Plenum votes in one-year extension for the licensing of guesthouses

08:05 - 20 June 2025

Economy Reporter

The House Plenary has voted in favour of an extension by one additional year of the deadline for licensing guesthouses that were operating before the entry into force of the basic law.

The extension was creation through the passing of the Amending Law of 2025 for the Regulation of the Establishment and Operation of Guesthouses, which was unanimously passed by the Plenary of the Parliament with 37 votes.

The relevant bill had been submitted by DIKO MPs Panicos Leonidou and Chrisis Pantelides.

Speaking in the Plenary on 19 June, Pantelides explained that the extension was deemed inevitable, as the three-year transitional period granted under the original legislation expires next August.

As he emphasised, despite the interest of industry professionals in complying with the new regime, the delays in licensing are largely due to the Urban Planning Department, which did not issue the required circulars in a timely manner, resulting in ambiguity in the procedure"Recognising the State's responsibility for this delay, we deemed it necessary to extend the deadline for one year," he said.

He added that their intention is not to continue extending the deadline, but to facilitate those who are trying to legalise their operation. Pantelides appealed to the executive branch to ensure the issuance of the necessary circulars and the acceleration of the licensing process.

During the discussion in the competent Committee, it was found that, despite the completion of almost three years since the passage of the basic law, an extremely small number of applications for an operating license have been submitted to the Deputy Ministry of Tourism.

(Source: CNA)

Plenum votes in one-year extension for the licensing of guesthouses

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