Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou on Friday hailed the changes to the laws surrounding the use of Turkish Cypriot-owned property in the Republic, which were passed by parliament on Thursday night.

He described the new last 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.

“After many efforts and a long period of consultation, the implementation of the largest pillars of reform of the method for the management and use of Turkish Cypriot properties was achieved,” he said.

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 purpose of this huge reform was primarily to bring to an end that malaise and ensure transparency, meritocracy, and equality among the displaced, who have been deprived of their own properties for 51 years,” he said.

Delving into the specifics of the new law, he highlighted the new points system which will determine applicants’ eligibility to rent Turkish Cypriot properties, saying that these points will be allocated based on “specific, objective, and measurable criteria”.

On this matter, he said the law has “automatically removed” the discretionary power of the interior minister of the day to take unilateral decisions regarding the allocation of Turkish Cypriot property, adding that this 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.

He added that the new law will also take into account properties owned by applicants in the Republic and said that this change will “further strengthen the equality and objectivity of evaluations”.

He went on to say that the government is, “for the first time since 1974”, undertaking an “extensive campaign” to record and evaluate all the lease contracts regarding Turkish Cypriot-owned business properties.

“From these evaluations, 511 violations of lease terms were identified and legal measures were taken to recover the properties and transfer them to other beneficiaries,” he said.

He added that the strengthening of the Guardian of Turkish Cypriot properties’ capacity to collect rent is “high on the government’s list of priorities”, with it hoped that the Guardian will be able to recover unpaid historical rent.

Thus far, he said, unpaid debts amounting €1.3m have been collected, with measures being taken to settle further debts amounting to €3.3m.

On this matter, he said a “major thorn in the side” of the government at present is the fact that many users of Turkish Cypriot-owned properties are paying rent well below what would be the going market rate, because rent prices were “determined decades ago”.

“This is why instructions were given and the rent costs of Turkish Cypriot-owned business premises and open spaces are being reviewed, so that they can gradually be adjusted,” he said.

He added that all the government’s actions on the matter “are aimed at streamlining the management of Turkish Cypriot properties”, with the aim of “ending opacity, the lack of meritocracy, and inequality, for the benefit of the displaced persons’ community, until the long-awaited solution and the return to our properties”.