The deaths of two people following the collapse of a two-storey dangerous building in Germasogeia have once again laid bare a crisis that Cyprus’ central government can no longer ignore.
What should have been prevented through proper oversight has instead become another tragic example of institutional failure. Dangerous buildings are no longer simply a matter of structural decay – they have become a symbol of state paralysis, weak enforcement and political reluctance to confront a growing public safety threat.
Two people are dead, yet the response from central government has been to distance itself from responsibility.
Government hands poisoned chalice to local authorities
In the aftermath of the collapse, the Ministry of Interior Cyprus has pointed to existing legislation, claiming it does not have the authority to intervene directly in dangerous building cases.
Instead, responsibility has been pushed onto District Local Government Organisations (DLGOs), many of which say they were handed enormous responsibilities without the funding, staffing or legal powers needed to carry them out.
The arrangement has sparked outrage among local officials, who argue they are being forced to act as the government’s frontline emergency service while being denied the resources to do so.
Under current rules, DLGOs are expected to pay upfront for emergency demolitions or structural repairs and then attempt to recover the costs from property owners later, often through lengthy and expensive legal battles with no guarantee of success.
For many local authorities, that is financially impossible.
They warn that diverting already stretched budgets to emergency building work risks undermining essential public services, while central government continues to stand on the sidelines.
A system designed to fail
The current framework is riddled with fragmentation and bureaucracy.
Licensed engineers inspect buildings. DLGOs determine whether they are officially dangerous. Municipalities issue separate suitability certificates for buildings used by the public.
The result is a slow-moving bureaucratic maze where responsibility is spread across multiple agencies, but accountability remains elusive.
When systems are this fragmented, dangerous delays become inevitable – and in some cases, deadly.
ETEK has repeatedly warned that Cyprus needs structural reform, not reactive damage control after lives have already been lost.
Its president, Constanti Constantinos has called for mandatory building inspections to identify structural risks before they escalate into disasters.
The organisation has also proposed tougher enforcement measures, including legal claims against negligent owners, court-led cost recovery, utility disconnections and bans on renting unsafe buildings.
Yet despite years of warnings, meaningful reform has remained painfully slow.
Ministers ignore warnings as buildings continue to decay
Property experts have long warned that Cyprus lacks a centralised system for tracking unsafe buildings.
ETEK has proposed an electronic building identity register that would create standardised safety records for properties across the country, helping authorities identify risks earlier. The technology exists. The recommendations exist.
What has been missing is political urgency.
Instead of creating a modern oversight system, successive governments have allowed outdated processes, incomplete records and weak enforcement mechanisms to persist.
The consequences are now impossible to ignore.
Residents left to pay the price
Kyriacos Xydias, mayor of Amathounta, has stressed that property owners must take responsibility for maintaining their buildings.
But enforcement remains inconsistent, particularly in jointly-owned buildings where disputes between owners frequently drag on for years while buildings continue to deteriorate.
Officials have suggested mandatory sinking funds to ensure repairs can be carried out before buildings become hazardous.Again, the idea has merit.
Again, action has been slow.
Families face eviction with nowhere to go
Even when authorities identify dangerous buildings, enforcement is fraught with obstacles.
DLGOs are operating with limited staff and increasingly relying on private contractors to handle inspections. Evacuation orders are often ignored.
Court orders take time.
And when residents are forced out, many have nowhere to go.
Local authorities currently lack emergency housing mechanisms for displaced residents, particularly vulnerable families, pensioners and low-income tenants.
That responsibility, too, has been left hanging in a policy vacuum.
Larnaca reveals the scale of the failure
Angelos Hadjicharalambous, chairman of the Larnaca DGLO, has described a deeply flawed handover process in which local authorities inherited major responsibilities without proper preparation. Hundreds of unresolved cases remain open.
Many files are incomplete.
Some must be reassessed entirely from scratch.
Meanwhile, dangerous buildings continue to age — and risks continue to grow.
A preventable crisis
This crisis was not unforeseeable. Experts warned about deteriorating buildings.
Local authorities warned they lacked resources.
Industry professionals proposed reforms.
And still, central government moved too slowly.
Now two people are dead.
The longer ministers delay decisive action, the more unsafe buildings will fall through the cracks – and the greater the risk that this tragedy will happen again.
