Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou told MPs on Thursday that they should begin immediately discussing three priority bills on dangerous buildings, jointly owned buildings and restructuring civil protection.

Ioannou, who had been invited to the House interior committee, stressed that it was imperative to improve the legal framework regarding removing buildings from the list of dangerous constructions.

The meeting, he said, was an opportunity to discuss the issue with the new interior committee, which emerged from the May 24 parliamentary elections, and expressed his ministry’s readiness to cooperate with the House to find solutions to issues affecting the daily lives of the people.

Referring to the bill on dangerous buildings, Ioannou said there was always room for improvement, he said a bill had been tabled with the previous parliament.

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He said his ministry had suggested to the local district organisations (EOAs) that they map all dangerous buildings in collaboration with scientific and technical chamber Etek, to create an archive and place the buildings on a scale of hazard.

Not all buildings listed as dangerous need to be demolished and many can be fixed, he added.

The bill on jointly owned buildings had been tabled in 2023 and an improved version resubmitted in 2025.

Ioannou said there had been objections to this bill, namely from the EOAs, concerning the cost of the legislation. It had been calculated that implementing the legislation would cost around €1.5 million and 30 new jobs.

The bill itself, he said, would address various issues in jointly owned buildings, such as arguments between owners, common expenses and maintenance, which could eventually lead to dereliction.

Ioannou said the bill introduced clear rights and obligations for owners and tenants, a fund for maintenance purposes, an enhanced role for administrative committees and the mandatory insurance of the building and annexes.

Regarding the civil protection bill, Ioannou said the creation of a general directorate at the interior ministry would bring together various firefighting services for better coordination and utilisation of human and material resources.

The minister also referred to compensation being paid to those who lost property in the 2025 Limassol wildfires, saying that most had been compensated, however more than a hundred who had objected to the calculated sums, would be paid “over the coming days”.