mounting allegations of corruption.

As a result, the Land Development Corporation will now receive a percentage of the licensing fees for the casinos paid to the state. These funds should enable the corporation to finance rent schemes for vulnerable groups.

The head of the union of municipalities said they are ready to help shape a housing policy for students specifically. But responding to a question, he said no such scheme is currently available.

MPs alluded to claims heard a day earlier at the House education committee –concerning college students who, unable to make ends meet, end up renting apartments in the north of Nicosia where rates are lower.

Christos Diomedous, an official with the benefits department at the labour ministry, said that in general a rent benefit is provided to approximately 3,000 recipients of Guaranteed Minimum Income.

The benefit is paid according to the size of a family and its financial needs. The subsidy is based on a formula per square metre. By way of example, Diomedous said a family in Limassol with two children – one of them underage – receive a benefit of €462.

Back to the students issue, the head of accommodation at the University of Cyprus – funded by the state – said that just 300 of their 7,000 students live on campus.

A process is underway to build another 700 rooms for students – but these would not be ready until about five years’ time.

For the current academic year, some 200 freshmen have applied for campus accommodation. For those already living on campus and applying to stay there, the university would be able to satisfy about half of these requests.

For his part, Alexandros Antonaras, an official with the University of Nicosia, said student accommodation issues have improved in the Engomi area of Nicosia with the operation of five dormitories with a total of 1,300 rooms.

He said rents for single-bedroom flats in Engomi typically go for €400 to €600 a month.

A student of Tepak – the University of Technology – told MPs that renting a small flat with a single bedroom in Limassol costs from €800 to €1,200; a studio apartment goes for €600 to €800.

Aristos Damianou, Akel MP and chair of the House interior affairs committee, pointed out that a large number of youths have given up their students because they can’t cope with accommodation costs.

On a related subject, a representative of the Registration Council of Real Estate Agents called for enhanced legal protection for landlords in terms of their dealings with tenants who don’t pay on time.

In many cases, the rep said, in order to spare themselves the hassle landlords choose to take their properties off the market – shrinking the supply of housing units and driving up rates.

Follow the Cyprus Mail on Google News

Related Posts

Nearly 23% of Cyprus residents are foreign born

Rony J. El Daccache

Our View: Police action plan should not inconvenience law-abiding citizens

CM: Our View

CySEC toughens oversight on cross-border activities

Andria Kades

Great Sea Interconnector ‘top priority’

Andria Kades

EU to support establishment of asset management office in Cyprus

‘Akamas debacle will cost Cyprus dearly’

Andria Kades