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We Cannot Mess with the Environment with Impunity

Editorial
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THE TORRENTIAL rain that has hit the Paphos district several times over the past few weeks has caused a host of problems ranging from mudslides to flash floods, which on Monday resulted in human tragedy.

There had been warning signs just over a couple of weeks ago, when tourists holidaying at Coral Bay were lucky to escape with a few cuts and bruises after a mudslide ripped through their hotel. A Cypriot couple was not so lucky on Monday night, when their car was hit by a mudslide and pushed over the side of a bridge – the woman’s body was found on Tuesday while rescue teams were still searching for her husband yesterday afternoon, although the chances of finding him alive seem non-existent.

Several newspapers referred to the chaos as ‘nature’s revenge’ and a punishment for the uncontrolled development that has taken place in Paphos over the past 10 years. It is true that over the past decade, the Paphos district has become a giant building site, holiday villas and apartment complexes springing up everywhere. The authorities – town planning and the municipalities – were issuing building permits with carefree abandon, oblivious to the effects that big development projects would have on the environment or to the possibility that many building sites were unsuitable.

This laissez-faire approach to development has played havoc with nature, as it ignored natural gradients, the geology of different areas, hydrological factors and the existence of creeks and river-beds through which rainwater flowed to the sea. The chopping of trees for the creation of more building plots and the construction of new roads without proper surveys has also contributed to the current problems. It is a chaotic situation that will only get worse because of the failure of the authorities to exercise any rational control and formulate a plan for sustainable land development.

While this may be easier said than done, there is no excuse for the failure of the local authorities to have adequate drainage infrastructure or to maintain and clean up riverbeds and creeks, many of which are blocked by solid waste which prevent rainwater from flowing to the coasts through the natural channels and cause the unprecedented violent torrents experienced on Monday. It seems the municipal officials think of this basic maintenance work only after disaster has struck.

It is to be hoped that nature’s warnings will not go unheeded this time. Local authorities need to suspend the issuing of all building permits for now until they formulate new rules and regulations that will take into account an area’s geology, natural gradients, rainwater channels, etc. And once these are ready they should be strictly adhered to, because as we have seen in the last few days, we cannot mess with the natural environment with impunity.

Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2006

Paphos Tragedy: Who’s to Blame?

Editorial
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RECRIMINATIONS flew yesterday over Monday’s mudslide in the Paphos area, which killed one woman, with her husband still missing.

Politicians blamed rampant development and disregard of drainage management on authorities and greedy developers; developers pointed the finger at the authorities; and local administration washed their hands of responsibility, arguing that Town Planning never consults with them.

“In Cyprus, everything is sacrificed for the sake of fast money,” accused AKEL deputy Andros Kyprianou, who chairs the House Interior Committee.

He said local community leaders had responsibilities too, and should inform authorities if they saw unchecked development.

He said local community leaders had responsibilities too, and should inform authorities if they saw unchecked development.

Monday’s torrential rains trapped a couple in their car while they were crossing a small bridge over the Arkokalami river in Kissonerga. Rescue teams have recovered the body of the woman, but her husband was still missing yesterday. The vehicle was swept a full kilometre from the site.

The general feeling was this was an accident waiting to happen, because no precautions had been taken to safeguard the crossing against the effects of heavy rainfall.

“There could definitely be criminal liability due to the uninhibited approval of planning permissions,” former Paphos mayor Feidias Sarikas said.

But Michalis Efthymiou, the chairman of the Paphos Municipalities’ Union, rejected the notion that they were turning a blind eye to the landscape.

“Local authorities have absolutely no control over laws governing construction. The Town Planning Department never consults us if a development is to take place.”

He suggested the establishment of a single body whose task it would be to keep an eye on construction projects, “so that in the future we might avoid such situations”.

And real estate developers argued they were the last rung in the ladder.

“It is not construction companies who are to blame, but the authorities. It is the lack of general planning… it’s out of control,” offered Lakis Ttofarides, chairman of the Constructors’ Association.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a hydrologist familiar with the area told the Mail that a combination of red tape and apathy were the culprits.

“Where major rivers are concerned, local authorities should ask developers to conduct a hydrological study affirming that the construction will properly divert runoff.”

Runoff is water from precipitation or irrigation that flows over the ground and into bodies of water. It can contribute to soil erosion and carry harmful pollutants.

“This is not done, partly because local authorities do not have the expert knowledge and thus don’t bother with such details,” the source said.

In a process that involves the Land Registry, the Town Planning Department, the Water Board and the municipalities, what needs to be done is often lost in the paperwork.

According to the source, the norm in built-up areas was to design drainage for “your own backyard, ignoring what happens in the wider vicinity”.

“As long as your house doesn’t flood, you don’t care about next door.”

In many cases, the source noted, it is difficult for regulatory authorities to intervene, because municipalities have almost total control of what goes on in their turf.

