The management of jointly-owned buildings in Cyprus is chaotic, which has resulted in disputes among property owners and the lack of maintenance of thousands of buildings.
To address this issue, the Land Registry referred the matter to the Commissioner of Legislation, who then passed it to the Ministry of Interior. A new law is being prepared to regulate jointly-owned buildings, but delays have slowed its progress.
New jointly-owned building law delay
Vasos Yazos, head of the Land Registry’s ownership division, responded to criticism over the slow progress of the bill. He explained that the draft law was with the Commissioner of Legislation for final adjustments. However, he could not give a clear timeline for when it would be submitted to Parliament for approval.
“I cannot commit to a date for the bill’s completion because many opinions and suggestions have been submitted. We have incorporated several of them before sending it for final review,” he said.
He also noted that due to the large number of changes proposed, it was impossible to prepare and submit the draft bill to Parliament by the planned 16 January deadline.
Bill now with the Ministry of Interior
The Ministry of Interior will review the revised bill before sending it to Parliament for discussion and approval. Yazos explained that the Ministry received two separate documents – one outlining the changes made based on feedback from interested parties, and the other being the full bill – to help assess the modifications.
The proposed law aims to improve the management of jointly-owned buildings and end the current chaos, which leads to frequent disputes between property owners and results in thousands of buildings unmaintained. The bill was first submitted to the Parliamentary Committee on Internal Affairs about a year ago, but further improvements were requested.
Safety risks: dangerous balconies and unpaid expenses
Christos Kyzis, president of the Cyprus Association of Condominium Managers, highlighted major problems caused by the current law. He explained that it does not provide the necessary tools to collect payments from owners who refuse to contribute to common expenses. This results in financial shortages that create serious issues in building maintenance.
“Lifts cannot be maintained, meaning people with mobility problems are stuck in their apartments. Unpaid electricity bills also affect all residents of a building,” he said.
However, Kyzis warned that the most serious problem is the unsafe condition of many balconies, some of which are in danger of collapsing. “It’s a miracle that there haven’t been any casualties so far,” he added.
(Several balconies have collapsed in recent years and last December the Limassol municipality warned that 400 buildings needed urgent repairs.)
He also criticised the Ministry of Interior for not doing enough to speed up the bill’s progress. He urged the government to push for its approval so that local authorities can start enforcing the new law.
Urgent action on jointly-owned buildings needed
According to data presented to Parliament, Cyprus has around 30,000 jointly-owned buildings, which contain approximately 200,000 apartments. Many of these buildings are in poor condition due to a lack of clear regulations. The delays in the new law mean that problems like unpaid fees, lack of maintenance, and safety risks continue to affect thousands of residents.
Urgent action is needed to finalise and approve the legislation to ensure proper building management and improve safety for all residents.
The actual law is obsolete from 32 years ago. Buildings under joined ownership were practically non-existent at the time and it has never been really enforced. Today the results are evident.
Considering the current strong development of residential housing, lawmakers should be well aware that a new law, though not perfect but enforced immediately, is much more effective than a perfect law that nevertheless continues to remain in the book of good intentions.