JUNE and Richard Cameron, Margit and Eric Whitishall along with four other local residents have lived in Paphos for years, all enjoying a quiet, stress-free lifestyle in what was once a quiet residential complex.
All that changed after five British neighbours returned to the UK and went and advertised their Cyprus homes as cheap holiday rentals via an internet letting agency, even though it is illegal to do so without a licence from the Cyprus Tourism Organisation.
After this, their peaceful lives were shattered by night after night of booming music, rowdy behaviour and drunken arguments.
“This is a typical small residential estate where the plot boundaries, and the swimming pools are a mere three metres from the houses,” explained June.
Each three-bedroom house totals about 140 square metres including the pool, all sitting on a compact plot of 400 square metres. Yet these small houses are a magnet to large group of tourists looking for a cheap holiday rent.
“Last July, for example, we had 10 single men and women staying in a three bed villa. They camped by the pool and the patio, sunbathing, chatting and drinking all day. Their stereo was permanently placed on the kitchen windowsill turned to full volume,” said June. “The noise was horrendous going on into the small hours.”
When the couple did complain the tourists went out for the evening, vindictively leaving one song on the CD player repeating itself over and over again.
“Over the past two years we’ve experienced families who have clubbed together to share rented villas, so we have the constant shouting and screaming of children in stereo from all the other villas. Come evening they will all gather, sometimes 25 at a time, on the patio. Then it’s poolside booze and barbeques, with the partying going on until sunrise,” she said.
Residents have tried all avenues, from being polite to down right threatening, especially at 4am. On occasions, they have felt compelled to call the police. “Sure enough this makes them stop, but fifteen minutes after the police leave they start up ever louder than before.”
Complaints to the owners of the website have been to no avail as they take no responsibility for the quality or numbers of the people renting the houses. “We’ve even sent lawyers’ letters stating clearly the problems, but they are then deemed by them to be fabrications of the true situation. We just don’t know what to do next,” said June.
Reputable tour operators have strict rules when it comes to renting properties for tourists. “We rarely, if ever, contract with someone whose property is within a strict residential area,” a leading tour operator told the Sunday Mail.
Every rented apartment or villa must have a CTO licence or they must have applied for one. The property must pass strict health and safety checks, and the owner must also be registered in Cyprus and be paying all taxes and VAT. Owners must have indemnity insurances and be ABTA &ATOL protected, he said.
But, what with so many Brits returning to the UK and being unable to sell their Cyprus’ properties, the temptation to make money out of renting their home must be great. The government and other agencies, meanwhile, are also missing out on this income.
The tour operator agreed.
“It’s big business for minimum outlay,” he said. “I know one person who has been renting her villa for 2,000 euros a week in high season and recently boasted to a friend about how she regularly earns a cool 30,000 per year tax free from the enterprise.
“The CTO does check up on illegal renting. They know they are losing out big time on these private enterprises. The scale of the problem is big and getting bigger especially in these tough economic times as the lure of a cheap residence is very tempting for Brits,” he said. “Unfortunately, there just aren’t enough inspectors around to check out illegal rentals. That’s why members of the public should always inform on them, because this is about the only direct way the CTO will come to know if there’s a case to investigate.”
And it’s not just about making lives of permanent residents a misery, or the government missing out on taxes, there’s also a very important safety issue. A great bargain for a two-week illegal villa holiday, less than half the price listed in a commercial company’s brochure or website, comes with real dangers.
“These tourists have no guarantees regarding either the place they are living in or its structure. They could be risking their children in an unsafe play area and there’s no comeback in case of accidents. It’s not my ideal recipe for a perfect holiday,” warned the tour operator.
Marios Hannaris from CTO headquarters in Nicosia confirmed that it is illegal to rent to holidaymakers without a licence issued by the CTO after all safety and environmental checks have been carried out.
He urged anyone convinced that illegal renting is taking place to contact the CTO with details of dates, numbers of people staying at the property, and any details about the website advertising the properties.
“We will also need witness statements from other affected neighbours all confirming these villas are indeed being used for tourist holiday lets,” he said. “If the police have previously been called out, it would be helpful to have the names of the officers and the date and time of their arrival. Then we can then go back and check their reports.
We will then start our investigation to find out if we are dealing with a case of illegal rentals and appropriate legal action will be taken.”
The CTO is a route June Cameron and her neighbours may do well to take. In the meantime, another summer of sleepless nights awaits.
