Revocations of certificates and permits issued through Cyprus’ fast-track licensing procedure should be halted until a wider review is completed, Cyprus’ Scientific and Technical Chamber (Etek) said after a meeting with architects and planning officials.

The meeting, aimed at resolving disruption faced by designers and affected citizens, was held last week, the chamber said.

It brought together a delegation from Etek led by its president Constantinos Constanti, Cyprus Architects Association president Alkis Dikaios, Town Planning Department director Kyriakos Koundouros, and department officials.

According to Etek, the meeting was “held in a constructive atmosphere and led to an agreement on how the fast-track procedure should be implemented, the problems that have emerged, and the next steps needed to restore consistency”.

At the centre of the discussion was the need for licensing authorities to carry out staff checks on submitted applications, as provided for in the relevant decrees.

These checks, Etek said, are needed to “identify significant deviations in time, including those affecting residential comfort and the functionality of parking areas”.

However, the meeting found that the obligation to carry out such checks had not been fully implemented by some district local government organisations.

This prompted the director of the department of town to issue a directive on May 11 calling for a comprehensive evaluation of all automatically issued certificates.

The results of this evaluation are expected to be submitted to the Interior Ministry.

Until that process is completed, and until a common interpretation of what constitutes a substantial deviation is agreed, Etek said revocations of certificates and permits should stop.

In cases where deviations are found in building permits that have already been issued, the competent authorities have been asked not to proceed with revocation. Instead, they should inform the designer to suspend construction work until the matter is resolved.

For certificates and permits that have already been revoked, it was also agreed that designers should not be required to pay fees again when resubmitting applications. Any amounts already paid for this purpose should be returned to applicants.

The department of town is expected to announce in the coming days the procedure that will be followed to resolve the matter.

Another key outcome of the meeting was the agreement to set up a technical committee, with representatives from the district local government organisations, the planning department and Etek.

The committee will examine cases where applications present deviations before any certificate or permit is revoked, with the aim of ensuring a more uniform and fair approach.

The meeting also identified a number of points requiring particular attention when applications are submitted, including the scope of the relevant decrees, the completeness of accompanying documents and studies, as well as compliance with rules on accessibility, fire safety, parking spaces and urban planning restrictions.

In this context, Etek is expected to inform its members and organise seminars on the issue.

At the same time, Etek submitted additional proposals to the Interior Minister aimed at improving the fast-track licensing process.

These include allowing applications to be classified as incomplete rather than rejected, examining applications through the conventional procedure when they do not fall within the scope of the fast-track system, and introducing the possibility of submitting an amending permit through the same procedure.

Etek finally said that “the smooth operation of the fast-track licensing system, as well as the resolution of the problems that have arisen, requires cooperation between all involved bodies and full adherence to the agreements reached, for the benefit of society and citizens”.