Cyprus' proposed rules on managing jointly owned buildings, including communal charges and insurance, are heading towards detailed parliamentary scrutiny, according to Cyprus Property News.
According to Cyprus Property News, the proposed framework for managing jointly owned buildings in Cyprus is moving closer to detailed parliamentary scrutiny. The Ministry of the Interior and the District Local Government Organisations (DLGOs) have made progress in resolving their differences, and the House Interior Committee has given the parties three weeks to submit final written proposals and update the draft legislation. The talks cover six legislative texts and involve government services, local organisations, professional bodies, banks and insurers. First proposed in 2023, the bill has been more than three years in the making. A central issue is the transfer of management responsibilities to the DLGOs. The Ministry is reported to have accepted the main conditions set by the DLGOs: the transfer would follow a two-year transition period, with 1 January 2029 as the target date, provided preparations are completed first. These include digital infrastructure, administrative and financial support for the DLGOs, and a clear definition of their responsibilities in the final law. The Legal Service will also review constitutional concerns raised about parts of the proposals. Two topics are of particular interest to property owners and buyers. The first is unpaid communal charges: under proposals being considered, a management committee could be required to confirm, when a sale contract is deposited or a unit is transferred, that charges have been paid or, under some parliamentary proposals, that a repayment plan has been agreed. The Cyprus Banking Association warned that requiring outstanding charges to be settled before a transfer could complicate property transfers and said the measure needs further assessment. The second is insurance: insurers raised concerns about covering buildings without a certificate of suitability and about overlapping cover when both a whole building and individual apartments are insured, which can mean duplicate costs. After the three-week deadline, the committee aims to update the texts and begin clause-by-clause scrutiny. Constitutional questions, property transfers, unpaid charges, insurance and dangerous buildings still need to be addressed, so the final rules may change. The Interior Ministry has also asked for until the 29th of the month to address issues concerning dangerous buildings.