Pancyprian Shopkeepers Organization (Povek) and the opposition Progressive Party of the Working People (AKEL) are lobbying for the bill on 20 per cent reduction in rental rates for residential and commercial real estate, according to ee24.com citing The Cyprus Mail. These political forces want protect the tenants affected by the crisis, but they don't take into account the owners interests.
In turn, the Association of Property Owners in Cyprus warned that in case of adoption of the law on the regulation of pricing, it will use all legal options for its cancellation, up to questioning the constitutionality of the law in the Supreme Court. The position of the Association is expressed in a simple slogan: "Let the government leave the real estate market alone!" The head of the organization, Giorgos Strovolides, explained that rental prices are already falling, and it would be wrong to aggravate the process by non-market methods.
Rate regulation may become another step to discredit the government of Cyprus in the eyes of foreign investors. Foreigners are already losing interest in the island. In Jan-Sep 2013 sales to non-residents fell from 1,030 to 737 properties in the annual quantities. The growth only happened in Paphos and Limassol, because of the high activity of Chinese and Arabs seeking to obtain a residence permit in Europe.
It is to be recalled that in order to get a residence permit in Cyprus one needs to buy a property priced at more than of € 300,000.