He described the existing legal tools available to in relation to the procedures for evacuating dangerous buildings, the President of the Limassol District Local Government Organization (EOA), Yiannis Tsoulofta, adding that, of the approximately 1,100 dangerous or potentially dangerous buildings in Limassol, 60 require evacuation.
In light of the latest incident involving a balcony collapse at an apartment building, which occurred on Thursday in downtown Limassol, Yiannis Tsoulofta told CNA that the total number of dangerous or potentially dangerous buildings in Limassol amounts to approximately 1,100.
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As part of the visual inspection process, he continued, 370 cases involving existing buildings have been assigned to private civil engineers; technical reports for 296 buildings have already been inspected and submitted; and, at the same time, additional case files have been prepared for assignment and completion of the required inspections.
To date, according to the President of the Limassol EOA, the Organization has reviewed 157 technical reports, based on which an equal number of buildings have been classified and have already been declared hazardous.
Noting that Category C2 includes buildings requiring immediate evacuation, he added that 9 buildings have been classified as Category A, 27 as Category B, 52 in Category C1, 60 in Category C2, and 9 in Category E, while in two cases it was found that the buildings had already been demolished.
At the same time, he continued, approximately 62 cases falling under risk categories C1 and C2 have been forwarded for the required procedures and are being handled by the Organization’s legal advisors.
When asked, Mr. Tsoulofta emphasized that “the most recent cases that have gone to court substantiate our position that the existing legal tools are time-consuming and ineffective,” citing the example of an apartment building in the tourist area of Germasogeia, for which a request for a court-ordered eviction has been pending since last May.
Our position, he emphasized, “is that the process of modernizing legislation must be accelerated, and in order to solve the problem of the country’s aging building stock—which is in a very serious condition— the legislative framework must be modernized in three areas.”
Specifically, as he stated, the three areas requiring legislative regulation concern the management of hazardous buildings, the management of jointly owned buildings and the operation of apartment building management committees, and finally, the periodic technical inspection of buildings.
“There needs to be a comprehensive modernization of the legislation to provide us with the necessary legal tools as well as the financial resources,” he said, noting that “at the Limassol Building Control Authority, as with the other Building Control Authorities, this authority has been transferred to us without being provided the necessary resources, and we have already invested hundreds of thousands of euros in addressing hazardous buildings without having received the corresponding funds.”
As he pointed out, “in several cases, we have taken steps to eliminate the hazard, and we are claiming a small amount from the central government—which covers the contractor’s expenses— but for the remaining expenses—such as legal counsel for court proceedings and the hiring of new staff for the hazardous buildings—we have no revenue whatsoever.”
In conclusion, Yiannis Tsoulofta noted that the Limassol EOA’s website offers the WebGIS digital service, which provides immediate access to important geospatial information, where citizens, among other things, can find out about hazardous buildings in Limassol.
Source: CNA
