Cyprus plans to transfer oversight of apartment buildings to EOAs
In Cyprus, oversight of jointly owned apartment buildings is planned to be transferred to district local government organisations (EOAs). The Ministry of the Interior and the EOAs reached this understanding during a meeting of a parliamentary committee, Cyprus Mail reports.
The transfer of powers will depend on the fulfilment of conditions put forward by the EOAs. The government bill provides for the creation of a supervisory body and a register of jointly owned buildings, as well as a formal role for the authorities in overseeing the management committees of such buildings.
Conditions for transferring powers
The EOAs are asking for an online platform through which management committees can register and manage their affairs. They also insist on state funding for initial costs. Limassol EOA president Yannis Tsouloftas said the organisations are ready to take on this function provided their demands are met.
The Ministry of the Interior said it would finance the software platform for the new system. It will use land registry data and be linked to the Ippodamos planning system. A transition period of up to two years is envisaged, during which the government will cover part of the costs and help establish the new service.
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Building maintenance and debts
Antonis Economides, director for local government at the Ministry of the Interior, described the discussion as constructive and said there was a shared understanding of the government bill. He also said he would submit the EOAs' request for staff costs to be covered during the transition period to the government. Once the system is fully launched, its operation should be financed by payments, he said.
AKEL MP Aristos Damianou recalled that his party submitted an 80-page bill on jointly owned buildings in 2019 after serious problems were identified in the current system. The parliamentary committee gave the ministry another three weeks to respond to the EOAs' requests in order to complete consideration of the reform in 2026.
DISY MP Nicoletta Constantinou said the new system must be functional, effective and practically applicable. She linked the current arrangement to inadequate building maintenance and non-payment of common contributions. The reform will also cover dangerous buildings and enforcement of building inspections. According to the land department, Cyprus has 30,000 jointly owned complexes containing approximately 200,000 residential units.
