According to a study prepared by the District Local Government Organisations (EOAs) as part of discussions on the bill regulating the management of jointly owned buildings, 14,208 such properties are registered in Cyprus. Another 6,711 buildings remain unregistered.
Registered buildings contain 159,659 registered residential units. Unregistered properties account for another 59,976 unregistered residential units. The study also refers to an estimate by the Department of Lands and Surveys: only 40% of unregistered jointly owned buildings meet the criteria for registering management committees. This means that around 60% of such properties may not comply with the established requirements.
Where the largest numbers of registered and unregistered properties are located
The largest number of registered jointly owned buildings is in Nicosia — 4,927. It is followed by Limassol — 3,232, Paphos — 2,852, Larnaca — 2,299 and the free areas of Famagusta — 898. In terms of registered residential units, the distribution is as follows:
- Nicosia — 53,553;
- Limassol — 38,329;
- Paphos — 31,669;
- Larnaca — 26,213;
- free areas of Famagusta — 9,895.
Among the 6,711 unregistered buildings, the largest number is in Nicosia — 2,297. Limassol has 1,661, the free areas of Famagusta 934, Paphos 1,061 and Larnaca 758. Unregistered residential units are distributed as follows: 19,688 are in Nicosia, 14,167 in Limassol, 9,885 in Paphos, 9,371 in the free areas of Famagusta and 6,685 in Larnaca.
Owners could be asked to pay €20 per year
Oversight of jointly owned buildings was previously the responsibility of the Department of Lands and Surveys. Following the local government reform, it was decided to transfer these functions to the EOAs.
However, the new system will require separate funding. According to the EOA study, the proposed annual fee could amount to €20 per residential unit, regardless of whether the building is registered or not.
If the fee were calculated only for the 159,659 registered units, potential revenue would amount to €3,193,180 per year. At the same time, the EOAs acknowledge that collecting the full amount would be difficult. The organisations consider a collection rate of around 70% acceptable. For comparison, the collection rate for sewerage charges is around 80%.
For residents of apartments and homes in complexes, the €20 would become an additional payment on top of existing common expenses. Owners would also need to take into account the costs of operating the management committee and regular contributions to the building’s common fund. This fund should be used to finance repairs and maintenance of common areas.
EOAs want to create a unified system first and expand their powers afterwards
The problem is not limited to the number of unregistered buildings. The existing database of the Department of Lands and Surveys also requires substantial updating. It lacks up-to-date contact details for some owners, contains outdated addresses and includes inaccuracies such as incorrect numbers of residential units. There are also properties for which no owners are listed at all.
The situation is even more complicated with unregistered buildings: the existing list is incomplete, and checking each property requires reviewing old permit records, including paper archives. The EOAs therefore propose that, before the new system is fully launched, a complete inventory of properties should first be carried out, the data updated and transferred into digital form. The proposals also include:
- reviewing the powers of the EOAs and removing requirements that cannot be effectively enforced;
- providing for the possibility of disconnecting water or electricity through the Electricity Authority of Cyprus at the request of the relevant EOA in cases provided for by law;
- setting fees at a level sufficient to cover actual administrative costs;
- having the state fully finance the initial creation of the registers;
- transferring an up-to-date electronic database of buildings from the Department of Lands and Surveys to the EOAs;
- creating a single digital platform for registering and supervising management committees;
- establishing a transition period of at least 24 months.
The EOAs also propose that important decisions should be taken by the organisations’ boards rather than solely by the director of the licensing department. In addition, a separate fee is proposed for submitting an administrative appeal against EOA decisions.
The issue is becoming particularly relevant against the backdrop of broader efforts to address problematic buildings in Cyprus. In September 2026, Parliament discussed measures concerning dangerous structures, including the possibility of disconnecting electricity and water, carrying out partial or complete demolition, and recovering the costs from owners. Therefore, the issue is not simply about introducing a new annual fee of €20. The EOAs are effectively proposing to create from scratch a clearer system for registering and supervising apartment buildings in Cyprus, where thousands of properties currently remain outside the official records.