Owners of apartments in Cyprus should soon be able to make alterations to their apartment within a ‘jointly-owned-building’ without the consent of the Management Committee and the other co-owners of the building.
The amendment of the law aims to remove inequality and discrimination against the owners of the jointly-owned-building.
As the law stands at the moment, two owners could apply for consent to make identical changes to their apartment. The Management Committee and the other co-owners of the building could give the green light to one of them and refuse the other.
The current legislation prevents the conversion of any space described in the Title Deed that has an exclusive right of use unless 100% of the co-owners of the jointly-owned-building agree.
Two bills will be revised to accommodate the changes.
News that a new jointly-owned-building law was in the making broke in June this year when the Department of Lands and Surveys published a draft for public consultation.
The draft law aimed to solve a multitude of serious issues with the current law including the lack of management committees, non-payment of communal fees, insurance and partial or total destruction of the building. Its purpose was to provide management committees with the flexibility needed to carry out its obligations, to ensure that unit owners meet their obligations and that properties are properly maintained.
Following the public consultation process, the draft law entered the committee stage earlier this month. This process allows the committee to make changes to the wording of the bill and for new clauses to be added. It should be ready for judicial review within a month.
Hopefully, the new jointly-owned-building law will come into force in early 2023 and will resolve the many problems with the current law.