On Thursday, the Minister of the Interior called for the immediate commencement of clause-by-clause debate on three bills concerning hazardous buildings, communal buildings, and the restructuring of civil protection. Konstantinos Ioannou, who attended Thursday’s session of the Parliamentary Committee on Internal Affairs in the House of Representatives, emphasizing the need to improve the framework for addressing building safety risks.

In remarks made as he left the Committee, the Minister said that the session was “a first opportunity” to discuss matters with the Committee on Internal Affairs in its new composition, noting that he expressed the Ministry’s readiness to cooperate with the House of Representatives to find solutions to problems affecting citizens’ daily lives.

As he noted, the purpose of the meeting was to brief the Committee on the Ministry of the Interior’s three priorities as they relate to this specific Committee. The first priority, he said, is the draft legislation on hazardous buildings.

The Minister noted that while the existing legislative framework does provide the District Local Government Organizations—which are now responsible for inspecting and eliminating hazards— the tools to take action, there is nevertheless “room for improvement.” He recalled that a bill had been submitted by former Member of Parliament Marinos Mousiouttas, which was drafted in collaboration with the Ministry of the Interior.

“Our request is that the article-by-article debate on dangerous buildings begin immediately,” he said.

Linked to the issue of dangerous buildings, he continued, is the bill on jointly owned buildings, which was submitted to Parliament in 2023, underwent consultation, was improved through the Committee’s amendments, and was resubmitted last year.

The Minister noted that there were objections from District Local Government Organizations regarding the financial aspects of implementing the legislation, adding that a financial viability study was sent to the District Self-Government Organizations last November. According to the study, he said, it is estimated that implementing the legislation will require approximately 1.5 million euros and thirty additional positions, an amount that can be recouped through fees to be imposed on the management committees.

Referring to the content of the bill, he said that it aims to address problems related to disputes among owners, non-payment of common-area fees, the inability to effectively enforce existing legislation, and a reluctance to maintain buildings—all of which can lead to hazardous conditions and substandard living conditions.

The bill, he added, clearly defines the rights and obligations of owners and tenants, mandates the creation of a permanent fund for each jointly owned building for maintenance purposes, strengthens the role of management committees, and mandates insurance for both the buildings and the individual units.

“The third priority,” the Minister said, is a bill concerning the restructuring of the civil protection sector, with the creation of a General Directorate of Civil Protection within the Ministry of the Interior as the crowning achievement of these changes.

As he noted, all agencies—or, at the very least, all services involved in firefighting, with the aim of better coordination and more effective utilization of human and material resources.

When asked whether measures could be taken before the bills are passed, the Minister said that the measures that can be taken are provided for in the existing law and are now the responsibility of the District Local Government Organizations.

He added that the Ministry had recommended to the District Self-Government Organizations (EOA), in collaboration with ETEK, that all hazardous buildings be mapped so that a record of their risk levels could be maintained. As he noted, not all buildings are slated for demolition, and based on this assessment, the Local Government Organizations can proceed with the necessary measures.

When asked about compensation for those affected by the fires, the Minister said that most payments had been completed by the end of last year, while a small number of cases remain pending due to appeals, involving both insured and uninsured individuals.

He noted that there were over a hundred cases of appeals and that, despite a slight delay due to the parliamentary elections, the few remaining cases will be finalized “in the coming days.” He added that within less than a year, all those affected will have been compensated, noting that the government acted promptly so that compensation could be provided and those affected could repair the damage and return to normal life.

Source: CNA