Larnaca administration says it had not been informed about family living in a shack

Larnaca district administration on Wednesday said it had not been notified about the living conditions of a family in Pervolia who were reportedly reduced to living in a shack on the beach after the roof of their house in a refugee housing estate collapsed.

The case came up in a House refugee committee meeting on Tuesday, where the issue of insufficient funding and help for refugee housing was raised.

During the meeting, Pervolia refugee housing estate secretary Fotis Katsantonis said that five houses in the specific estate are in very bad shape, adding that a family with a five-month-old baby was reportedly living in the shack on the beach after the roof in their house collapsed last week.

On Wednesday, Larnaca district administration said it had not been informed about any issues with the family’s property.

An investigation found that the current tenant is the son of the original owner of a house in the estate, who has owned the plot of land since 1978 and built a house there with state help.

She has lived elsewhere in Larnaca for the past few years and the house in the Pervolia estate was taken over by one of her three sons two years ago without any authorisation from the state.

“It should be noted that changing the ownership of such a property requires a change in the relevant contract. In case the house is passed on to the beneficiary’s heir, then the state is not obliged to provide any financial help for repairs,” the Larnaca administration said.

Its statement further said that neither the Larnaca district administration, nor the service for the Care and Rehabilitation of Displaced Persons ever received any applications or complaints about issues with the property from the residents or the local refugee committee.

In addition, the Larnaca district administration said it never received any complaints about the roof, which had been repaired by the original owner in 1996 using state funds.

“On the contrary, the on-site check revealed that the entire roof has been removed by the beneficiary’s son, who has been carrying out extensive construction work with the intention of completely renovating the house – without informing state services,” it said.

The man was encouraged to apply to a housing scheme, the statement said, adding that Larnaca social welfare services have been notified so that they can further investigate and provide shelter for the family.