CYPRUS: Parliament mulls change to rent law for tenants who do not pay

Parliament has started discussing a bill to reform the law regulating out-of-court settlement in disputes over property rental agreements.

 The discussion kicked-off with complaints from property owners regarding tenants who do not uphold their rental agreement taking advantage of slow juridical procedures and the existing rental legislation that protects those who deliberately don’t pay.

A bill was tabled by DISY MPs Nikos Nouris, George Georgiou, Efthymios Diplaros and Marios Mavrides.

In comments made to reporters, Nouris said that many “tenants are taking advantage of the Rent Laws which were passed after the tragic events that took place in the 1960’s and 70’s with the aim to protect suffering citizens from eviction and irrational rent increases”.

He argued that the situation has changed, and the law should be brought up to speed.

"Our clear intention," he said, “is to prevent this phenomena and to help landlords who are deprived of their property due to bad tenants and subsequently to free resources withheld from the Cypriot state". 

He said the bill primarily seeks to introduce an out-of-court procedure with a landlord having the right to present the tenant with a claim form and if within a period of 21 days the tenant does not pay the full amount owed, then another 90-day period is given to the debtor.

"If at this time there is no compliance from the tenant’s part, then the landlord can file the case in court demanding rents due and the recovery of his property. The important thing is that the bill foresees that the Rental Control Courts will be properly staffed so cases will be concluded within 6 months,” said the MP.

Nouris said that he is pleased to have seen a positive response from all sides in the House, and that his party is open to suggestions that would enrich the bill without altering its philosophy.

The proposal covers long-term tenants who continue to occupy a property after the rental agreement expires.