A proposed law aims to tackle the issue of unlicensed hotels and tourist accommodations in Cyprus by offering a temporary operating licence for up to six years.
Currently, just 12.69 per cent of hotels and accommodations are licensed, with only 48 hotels and 46 tourist establishments officially registered.
This follows the failure of previous legislation to resolve the issue, leaving many businesses still operating without the necessary certification.
Kyriakos Hadjiyiannis, Disy MP and chairman of the Tourism Committee, has introduced the bill to create a special regime for establishments that have failed to meet licensing requirements.
The 2019 law allowed a five-year window for compliance, but by the deadline, fewer than 100 establishments had secured the necessary licences, leaving most operating ‘illegally’ without certification for fire safety or hygiene.
In a statement to StockWatch, Hadjiyiannis emphasised that the 2019 legislation and its 2024 amendment had not yielded the expected results.
“Most hotels and tourist accommodations were not certified to comply with fire safety and hygiene regulations,” he said.
The new bill proposes allowing businesses that fail to meet licensing criteria by December 31, 2024, or 2025, to apply for a temporary licence, renewable for up to six years.
The law aims to allow these businesses to operate temporarily while working toward compliance.
The bill proposes amending the Law on the Regulation of the Establishment and Operation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation to permit the issuance of temporary licences.
This is seen as necessary due to the difficulties businesses face in securing the required certificates and documents for a full operating licence.
To obtain a temporary licence, businesses must apply by December 31, 2025, with architectural drawings reflecting the actual layout of their buildings.
The submission must include a certificate from a designer registered with the Cyprus scientific and technical chamber (Etek), confirming that the plans are accurate.
A special fire protection plan must also be submitted to the Fire Service for inspection.
Hadjiyiannis warned that “without action, many establishments would face closure, resulting in significant economic impact,” adding that “the proposed law would help ensure the continuity of the tourism industry, vital to the country’s economy, while meeting safety and hygiene requirements.”
The law also stipulates that hotels operating under a temporary licence must pay a compensatory fee based on turnover generated from illegal or irregular building additions.
The Ministry of Tourism will maintain a register of these establishments, which must display their temporary licence in a prominent place at the reception.
On fire safety, the Fire Service will review each fire protection plan within 30 days, making recommendations if needed.
An on-site inspection will verify that the necessary measures have been implemented before issuing a special fire protection certificate, valid for two years and renewable for an additional two years, subject to inspection.
The proposed law, which will be discussed next Tuesday by the Tourism committee, also includes provisions for hotels that have not yet secured a licence.
These businesses will have until December 31, 2025, to submit the required documentation to the Ministry of Tourism. However, the extension has drawn criticism.
Hadjiyiannis, the only MP to vote against the previous legislation, argued that it failed to provide a comprehensive solution and shifted responsibility from the Ministry of Tourism to Parliament.
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