“By and large, it’s a question of jurisdictions,” he said.

Three years ago a hydrological survey was requested for the Arkokalami riverbed, but this came to nothing.

 

“The landscape in Paphos has changed dramatically in the last couple of years. Take the culvert where the accident happened. It was built around 30 years ago, when things were very different.“But strictly speaking, the problem in this case was not development. The riverbed had become clogged with debris and solid waste – trees, rocks, etc. It needed to be cleaned up. It was obvious that the structure over the river could not cope in the event of heavy rain.“In general, this indifference for the soil is bad business for everyone, because you can’t sweep the problem under the carpet and hope it goes away. After all, conducting a hydrological study might cost a developer a mere £1,000, plus another £10,000 for any necessary drainage works. It’s certainly preferable to the bad publicity whenever such incidents occur.”

 

Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2006

Why Paphos?

Leo Leonidou
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THE Paphos area has been struck by torrential rain three times in the past two weeks, causing major problems including the flooding of properties, flash floods, mudslides, traffic chaos and power cuts.

One local estate agent said the main problem was caused by developers building on unsuitable sites. “They buy cheap land on ravines, with water running through developments, and many buildings are not properly elevated from the road,” said Telis Christou.“Mass constructions also cause excess mud and dust to get onto the roads in large quantities, which cause traffic problems,” he explained.

“Mass constructions also cause excess mud and dust to get onto the roads in large quantities, which cause traffic problems,” he explained.“Combine this with the fact that Municipal elections are taking place in December, with the Mayor opening up numerous streets for road works, and you get a lot of flooding whenever it rains.”

He also spoke of a lack of adequate sewage and drainage infrastructure in the town.

“Although I’m not a weather expert, I think that many storms that hit the island come from the west, meaning Paphos is first in the line of fire and is worst affected.”

Head of the Weather Services, Kyriacos Theofilou agreed, saying three inches of rain fell in certain areas of the town on Monday evening. “The bad weather was caused by a low pressure system coming in from the direction of Crete.”

The Fire Services worked for hours, mainly dealing with flooded basements.

Spokeswoman Lisa Kemidji said the force had been called out to 30 separate locations. She agreed with Christou about the unsuitability of many sites where developments have sprung up, adding that Paphos also has “a lot of wild scrub and agricultural land so heavy rain causes more damage and inconvenience”.

“The rain on Monday was so powerful it would have caused the same chaos whether it had hit Nicosia, Limassol or any other town on the island.”

Neither the Paphos mayor nor the city’s municipal engineer were available for comment, but the village leader of Kissonerga, where a woman and presumably her missing husband were swept to their death in a flash flood, hit out at developers. “The irrational development for financial gain with the creation of new communities without proper planning is to blame,” he said.

“Deforestation without any consideration for the consequences has opened the way for these violent torrents that did not exist before.”

Green Party leader George Perdikis said the party, “has been worried about the situation for a while now and met to discuss the issue after the last heavy rains two weeks ago. Unfortunately, nobody else seems to be concerned.”

Larnaca was also badly hit by the storms, with the highway between Athienou, Avdellero and Aradippou filling up with stones and mud after midnight, while a whirlwind destroyed greenhouses and uprooted trees in the district.

Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2006

The Cyprus Property Title Deeds Issue

Antonis Loizou FRICS
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IT IS a fact that it takes a long time to secure a title deed for new property and this creates serious problems regarding ownership, finance, re-sale and other matters.

At this point of time there is a serious debate taking place in the House of Representatives on the subject, but we have not detected any solution in the horizon.

Numerous permits (approximately eight permits in total) are required after the building is completed.

And there are long delays until authorities examine and issue these permits.

This means the average period for the title issue is four to six years (and that is provided that the building has no major or even minor problems) after the building’s completion.

Surely this is not a satisfactory situation and the present delays have been evidenced by the demonstration that has taken place outside the Town Planning Office in Paphos (althogh the problem is not isolated to Paphos, Paphos is the worst region).

The authorities claim that over the last few years it had to process 14,000 applications per annum, as opposed to the 8,000 applications prior to the recent property boom.

For these reasons we suggest buyers take some “security” measures in order to protect their interests when buying a property as an interim measure until the titles are issued:

  • Deposit your contract with the local Lands Registry Office. The sales contract must be duly signed within two months from the date of signing of the agreement. This deposit acts as a charge on the property and it will protect you for any subsequent sale, mortgages etc that might follow the deposit date.
  • Get a release from the mortgagee (if any). The release to be secured by the seller and it should stipulate that once the title deeds are issued, the mortgage holder will have no objection in releasing the title for transfer.
  • If you require a bank guarantee you must bear in mind that you will have to pay 1.8% on the amount of the guarantee, p.a., a quite high charge.
  • Get a corporate guarantee from the developer/owner securing the free transfer of the property.
  • Carry out your own search through your advocate regarding the seller’s/developer’s financial standing and check his “name” in the local market. There is a lot to be said in buying from the more “known” developers, as opposed to the small scale and financially weak developers, with no track record (even through their prices might be slightly lower than otherwise).
  • Set a date in the sales contract by which the developer is bound to secure a title.
  • Make a provision in the sales contract that the developer must comply with a request for a resale with a fixed charge (maximum £1,500) so that you can cancel your sales agreement by selling it to another buyer. The developer/original buyer, is to enter into a cancellation agreement and then the new buyer to enter into a new sales contract with the developer. In this case however the developer may ask the original buyer to cover his tax costs or for the original buyer to provide him with a tax release.

