The Larnaca District Self-Government Organization is fighting against time in order to clarify which residential buildings in the city and the province are considered unsuitable. So far, in the city of Larnaca alone, 35 dangerous residential buildings have been identified, including large complexes with hundreds of tenants, such as the "Filanta" apartment building, in which last Wednesday a foreigner died when he jumped from a balcony in order to avoid arrest.
For the 35 buildings, the Organization decided that, depending on the case, it will give some time to the owners to launch the procedures to remove the risk and if they do not comply, it will proceed with eviction orders. "These are dangerous buildings, apartment buildings and houses, which are our first priority, because they have an increased risk," the president of EOAL, Angelos Hatzicharalambous, told "F", indicating that in the coming weeks all owners will be notified accordingly.
The decisions of EOAL were communicated yesterday at a meeting held in the Municipality of Larnaca, in the presence of the mayor and representatives of the District Administration, Civil Defense and Social Welfare Services. "They were informed about how the dangerous buildings will be handled in the coming months, so that decisions can be made on the social issue that will arise," noted Mr. Hadjicharalambous.
It is recalled that an apartment building in Faneromeni ("Madona court") has been evacuated after it was deemed extremely dangerous. However, the owners did not seal the space, due to disagreements that arose between them regarding whether to proceed with repairs to the building. For this reason, EOAL proceeded with legal measures to secure a decree for the occupation of the site. "When we acquire the possession, we will seal it and if they do not proceed with repairs, either an administrative fine will be imposed, or we will see what other options we have," he noted, adding that the Organization gave a warning to the owners of a second apartment building in the Faneromeni area. The owners of the 17 apartments and the two stores are invited within a week to appoint an architect and launch repair procedures.
Meanwhile, last week the house in Chrysopolitissa was demolished, part of the roof of which collapsed while three foreigners were in it. Within the next few days, as stated by the president of EOAL, both dangerous buildings on Stavrodromiou Street will be demolished, in one of which part of the roof collapsed, a few days ago. "Last Saturday we demolished a dangerous building in Tersefanou. We also seal dangerous uninhabited buildings in Larnaca and the province every day. We have been to Lefkara and Kornos and today (yesterday) there is a team in Melini", noted Mr. Hatzicharalambous, indicating that those who do not comply with the instructions of the EOAL will face an administrative fine.
