The government has rolled out a streamlined procedure for granting building permits for specific residential units, aiming to cut down on red tape and encourage home ownership. This initiative was announced in January.

Constantinos Ioannou, the Interior Minister, elaborated on the revamped system, which substantially cuts the wait to obtain a final building permit down to 40 working days—divided into 20 days for a town planning permit and another 20 for a building permit.

This expedited process is applicable to single-family homes and duplex residences deemed ‘low risk,’ meaning they sit on either registered land or land that is in the process of being registered. Launched last October, this initiative is anticipated to alleviate local government offices, allowing them to concentrate on construction inspections.

For building permit applications, submissions must be done through the ‘Ippodamos‘ electronic licensing platform by architects, who bear the responsibility for ensuring the accuracy of all provided information. If a local authority does not decline an application within 20 days, the permit is automatically granted on the 21st day.

These changes complete the government’s licensing reforms, with single-family homes and duplexes making up 30% of the applications. Since October, 332 permit applications have been made, with 242 already processed and 223 approvals given, while 26 were rejected. The rest remain within the 20-day evaluation period.

Starting in March, the fast-track procedure will also cover ‘medium-risk’ developments, including lineups of up to 12 houses or buildings with as many as four stories accommodating up to 20 apartments. These permits will undergo processing within 80 working days.

To ensure compliance, the system incorporates ‘self-monitoring’ by architects and ‘on-site checks’ by appointed building inspectors, with inspections scheduled at three critical construction phases. The ministry is preparing regulations for building inspectors in cooperation with the scientific and technical chamber (ETEK). Until these regulations are finalized, ETEK will supply a temporary roster of qualified inspectors.

Ioannou highlighted that these reforms aim to enhance the availability of housing, making it more attainable, especially for young families. Nonetheless, there are ongoing challenges with the ‘Ippodamos’ system, which debuted in July 2024, such as sluggish processing speeds and architectural constraints.