Hundreds of housing blocks in Cyprus are dangerously unmaintained or are partially or poorly maintained to the point where they pose a hazard to residents and are a risk to public safety, Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou said on Tuesday.

Ioannou made the comments at a round-table discussion on the issue organised by the association of land and buildings entrepreneurs.

A new bill to better regulate communally-owned buildings was also discussed at the House a week ago where the fire service highlighted the dangers, citing locked emergency doors and stairwells being blocked with old furniture and other items.

Ioannou said that according to the lands and surveys department it is estimated that there are 30,000 communally-owned buildings across the island, which corresponds to approximately 200,000 residential units.

“This is an issue that is estimated to affect approximately half the population of Cyprus,” Ioannou said.

“The existing legislation on the registration, management and other issues concerning communal buildings is not implemented to a satisfactory extent. This results in constant friction and confrontations between the owners,” the minister added.

The absence, in hundreds of cases, of a management committee or their incomplete operation has created gaps in the implementation of existing legislation.

Ioannou said that among other things, the rights and obligations of the owners of the units are not defined, nor is the effective implementation of management ensured, “since several owners of the units of a jointly owned building avoid their obligations regarding the repair and maintenance of the buildings”.

The new bill seeks to rectify this by transferring the responsibility for communally owned buildings to local authorities.

It also aims to introduce safeguards for the role of management committees.

Through the bill, the management committees will be given the power to charge for the necessary expenses to properly maintain and operate the common areas of apartment buildings.

In addition, the bill provides for the establishment of a service for registration of co-owned buildings and supervision of administrative committees with the local authorities.

Ioannou said the mandatory insuring of jointly owned buildings and its supervision was also included in the bill.

“Inextricably linked is the provision for the clear definition of the rights and obligations of the owners in an effort to limit interpersonal disputes and, by extension, the possibility of a building being left unsuitable and carrying a risk to the safety of its occupants,” the minister said.

Ioannou also touched on the concerns of the fire service saying occupants would not just be able to commandeer common areas for any reason without a valid reason and permit to do so.

“We estimate that the amendment of the legislation will be able to resolve the problems to a large extent so that residents can enjoy a better quality of life in functional and properly maintained buildings,” Ioannou said.