in-cyprus 29 June 2024
One day, when luck no longer favours the Government and Municipalities, one of the collapsing balconies, walls, or buildings will cause casualties, and they will start blaming each other.
The issue resurfaced because neither the Municipalities nor the newly established District Self-Government Organizations (DSOs) want the responsibility (and the expenses) of supporting hundreds of dangerous buildings.
Municipalities argue that they cannot afford the significant annual costs of maintaining hundreds of buildings, especially since their technical staff is transferred to the DSOs. If the Municipalities are to retain this responsibility, they demand that their technical staff not be reassigned to the DSOs.
Notably, the Municipality of Nicosia spent €500,000 over three years to mitigate the risks of 50 buildings, while the Municipality of Limassol spent €600,000 over eight years. In these cases, the Municipalities recover less than half of the money they spend.
The Parliament will decide who will take responsibility for the dangerous buildings this coming September. Until then, the question remains about who will be legally accountable if something happens in the interim.
According to Article 43 of the Municipalities Law, each Municipality’s responsibilities include the “management of dangerous buildings, as defined in the provisions of Article 52.” Article 52, under the title “Dangerous Buildings,” stipulates that if a competent authority of the Municipality determines that any building, whether inhabited or not (within the municipal boundaries), is in such a condition as to be dangerous to the occupants, to any adjacent buildings or passersby, or neighbouring buildings, and that it is imperative to take measures to eliminate this danger, the Municipality shall make a relevant decision and take appropriate actions to address the danger, per the relevant provisions of the Roads and Buildings Regulation Law.
