Nothing new from the government on the issue of foreclosures

Statement by AKEL MP Aristos Damianou after the meeting of the Parliamentary Finance and Budget Committee

24 April 2023

We were expecting today from the Ministry of Finance some positive response to the numerous proposals we have submitted on the issue of foreclosures. This is an issue with obvious social, economic and financial implications, a very serious issue that has been with us for nine years.

So if I were to put a headline, I would say “unfortunately, no news from the government camp”.

With regards the vast majority of the proposals that we have submitted, the Ministry has responded negatively. In the much-vaunted “Rent for Installment” Scheme, following the pressure AKEL has exerted, admissions have been made that there are problems in the approval of this scheme at a European level. With respect to similar provisions relating to the Courts Act, we have been told that a dialogue between the Executive power and the Judiciary will be initiated. So, that’s nothing new.

As AKEL, we have tabled a number of legislative proposals and we adopt the spirit and letter of other proposals that have been tabled by colleagues from other parliamentary groups.

We consider it essential that the unhindered access to justice for borrowers and guarantors is restored, but also that an effective social policy on housing is elaborated, which should also include this dimension of foreclosures, namely the eviction of people from their homes.

At the same time, AKEL believes that it is also necessary to improve supervision, not only of the banks, but also of loan management or credit purchase companies, where plundering is underway to the detriment of borrowers and their families.

That is precisely why we shall insist. It is comforting that on some of our secondary proposals the Central Bank has taken a positive position in principle and we will enter into a dialogue to see how they will be promoted in the plenary, but we are saddened by the fact that for the time being the current government is following the same policy as the previous one.