A second-floor balcony of an apartment building in the Germasogeia tourist area of Limassol collapsed on Tuesday, falling onto the first-floor balcony below.
The incident occurred shortly after midday. Amathus mayor Kyriakos Xydias highlighted the ongoing issue of ageing and potentially unsafe apartment buildings, which he described as a longstanding problem.
The mayor noted that the collapsed building is one of four identical structures that have caused concern for years. He mentioned that the former Germasogeia municipality had repeatedly raised the matter with the building’s operator through official correspondence. The operator had even been brought before the Germasogeia municipal council to address the concerns.
According to Xydias, the collapse resulted from renovation work, with vibrations during the attempt to stabilise and refurbish the building causing the balcony to give way. He plans to contact the Limassol district government to assess whether the company overseeing the renovations complied with health and safety regulations. However, he viewed the effort to repair the building as a positive step.
“The next step is to confirm whether the contractor obtained the necessary permits and adhered to the building’s safety plan,” he stated.
Addressing the broader issue of building safety, Xydias said his municipality has catalogued all dangerous buildings in the seafront area. However, he stressed that implementing legislation to repair such buildings, temporarily rehouse tenants, and later charge owners is practically impossible.
“We would need three or four municipal budgets to undertake this work, and we’d never recover the costs because, in most cases, the owners rent out their flats and do not live there themselves,” he explained.
Despite these challenges, Xydias aims to propose amendments to legislation. His plan would allow the municipality to declare buildings unsafe, shut them down, address safety concerns, and prevent owners from collecting rent until all necessary repairs are completed.
