The Provision of Housing Assistance to Displaced Persons, Sick Persons and Other Persons Law of 2005

The House of Representatives votes as follows:

Summary title.

1. This Law shall be referred to as the Provision of Housing Assistance to Displaced Persons, Victims and Other Persons Law of 2005.

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Interpretation.

2. In this Law, unless the context otherwise requires:

“applicant” means the person who submits an application for housing assistance under this Law.

“immovable property” has the meaning assigned to this term by the Immovable Property (Occupation, Registration and Valuation) Law.

“Director” means the Director of Internal Affairs to whom the duties of Director of the Service are assigned by the Minister .

“beneficiary” means a person who satisfies the necessary conditions to be granted housing assistance under this Law.

“displaced persons” means a person who holds a displaced person’s identity card issued by the Civil Registry and Immigration Department of the Ministry of Interior.

“displaced by matrilineage” [Deleted].

“Commission” means the Commission established under Article 4.

“government housing” means premises in a government settlement or elsewhere erected by the Republic for the purpose of housing displaced persons or with a grant from the Republic.

“government settlement” means a place in which the Republic has erected dwellings for the purpose of housing displaced persons, victims or other persons.

“Chairman” means the Chairman of the Committee.

“housing assistance” means:

(a) a sum of money granted to an applicant under Schemes A and C;

(b) concession of government land and a sum of money based on Plan B. or

(c) allocation of a residential unit in a government settlement based on Plan D.

“rent subsidy” means the grant originating from the Rent Subsidy Fund for Displaced and Suffering Persons:

It is understood that this Fund, as of 1 January 2006 or earlier, if possible, shall be transferred to the Ministry of the Interior from the Ministry of Justice and Public Order:

It is further understood that the rent subsidy does not affect the exercise of the right to housing assistance, as provided for in (a)(b) and (c) above.

“Scheme” means any of the Schemes defined in Article 8.

“Turkish-affected” means a Greek Cypriot who was and continues to be the owner of a residence which became inaccessible before 1974 as a result of intercommunal riots, provided that he is not or was not the owner of another residence in an area controlled by the Republic.

“Service” means the Displaced Persons Care and Rehabilitation Service of the Ministry of Interior. and

“Minister” means the Minister of the Interior.

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Responsibility of the Minister of Interior.

3. The Minister is responsible for the effective implementation of this Law and the decisions of the Committee, and for this purpose he ensures that the Committee has at its disposal the staff of the Service for the Care and Rehabilitation of Displaced Persons, as well as any necessary facilities for the performance of its duties.

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Establishment of a Committee.
4.(1) A Committee is hereby established under the name “Housing Assistance Committee” with the authority to examine applications and decide on the provision of housing assistance to persons entitled to it under this Law.

(2) The Committee is composed of the following persons:

(a) the Director, who will act as Chairman or in the absence of the Chairman, the officer to whom the duties of Director of the Service are assigned by the Minister.

(b) a representative of the Department of Town Planning and Housing.

(c) a representative of Social Welfare Services.

(d) a representative of the Pancyprian Refugee Union.

(e) a representative of the Pancyprian Rehabilitation Organization. and

(f) a representative of the Committee for the Relief of the Sick which was established under section 4 of the Relief of the Sick Law:

It is understood that the representative of the Pancyprian Refugee Union will participate in the work of the Committee only when examining issues concerning displaced persons and the representatives of the Pancyprian Rehabilitation Organization and the Committee for the Relief of the Sufferers will participate in the work of the Committee only when examining issues concerning displaced persons.

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Powers and duties of the President of the Commission.
5.(1) The Chairman shall preside over the Committee, convene its meetings and sign any important correspondence or document of the Committee.

(2) The Chairman shall draw up the agenda for each meeting of the Committee and shall ensure that it is communicated to each member at least twenty-four hours before the meeting. In the event that the Chairman considers that a meeting should be convened urgently, then the agenda may be circulated among the members immediately before the meeting.

(3) The Chairman shall include in the agenda any matter related to the responsibilities of the Committee, if so requested by a member of the Committee, at least forty-eight hours before the meeting, provided that the workload of the Committee or other factors allow such consideration during the meeting, otherwise the matter shall be included in the agenda of a future meeting.

(4) It is the duty of the President to monitor whether the decisions of the Commission are implemented in the proper manner and to ensure that, in collaboration with the Minister of the Interior, they are implemented.