Surely the above measures are not a substitute to a title, but at least one should take such appropriate steps to protect himself during the period of waiting.

By Antonis Loizou
Antonis Loizou & Associates Ltd.
Property Valuers & Consultants

www.aloizou.com.cy
[email protected]

Cyprus Property Tax Refunds

Antonis Loizou FRICS
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Dear Sir,

Question: I am told that I can get a refund on the property taxes that I have been charged by the developer.

When I bought my apartment, five years ago, prior to transfer the developer charged me £360 for property taxes. Can I claim this amount back?

Answer: There is a government property ownership tax that is charged on all real estate, from 0%-3½% based on a 1.1.80 value. There is an exception, however that on up to £100,000 value of property, the owner is excluded.

For values over £100,000 but under £250,000 the tax is 2½%. For values over £250,000 but under £500,000 the tax is 3%. For values over £500,000 the tax is 3½%.

In your case, when you bought your property from the developer and depending on your contract, the developer charged you the analogy of the project’s property taxes.

The value of 1.1.80 is set by the Lands Office when the Title Deeds are issued, so no-one knows really what the charge is, until the deeds are issued. Because the developer might have in his ownership property (in total) in excess of £100,000, then he is charged the tax, which he passes on to his purchasers.

You can claim, however, a refund from the Income Tax Department charged to you, provided you do not own property in excess of £100,000 (as at 1.1.80) and provided you have deposited your contract at the Lands Registry Office and provided you are a purchaser as a person and not a company.

Yours faithfully,

AP. Loizou F.R.I.C.S.

www.aloizou.com.cy
[email protected]

Energy Certificates For Your Home

Leo Leonidou
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IMPLEMENTATION of the European Directive on the energy performance of buildings laying down minimum performance on new and existing buildings will begin within the next six months.

On Thursday, Parliament passed the Directive into law after the European Commission sent final warnings to Cyprus, along with Greece, Hungary, Malta and Sweden in June for failure to notify national measures for reducing energy consumption.

The energy performance of a building will have to be reflected on an energy certificate, which is basically a label for a building, in some ways similar to the label on household appliances.

However, the certificate for a building is more elaborate, and will be accompanied by solid advice on how to improve the energy performance of an existing building and what the investment costs and the payback time on the investment is likely to be.

Stephania Tsangaridou of the Cyprus Institute of Energy, yesterday told the Mail that, “all new buildings will now have to meet minimum energy requirements before they can be issued with building permits. This will be in the form of thermal insulation and window shading among other things.”

She added that the minimum energy requirements will also apply to buildings over 1,000 square metres in size undergoing major renovation.

“Over the course of the next six months, architects along with civil, electrical and mechanical engineers will be given training so they can familiarise themselves with national methodology which will be used to establish minimum requirements,” Tsangaridou explained. She added that special software has been created which will be able to measure whether a building meets the requirements.

Within the next three years, certification will be required for all buildings built, sold and rented out. Regular maintenance and inspection of boilers, heating systems and air conditioning will also be made compulsory.

Environment Commissioner Charalambos Theopemptou has issued guidelines to the public on how to minimise energy losses during the coming winter.

“Maintenance of the central heating system should be undertaken every year,” he said, stressing the importance of a good thermostat. “In Cyprus, thermostats are designed for an average of 22 degrees Celsius. People should aim to keep the temperature inside their home as low as comfortably possible, as increasing the temperature by one degree will mean a ten per cent rise in the cost of heating oil. It’s very important to have a modern and so-called intelligent thermostat, which manufacturers claim can lead to savings of up to 20 per cent. They judge the difference between the indoor and outdoor temperature before deciding when to start the heating process.”

He also spoke about wastage. “A 25-year-old heating system will actually waste 50 per cent of oil, while a modern system wastes between eight and ten per cent. Considering the fact that the average household needs to spend around £600 per winter on heating, it makes sense to replace old boilers, as the extra money spent will be recouped within three years. People are wasting a lot of money without realising it.”

He advised people to invest in thick curtains, “which make a huge difference in keeping heat inside the home,” and to install draught blockers on windows and doors.

Regarding fireplaces not in use, “block off the chimney with a glass screen,” he said.

Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2006

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