Common expenses & insurance in Cyprus

IN CYPRUS, buildings consisting of at five self-contained units or more are considered as being ‘commonly owned’. Such buildings may include:

• Apartment blocks
• Terrace/town houses.
• Maisonettes.
• Building complexes

If you have bought such a property, you are required by law to contribute towards the ‘common expenses’. These include the costs of insuring, maintaining, repairing and managing the jointly-owned building – i.e. everything within the boundary of the complex.

Regardless of how much use you make of the property and the shared facilities, your financial contribution is based on the size of the property in relation to the others on the development.

The Law

The Immovable Property (Tenure, Registration and Valuation) (Amendment) Law 6(1)93, describes how the management and administration of ‘commonly owned’ buildings is organised together with the legal obligations of buyers and those responsible its management.

The main points of the law are as follows:

Commonly owned buildings are required by law to have a Management Committee that regulates and manages relevant affairs on behalf of property buyers.

The Management Committee

• Insures and must always keep insured the commonly owned building against fire, lightning, and earthquake for a sum corresponding to its full replacement value.

• Implement the rules and regulations according to the law.

• Prepares monthly invoices/statements of the common expenses for each of the buyers.

• Has the right to take legal action against buyers for non-payment of common expenses.

• Submits quarterly financial statements of the detailing the costs incurred in managing the common areas during the previous three months.

• Convenes a general meeting of the owners of the units at least once a year.

Property buyers

• Pay proportionate common expenses based on the size of their property, which includes covered and uncovered balconies and verandas, in relation to others in the complex. For example, someone with a 150m² apartment will pay twice as much as someone with a 75m² apartment.

• May make internal changes and additions to their property providing that:

1. It does not impose or curtail the rights of other purchasers.
2. It does not affect the common areas of the building/project.
3. It does not affect the external wall of the building/project, the overall appearance of the project and does not affect the security of the structure.
4. They advise the Management Committee and the project’s architect before making any changes.

• No buyer is permitted to use the property:

1. For unlawful purposes.
2. Change the use/purpose of the property.
3. Create noise/disturbance/bad smells; use of chemicals that are bad for the health of other residents and animals.
4. Change the exterior of the property in such a way that influences the enjoyment of the complex by other buyers, worsens the appearance of the complex or its aesthetic appearance.

You can get further information by downloading the official English language translation of the law by clicking here.