A consensus was reached in the Parliamentary Committee on Internal Affairs between the relevant departments of the Ministry of the Interior and the EOA, in order to transfer oversight of jointly owned buildings to the EOA, provided that specific conditions they have set are met.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Committee on Internal Affairs and AKEL Member of Parliament, Aristos Damianou, stated that AKEL had submitted an 80-page bill on jointly owned buildings as early as 2019. “We had identified very serious problems in the implementation of the relevant legislation,” he said, adding that since then, a bill had been submitted by the previous government, which the current government also adopted.
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As he stated, during today’s session, “we made a great effort to find common ground, and both the Ministry of the Interior and the EOA moved from their initial positions, with the result that, under the conditions that we at AKEL believe the executive branch must fulfill, the EOAs will be able to assume this important duty and responsibility.”
Mr. Damianou noted that the Commission has granted a further three-week grace period for the Ministry of the Interior to finalize its position on the EOAs’ requests. “I am certain that all stakeholders have gotten the message,” he said.
He noted that the intention is to conclude the discussion by 2026 so that, even with transitional arrangements, “we can provide society with a modernized, effective, and fairer system for managing condominiums.”
“I expect the spirit of mutual understanding and harmony that has prevailed in the Committee to continue, so that we, as a Committee, can more easily proceed with the article-by-article discussion,” he said.
Furthermore, Mr. Damianou noted that for quite some time now, “there has been a reluctance on the part of the central government to provide local governments with the necessary resources to do their job.”
The Committee Chair said that “we have worked hard to bring about this reform, on the condition that the central government would not treat the reform as a problem, but as an opportunity and a source of progress.” He noted that, despite the fact that there are several unresolved issues and requests—both from the Union of Municipalities and Communities and from the Local Government Organizations (EOA)—that have not been implemented, “the fact that a dialogue is currently underway leads me to believe that this very important issue of actually strengthening and increasing funding from the central government to local government will take the right track, so that we can at least approach the European averages.”
As he noted, in Europe up to 4% of the national budget is allocated to local government, while in Cyprus “we’re struggling to exceed 1%,” he said, adding that today’s discussion is part of this context.
When asked about the issue of collecting common-area fees, he said that the enforcement of decisions is a broader problem, noting that there are issues regarding the implementation of legislation, and that there is room for improvement in the government’s draft legislation.
When asked whether the three bills concerning the building stock (dangerous buildings, jointly owned buildings, and building occupancy permits) would proceed as a package, Mr. Damianou said that the intention is for the issues to be discussed comprehensively, pending the comprehensive proposal “which we, as the Committee on Internal Affairs, are demanding” regarding the periodic inspection of buildings. “It has been delayed far too long, and we believe it will bolster the efforts of both the EOA and local authorities regarding dangerous buildings,” he noted.
DISY MP Nikoletta Konstantinou, stated in her own remarks that, in principle, all those present agreed that the new framework must “be functional, effective, but above all, practicable.” As she noted, the existing framework has proven inadequate, “a fact that has led to abuses by irresponsible owners, with implications for the safety of buildings when they ultimately cannot be maintained.”
Ms. Konstantinou said that the biggest problem for condominiums, beyond the need for building maintenance, is the effective collection of debts. “We are not satisfied with the way the bill addresses the collection of debts. We believe that effective corrective measures must be taken to eliminate this scourge that plagues society,” he said.
Furthermore, he noted that DISY had also raised concerns regarding specific issues, “which relate to reality, in light of the developments we are seeing in Cyprus” and that the bill must address these issues accordingly.
Concerns were also raised regarding the operation of management committees, given the provision that every committee member must be a property owner, since, as he noted, many property owners are investors who are currently abroad.
The DISY MP viewed the ongoing dialogue between the EOA and the Ministry of the Interior as positive, as well as the fact that there appears to be convergence on several of the prerequisites set by the EOA. “Our commitment as the Committee on Internal Affairs is that we will continue to review the bill, with the aim of delivering to society the best possible outcome that will resolve the long-standing problem of managing jointly owned buildings,” he concluded.
ELAM MP Evgenios Hamboullas said that recent developments inspire “cautious optimism that the issue will be resolved soon.”
He referred to the terms and conditions set by the EOAs in order to assume responsibility for overseeing jointly owned buildings and management committees, and added that “we have asked the Ministry of the Interior to support the EOA so that they can carry out this very important undertaking.”
Furthermore, he noted that the issue is directly related to unsafe buildings, since, as he stated, delinquent payers of common-area fees are one of the main reasons many buildings remain unmaintained and end up being hazardous.
“We must focus on the effectiveness of the method for collecting common-area fees and use legislation to enforce building safety standards. A building cannot be constructed and then, 10 years later, have all safety and fire safety regulations violated without anyone overseeing it,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of the Ministry of the Interior, Antonis Oikonomidis, Director of Local Government, described the meeting as “very constructive.” As he noted, there was a consensus on the provisions of the bill submitted by the executive branch regarding jointly owned buildings. “The groundwork is being laid for a modernized and comprehensive legal framework; a supervisory authority is being established for the first time to maintain a registry, and the issue of oversight of management committees is being resolved,” he said.
He added that the consensus reached is that jurisdiction will be transferred to the EOAs, under new departments to be established.
When asked whether the necessary funds would be allocated to the EOAs for the new responsibilities they are assuming, Mr. Oikonomidis said that a two-year transition period is planned, during which the government will assume certain obligations, such as covering the costs and implementing the relevant software. He noted that he would convey to the Minister of the Interior the EOA’s request to cover the costs of the staff who will be assigned to this matter during the transitional period, while it is estimated that the resulting revenue will subsequently cover these obligations.
The President of the Limassol EOA, Yiannis Tsoulofta, said that the EOA could be open to assuming responsibility for managing jointly owned buildings, provided that the conditions they have set following a study are met. “We are honored that the government considers the EOA to be the most suitable bodies,” he said, and spoke of close cooperation with the Ministry of the Interior, the Land Registry, and other relevant authorities, as well as with the Committee on Internal Affairs, so that this authority can be transferred to the EOAs in a coordinated and unanimous manner.
Mr. Tsoulofas emphasized that a key prerequisite for the transfer of this authority is “that the same mistakes made in the past—when responsibilities were transferred without the necessary legal tools and financial support—must not be repeated.” He emphasized that there are prerequisites that must be met before the date on which the EOs assume this authority.
When asked about the prerequisites set by the EOAs, he referred to the creation of a modern online platform, through which all management committees will be able to register and carry out transactions. A second prerequisite, he added, is sustainability. “The operation must be financially sustainable, with fees that cover the financial costs of exercising the authority,” he said.
Furthermore, he noted that the EOA’s systems will be integrated with the Land Registry system to provide direct access to the ownership status of each apartment, while also mentioning other prerequisites, such as the approval of the organizational structure and staffing for this responsibility and coverage of the initial financial costs until the activity begins to generate revenue for the EOA.
For his part, the President of the Larnaca EOA, Angelos Hatzicharalambous, said he believes the bill will be effective in resolving all the long-standing issues related to jointly owned infrastructure. ““The bill will clearly help us achieve better results regarding dilapidated buildings, which is a major problem we face as a nation, and especially for us as the EOA,” he said.
In principle, he noted that the EOA had submitted their positions in writing to the Committee on Internal Affairs, along with the conditions they had outlined, the fulfillment of which “we will be able to assume responsibility for jointly owned buildings. We have made a conscious decision, as a result of the fact that no one else was taking on this responsibility,” he said.
Source: CNA
