The interior ministry and the House interior committee are pushing forward with a series of legislative amendments regulating the management of hazardous buildings, it was announced on Wednesday, a day after the responsibility for those buildings was passed on to the local district organisations (EOA).

Preliminary findings for 2024 indicated that there were 618 dangerous buildings in Nicosia, 303 in Limassol, 170 in Larnaca, 26 in Famagusta and 170 in Paphos.

The aim of the amendments is to enhance existing legislative and administrative tools to more effectively address the issue.

In statements on Wednesday, Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou and MP Marinos Moushouttas pointed out the need for the amendments, given the weaknesses found in the existing framework hindering efficiency.

These weaknesses, Ioannou said, did not allow all local authorities to implement the law and in many cases acted as a deterrent to drastic intervention.

Listing the main changes, Ioannou referred to simplified procedures for notifying owners, forbidding the use or renting of the property while listed as hazardous, allowing the partial or full demolition of the property and cutting off the water and power supply.

The amendments include provision for a memo on affected properties to cover transfer expenses and fines in the case of non-compliance.

Ioannou said the bill solves the financial aspect of the problem, by funding the EOAs to list the dangerous buildings. The budget for this is set to be increased to over €500,000.

The effort to solve the issue of dangerous buildings began back in 2022, Moushouttas said, adding that the issue was of concern to all, as in one case “a balcony fell on someone’s head”.

“Safety first,” he said.

The House internal affairs committee will be convening soon to examine the issue and bring it to its successful conclusion.