Ministry of Finance: 30 thousand communal buildings in Cyprus

According to the data of the Department of Lands and Surveys, it is estimated that in Cyprus there are 30,000 communally owned buildings, which correspond to approximately 200,000 residential units, stated the Minister of the Interior, Konstantinos Ioannou.

In his greeting at a round table discussion on communal buildings, he noted that the existing legislation on the registration, management and other issues concerning communal buildings, is not implemented to a satisfactory extent, resulting in constant friction and confrontations between the owners , which affects the orderly operation of jointly owned buildings.

"The non-existence, in hundreds of cases, of a management committee or their incomplete operation create gaps in the implementation of existing legislation", he stressed.

Among other things, he pointed out, the rights and obligations of the owners of the units are not defined, nor is the effective implementation of management ensured, given that several owners of the units of a jointly owned building avoid their obligations regarding the repair and maintenance of the buildings.

As a result, he observed, hundreds of buildings remain unmaintained or partially and poorly maintained, creating problems of dangerousness and inappropriateness of the infrastructure, with all that this entails for the safety of the owners, their tenants or for public safety.

He added that "realizing the need, first of all, to ensure the protection of citizens and to achieve the maintenance of buildings, we promoted a bill, which amends the existing legislative framework by transferring the responsibility for communally owned buildings to the Provincial Self-Government Organizations, as the competent building authorities, as well as the introduction of safeguards for the role of management committees.

The proposed bill is currently being debated before the Parliamentary Committee on the Interior."

The purpose of the bill is to strengthen the management committees by upgrading their role and responsibility, in order to resolve the serious issues caused by their limited operation.

Among other things, through the bill, the management committees are given the power to make the necessary expenses for the maintenance and proper operation of the common areas in the communal buildings.

Furthermore, the powers of the management committee are strengthened, with provisions related to the issuance of a certificate of no debt of common users for the transfer of a unit, and more effective ways are introduced to secure debts from the owners of the units.

In addition, the bill provides for the establishment of a Service for Registration of Co-Owned Buildings and Supervision of Administrative Committees in EOAs.

The responsibilities of the Service include the registration of jointly owned buildings and the mandatory registration of management committees for keeping records, while the insurance of jointly owned buildings is made mandatory and the supervision for the mandatory insurance of both individual units and the jointly owned building is strengthened.

At the same time, through the Service, Standards of Internal Regulations are established to regulate the management of jointly owned buildings.

He also stated that inextricably linked is the provision for the clear definition of the rights and obligations of the owners, in an effort to limit interpersonal disputes and, by extension, the possibility of a building being left to become unsuitable, with a safety risk of its tenants.

With this arrangement, the incidents of appropriation of common areas without securing the necessary permits are also ended at the same time, which apart from the inconvenience caused to the residents of a jointly owned building, cause serious obstacles for services such as the Fire Brigade in cases where there is a need for their intervention.

"Taking into account the changes in the real estate reality, but also the rapid development in the real estate sector observed in Cyprus, with the bill under discussion, we are trying to ensure the most effective implementation of the management of jointly owned buildings", he underlined.

He estimated that the amendment of the legislation will be able to resolve to a large extent the problems, which are observed in communally owned buildings.

Source: stockwatch.com.cy

Photo: stockwatch.com.cy