All land in Cyprus is zoned, and planning permission will only be granted if your proposed building is suitable for the particular zone. Examples of the zones that don’t really interest us are Industrial, Retail and Tourist (e.g. hotels), for obvious reasons.

So, the only two zones which are applicable to ‘Design and Build’ projects are Residential and Agricultural, but before we go into detail about these, we need to explain what is known as the Building Density Factor, which is applied to all plots, whichever zone category they fall into. Basically, the Building Density Factor is the percentage of the land area that can be built on. Generally speaking, Agricultural plots will have a much lower factor than Residential ones, mainly because they are in rural and/or environmentally sensitive areas, and this is the government’s way of preserving ‘green belt’ areas. The density factor will be explained in greater detail below.

Residential plots

These usually have a density factor of 90%, and are usually only given this classification if they are in an existing built-up area, or on the edge of an existing settlement where reasonable expansion has been permitted. The actual area of the building which is allowed on a plot is what is deemed to be the ‘covered area’: this does not just include the interior living space, but also ‘covered verandas’, i.e. where the floor of an upper storey forms a ‘roof’ over a ground floor veranda to provide shade. In such as case, the whole area of the veranda, even though it is technically outside the house, is deemed to be part of the building allowance. Garages are also included in the ‘covered area’, but not paths and swimming pools, nor ‘uncovered verandas’, which just project from the house with no ‘roof’ over them.

In addition to the density factor, there are two significant other rules: firstly, with regard to the number of storeys allowed, which is normally two, although in towns you might be allowed three (this, however, usually applies to apartment buildings). Secondly, a minimum distance of 3 metres must be left between any boundary of the plot and any part of the building. Houses in residential areas, therefore, will always be a minimum of 6 metres apart.

A common mistake with regard to the allowed building area is that some people think it is the amount of land that the house covers on the ground. This is only true of bungalows, but in the case of 2-storey houses, the area of the upper floor must be added to that of the ground floor and the covered verandas etc. to reach the allowed area. For example, if you were allowed 100 square metres of building, you could either have a 100m2 bungalow, or a 2-storey house with 50 +50, or 60+40 or whatever, as long as it added up to no more than 100. With a 2-storey house, the ‘footprint’ on the land might only be 60m2, but you'd have another 40m2 on top, making up your 100. On a large enough Residential plot, it is also quite feasible to build 2 or more houses, as long as you stayed within the total building allowance for the plot, and the minimum distance rules were adhered to. However, when you sub-divide a plot like this, the planning authorities normally insist that you allocate a certain area of the land (often 15%) to a ‘Green Area’ where no ‘building’ at all can take place, not even a path. 

Agricultural Plots

All the above rules apply to agricultural plots, plus one more: only one dwelling may be built. The word ‘dwelling’ is specifically used to prevent the construction of apartments or even 2 semi-detached houses. As mentioned above, the density factor on these plots is very low – this is usually 10% or even 6% in some cases. This means that you need a much larger plot than in a Residential zone, and Agricultural plots are thus usually a minimum of 3000 square metres. A further restriction may also be that you are only allowed to build a bungalow, so as to protect the skyline of areas of outstanding natural beauty. This is true of many plots in the Kathikas, Droushia, Arodes and Neo Chorio areas, which are adjacent to the Akamas National Park.

There are other factors relating to the types of building allowed so as to harmonise with the surroundings, but these issues will be covered when you visit us in Cyprus. We would also add that our expert architects in Cyprus handle all aspects of the planning and building permit applications, and all fees are included in the project price quoted to you.

The above information becomes quite important for those clients who are looking for privacy and who do not want to be ‘overlooked’, but at the same time want to be near to local services and facilities. Whilst a large agricultural plot on the edge of a village is obviously going to be the best bet, you have to consider 2 other factors: firstly, what zoning classification applies to the plot(s) next to you? Might they be ‘Residential’ with a 90% development factor?  Secondly, the zoning classifications are reviewed every 5 years, so what is currently an Agricultural plot may be re-classified as Residential. This is where our extensive local knowledge and contacts come into play, and we will be happy to advise you on how to avoid the common pitfalls encountered by those attempting ‘DIY’ projects.

Any questions? Then please contact us.