A meeting of representatives of the property sector was recently held in Cyprus. It was attended by the Minister of the Interior, Constantinos Ioannou.
During the meeting, he said that a significant number of residential buildings on the island are in an unsatisfactory state: their maintenance is either partial or non-existent.
This situation poses a serious threat both to the safety of residents and to public infrastructure in general.
Ioannou stressed that the problem affects almost half of the country's housing stock. He pointed to the weak implementation of existing legislation on the registration and management of buildings, which leads to frequent conflicts between property owners. In addition, the absence of fully-fledged management committees, or their ineffective operation, exacerbates the difficulties in maintaining and repairing such facilities. The fire brigade, for its part, pointed to problems such as blocked escape routes and overcrowded stairwells.
Ioannou said a new bill aimed at improving the management of public buildings was debated in the House of Representatives last week. The new law will transfer responsibility for buildings to local authorities and give management committees the power to charge maintenance fees. It also provides for the compulsory insurance of buildings and the establishment of a service to monitor their condition.
These measures should help resolve disputes between tenants, improve property management and increase safety by eliminating the risk of accidents in buildings. Ioannou mentioned that if the innovations are approved soon, it will have a positive impact on the current situation in the country.