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Committee meetings.
6.(1) Subject to the provisions of subsection (2), the Chairman and two other members present at a meeting of the Committee shall constitute a quorum. No decision of the Committee shall be valid unless it has been taken by a majority vote. In the event of a tie, the Chairman shall have a second or casting vote.

(2) If the representative of the Pancyprian Refugee Union does not participate in any meeting due to the fact that the issue being discussed does not concern displaced persons but victims, then the quorum shall be the presence of the President and at least three of the remaining members and in the event of a tie, the President has a second or casting vote.

(3) Summary minutes of the proceedings of each meeting of the Committee shall be kept under the care of the Chairman and shall be signed by the Chairman. Any member present at the meeting may request that his views, which are essential for the taking of a specific decision, be recorded in the minutes.

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Beneficiaries of housing assistance
7.(1) The Commission may approve the granting of any of the housing assistance described in section 8 of this Law to –

(a) displaced persons;

(b) Turkish-occupied, provided that he did not acquire residence in an area controlled by the Republic; or

(c) a subject who is –

(i) widow or child of a deceased person;

(ii) a parent of an unmarried deceased or a sister of an unmarried deceased, of whom the deceased was proven to be a guardian;

(iii) spouse or child of a missing person;

(iv) a parent of an unmarried missing person or a sister of whom the unmarried missing person was proven to be a guardian;

(v) disabled person with a disability rate of 40% or greater:

It is understood that the Minister is entitled to approve the granting of housing assistance to a disabled person with a disability percentage of 30% – 39%, following a recommendation from the Committee;

(vi) a child of a disabled person with a disability of 50% or more.

(2) Every beneficiary of housing assistance, as defined in subsection (1), must be permanently established in the Republic and meet the criteria, terms and conditions specified in the Law.

(3) For the purposes of this section –

(a) “sufferer” means a sufferer in accordance with the provisions of the Relief of Sufferers Laws of 1988 to 2001, as amended or replaced from time to time, who holds a relevant certificate from the Relief of Sufferers Committee established under the said Laws; and

(b) “pesos” has the meaning assigned to this term by article 2 of the Relief of Sufferers Laws of 1988 to 2001, as amended or replaced from time to time.

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Types of housing assistance.

8. The housing assistance provided for in this Law includes the following:

(1) Four housing plans:

(a) Scheme A: a sum of money intended for the construction, completion, extension or repair of a single dwelling on a plot of land not allocated for this purpose to the beneficiary by the Republic;

(b) Plan B: a sum of money intended for the construction of a residence on a plot of land granted for this purpose to the beneficiary by the Republic, or

(c) Plan C: amount of money intended for the purchase of a ready-made house or apartment.

(d) Plan D: allocation of existing housing to a government settlement.

(2) Rent subsidy from the Rent Subsidy Fund for Displaced and Sufferers:

It is understood that from 1 January 2006 or earlier, if possible, this Fund shall be transferred to the Ministry of the Interior:

It is further understood that the rent subsidy does not affect the provision of housing assistance based on the above four housing schemes.

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Application for housing assistance.
9.(1)(a) In order to secure housing assistance, the applicant submits a written application to the Service, which is fully completed, and is accompanied by the information, documents, certificates or testimonials required by the Service.

(b) The application is submitted on a form approved by the Service.

(c) The Service issues a receipt of the application and its attachments.

(2) After receiving the application, the Service may, by written notice to the applicant, request him to provide it, within a reasonable time, any additional data or information that it may consider necessary for the examination of his application.

(3) In the event of the applicant failing to provide the Service, within the prescribed deadline, any of the above requested data or information, the Commission may reject the application.

(4) The Commission shall decide on the above application within a period of six (6) months from the date of submission of the application to the Service.

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Criteria for providing housing assistance.
10.(1) The housing assistance referred to in article 8 is provided to any applicant who satisfies the criteria, conditions and terms that the Council of Ministers sets from time to time with its relevant Decisions regarding each of the said projects:

It is understood that the Council of Ministers, prior to issuing the above Decisions, through the competent Minister, informs the Parliamentary Committee on Refugees-Entrapped-Missing-Persons of their content.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1), the criteria, conditions and terms for the provision of housing assistance to those in need that were set by Decisions of the Council of Ministers and were in force before the entry into force of this Law, are deemed to have been set on the basis of this Law and will continue to be in force until they are replaced, amended or repealed by newer Decisions of the Council of Ministers.

(3) The Minister may, in exceptional cases, approve the granting of housing assistance for humanitarian reasons, provided that he justifies his decision.

