Business premises

General Information

Business premises means any building or space that’s used for business activity (industry, commerce, exercise of a profession or any other income-earning activity). In order to use the premises for this purpose, you need to obtain a licence from the local municipal or community council.

Physical or legal persons can obtain a licence for the operation of business premises, as long as the local municipal or community council provides the following:

a building permit;
a certificate of approval;
a copy of the title deeds.

At times, your business premises may have to comply with additional legal or regulatory requirements. Check which ones have been in effect at least a month prior to the submission of your application for a licence. You may need to present documents such as:

a certificate of appropriateness by the Cyprus Fire Service;
a certificate of appropriateness by the Electrical and Mechanical Services (EMS);
a licence for operating a catering and entertainment establishment by the Deputy Ministry of Tourism;
a sanitary certificate by the municipality or community council.

The application procedure

The application form for a licence to operate business premises can be submitted directly to your local municipal or community council.

Part of the process of securing a licence includes an on-site inspection by the municipality / community. On-site visits may also happen periodically to check the premises in order to ensure compliance with the provisions of the relevant laws and regulations, as well as with the terms and conditions of the licence.

You will be informed regarding the authorisation decision within four months of submitting your application and supporting documents. Upon approval, you need to pay the relevant fees, which depend on the type of premises to the local municipality or community council.

Your licence will be valid for either six months or a year and it can be renewed by repeating the initial application procedure.

Obligations and supervision

If you’re a person licensed to use a premises for business activity, you have to comply with certain rules and regulations, for example, the Municipalities Law of 1985 (111/1985) (article 103) or the Communities Law of 1999 (86(I)/1999) (article 85), as well as any provisions, and terms and conditions of your licence.

You may also be visited by municipal or community council officers conducting a census on your premises and how you’re using them, or checking to see if you’re complying with the legal and regulatory provisions of your business licence.