Building coefficient and planning zones in Cyprus

Net area is the plot area left after land is surrendered for roads, other access or public open space. The coefficient and coverage apply to the net area, which can be smaller than the registered area.

A coefficient of 0.60:1 is often quoted as 60%. The meaning is the same: counted floor area of up to 0.60 square metres for every square metre of net plot area.

Planning in Cyprus runs under the Town and Country Planning Law, Law 90/1972, which came into full application in 1990. The figures for a plot come from the development plan in force for its area:

• Local Plans, for the main towns and some other areas, including Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca and Paphos.
• Area Schemes, for specific areas such as the centres of Nicosia and Limassol.
• The Policy Statement for the Countryside, for areas with no Local Plan or Area Scheme in force. Its current text was notified in June 2024 and partly amended in December 2024.

Each plan has a zoning map that places every area in a zone, and a table that gives each zone its maximum coefficient, floors, height and coverage. Zone codes are not national. Local Plans use codes such as Κα (mainly residential), Εβ (commercial) and Γα (agricultural); Policy Statement sheets use others, such as Η (residential), Γ (countryside) and Ζ (protection). Read the figures from the table of the plan that applies, not from the code.

Plans change. In 2026 the Department of Town Planning and Housing began preparing new Local Plans for Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca and Paphos, and it is revising the Policy Statement zones area by area. Use the version in force on the date that matters to you.

The zoning sheet of the Tseri Local Plan 2024, notified in July 2024, sets these maximum figures for zone Κα8: a building coefficient of 0.60:1, 2 floors, a height of 10.00 m and coverage of 0.35:1.

The controls work together. Two floors of 180 m² each would use the whole coefficient and stay within the 210 m² coverage. A single-storey house could not use it all, because its footprint is capped at 210 m².

The plan text adds conditions for some parts of zone Κα8, and the zoning sheet notes that the exact effect on a property is shown on the larger-scale cadastral plans.

These are zone-level figures. They show what the zone allows in principle, not what a specific plot can build. Confirm the figures for the plot before relying on them.

The Minister of Interior’s Order 4/2026, published on 5 May 2026, sets one method for calculating the coefficient and coverage under Local Plans, Area Schemes and the Policy Statement, and replaced Order 4/2024. Within its limits it excludes spaces such as ancillary basement rooms and basement parking, covered parking on pilotis, some balconies and covered verandas, and roof-level lift and stair rooms.

Earlier documents set different limits for some of these exclusions, so check the Order in force on the date of the application.

• Land surrendered for roads or public space reduces the net area. Where a published road plan affects a plot, the Policy Statement sets how the coefficient is then calculated.
• Planning incentive schemes can allow extra floor area for qualifying developments, within the limits each scheme sets.
• Under the Listed Buildings Law, Law 240(I)/2002, the Council of Ministers can set receiving areas where building coefficient transferred from listed buildings may be added.
• Coastal and nature protection areas, including Natura 2000 sites, allow development only in limited cases.
• The planning authority can adjust floors or height in the cases Order 4/2026 defines.

1. Find the plan and zone. The Department of Town Planning and Housing publishes every Local Plan, Area Scheme and the Policy Statement, with zoning maps and notification dates.
2. View the zone on a map. IPPODAMOS (ΙΠΠΟΔΑΜΟΣ), the department’s information system, has a public map for finding a parcel’s planning status. It warns that the zones and uses it shows may contain errors and should be checked against the published plans.
3. Ask the planning authority. A Preliminary Query (EA8) under Article 25 of Law 90/1972 asks for the authority’s preliminary view in writing. The owner or a representative can submit it through IPPODAMOS with CY Login.
4. Use a qualified professional. Most planning applications are submitted by a designer who is a member of ETEK with a valid licence to practise, such as an architect or civil engineer.

Under Article 25(8), the authority’s preliminary view is not a planning permit, but it binds the authority for one year unless it conflicts with the development plan that applies. A question about interpreting a development plan or the planned road network is answered within one month.

Since 1 July 2024, building permits have been issued by the new District Local Government Organisations instead of municipalities and district administrations, and the applications run through IPPODAMOS.

Map layers, including the planning zones Emvadon shows, can lag behind a newly published plan or revised zone sheet. The published plan and the planning authority’s answer are what count.