The number of dangerous buildings within the boundaries of the EOA Nicosia increased by 145, bringing their number to 1,622, with the Organization at risk of being left in limbo if the owners do not put their hand in their pockets to support their buildings.
This results from an estimate by the EOA that raises the cost of their support/management to €5 million at a time when the allocation available for all NNCs for the period 2026-2027 is limited to €2 million.
However, as the president of the EOA Nicosia, Konstantinos Yiorkadjis, explained to "F", citing the experience so far, in most cases the owners do not bear the cost of supporting their dangerous buildings, even though it is their own responsibility.
He also explained that before taking action, the EOA must exhaust all available means so that the owner can remove the danger of his building. If there is no cooperation between the owners, the cost of managing dangerous buildings amounts to €5 million. said Mr. Georghadjis.
The president of the EOA, answering relevant questions from "F", stated that in Nicosia the dangerous buildings amount to 634 and these include 63 new ones, which did not exist before the EOA took over this responsibility. In particular, for the walled city of Nicosia, 28 new cases of dangerous buildings were identified. Regarding these, the Organization will prepare a report and then send a warning letter to the owners in order to give time to take measures to remove the danger of their property.
In Strovolos, 12 dangerous buildings were added, bringing their number to 132, in the Municipality of Latsia - Geri, 14 have been recorded, in the Municipality of Lakatamia they increased from three to 11 and in the Municipality of South Nicosia (Dali) in the 20 that existed, five more were added.
As far as rural communities are concerned, 43 more were added to the 688 dangerous buildings that existed. In short, to the 1,477 that existed within the limits of the EOA, another 145 were added.
Of the total number of the above dangerous buildings, 235 (14.5%) are closed, 473 (29.2%) have been declared dangerous, 89 (5.5%) have been declared dangerous and an administrative process for their management is underway, 86 (5.3%) are being evaluated (at this stage) by external designers, 107 (6.6%) are in the evaluation stage by the EOA and 632 are in the process of confirming their condition.
Mr. Georghadjis clarified that in the legislation there is no gradation of the degree of risk, to add that the only categorization that exists (based on the current legislation) is: "In need of repair" and "dangerous".
Furthermore, he raised the issue of increasing licensing fees in Nicosia and Limassol due to the peculiarities they face.
It is worth noting that one of the positives that arose after the tragic event of the collapse of a building in Limassol (which resulted in the death of two people), many people were alarmed, which led to an increase in requests for the examination of the danger of buildings by the EOA. As Mr. Georghadjis explains, in the past there was hesitation about such a thing. The positive thing is that more buildings will be examined and unpleasant developments will be prevented, but the audit involves more work by the EOA.
Regarding the available funds to support dangerous buildings, the president of the EOA indicated that they do not even cover the staffing of the service with permanent staff and external partners, nor the administrative and contracting costs required for its effective operation.
Mr. Georghadjis clarified that on the issue of assuming the cost, the EOA is "in the same line of action as the Ministry of the Interior that the responsibility lies with the owner and that he must bear the cost of maintaining and repairing his property". However, as he stressed, "empirically speaking, this does not happen in most cases".
However, as he noted, the Ministry's proposal to include the dangerous buildings service in the licensing service and its financing from the licensing revenues is not fair, as in this way those who apply for new building permits will be burdened with additional costs, in order to cover the consequences of mismanagement on the part of owners who allowed their buildings to become dangerous.
Besides, he noted that Nicosia and Limassol face special conditions compared to other provinces. Nicosia is significantly affected by abandoned buildings on and near the Green Line, while Limassol is facing the consequences of the rapid and often anarchic development of the previous decades. Therefore, the licensing fees must be increased compared to the other Provincial Organizations.
Finally, Mr. Georghadjis referred to a paradox, stating the following: "Even today, the responsibility for dangerous buildings is characterized by the following paradox: The responsibility for the administration of the Organization belongs to the general director of the EOA, the responsibility for approving the structure and funding to the competent Ministry, while the legally responsible is to appoint the Director of Licensing.
