For years, taxpayers have been paying not only the fees for connecting Turkish Cypriot properties to the central sewerage systems but also the sewerage fees for properties used by refugees and non-refugees.
For the year 2024, the fee to be paid for sewerage amounts to approximately €1.5 million of which €1,407,910 is for the sewerage fees, i.e. the use of the sewerage system and €97,000 is for the fees for the connection of Turkish Cypriot properties to the main sewerage systems.
It is noted that specifically the sewerage fees are paid by all owners of properties and only the tenants of Turkish Cypriot properties are exempted, with the result that the cost is passed on to the rest of the citizens. Taxpayers even cover the maintenance and replacement of water heaters in Turkish Cypriot properties which are mainly used by refugees.
The exemption from the payment of sewerage fees covers around 5,000 Turkish Cypriot premises.
The above amounts are included in the budget of the Turkish Cypriot Property Fund for the year 2024 and taxpayers will contribute €7 million to the Fund, an amount which has been recurrent for several years and ranges between €7 million-€8 million per year.