(4) The decisions of the Minister taken pursuant to subsection (3) shall be notified to the Parliamentary Committee on Refugees, Trapped Persons, Missing Persons and Sufferers.

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Criteria Advisory Committee.
11.(1) For the determination of the criteria referred to in article 10, the Council of Ministers shall take into account relevant recommendations submitted to it, through the Minister, by a six-member criteria advisory committee.

(2) The criteria advisory committee referred to in subsection (1) shall consist of the following persons:

(a) the Director who will also act as chairman of the committee.

(b) a representative of the Ministry of Interior.

(c) a representative of the Ministry of Labor and Social Insurance.

(d) a representative of the Ministry of Finance.

(e) a representative of the Department of Town Planning and Housing. and

(f) a representative of the Pancyprian Refugee Union.

(3) The above criteria advisory committee regulates by its decisions any issues concerning its operation and meetings.

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Beneficiary obligations.
12.(1) For the granting of any housing assistance under this Law, the Commission may call on the applicant to undertake in writing any obligations or impose any conditions on him which it deems necessary for urban planning or environmental reasons or for reasons of public order or for the purposes of safeguarding public revenue or protecting the rights of others.

(2) The Commission has the power to revoke any of its decisions or to take against the applicant and the members of his family residing with him any measures it deems necessary, including measures of eviction from government housing, in the event that the applicant or any person residing in the housing for which housing assistance was granted, violates any condition or restriction imposed under subsection (1).

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Hierarchical Appeal.
13.(1) Any person may submit a hierarchical appeal to the Minister against any decision of the Commission which concerns or directly affects the person in question. The hierarchical appeal shall be submitted no later than thirty days from the date of notification to the person concerned of the decision of the Commission.

(2) The Minister shall examine the above hierarchical appeal and decide, no later than ninety days from its submission, whether it will be accepted or rejected or whether the decision of the Commission, against which the hierarchical appeal was submitted, should be amended and to what extent.

(3) Any decision of the Minister based on this article may not be taken in violation of the criteria, conditions or terms of providing housing assistance, as set by the Council of Ministers.

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Offenses and penalties.

14. Any person who –

(a) with intent to defraud, issues, delivers or sends for the purposes of this Law, or otherwise uses for the same purposes, any document which is untrue in any material particular, or

(b) when providing any information for the purposes of this Law makes any statement which he knows to be untrue in any material respect,

commits a criminal offence and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to a fine not exceeding one thousand pounds or to both.

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Informing interested parties.

15. The Director ensures that any interested party can be informed regarding the criteria, conditions and terms referred to in article 10 and receive, if they wish, relevant copies.

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Regulations.
16.(1) The Council of Ministers may issue regulations, which shall be submitted to the House of Representatives for approval and published in the Official Gazette of the Republic, for the purposes of better implementation of the provisions of this Law.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), regulations issued under this Law may regulate:

(a) the manner of reacquiring government residence when the person or persons to whom it was granted do not permanently reside therein or it is used for a purpose other than that for which it was granted.

(b) matters relating to the maintenance or repair of dwellings which have either been allocated or constructed with the provision of housing assistance by the Republic;

(c) the powers of the Commission with regard to investigations it is entitled to conduct and procedures it will follow for the purposes of examining any application for housing assistance;

(d) the obligations of public authorities or other persons to provide the Commission with any information in their possession that the Commission deems necessary for the exercise of its duties;

(e) the powers of the Commission to carry out inspections of premises to ascertain whether any conditions it has imposed regarding the provision of housing assistance are being complied with.

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Transitional provisions.
17.(1) This Law does not affect any right, title, interest, obligation or liability already acquired, arising or incurred before its commencement and does not affect any legal proceeding or remedy relating to such right, title, interest, obligation or liability.

(2) Any procedure for the provision of housing assistance which was initiated based on any Decision of the Council of Ministers before the entry into force of this Law, shall continue and be completed based on the provisions of this Law, unless the applicant withdraws his application.

(3) The decisions of the Council of Ministers that were issued before the entry into force of this Law, which determine criteria for the provision of housing assistance to displaced persons and victims, will continue to be valid until they are amended or replaced by the Council of Ministers:

It is understood that the provisions of article 10(1) apply to the new criteria for the provision of housing assistance.

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Entry into force of this Law.

18. This Law shall enter into force from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic and its provisions shall apply regardless of the date of issuance of the relevant regulations referred to in article 16 thereof.

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