Barring a miracle, swimming pools in privately owned complexes, such as the Royal Seacrest in Kato Paphos, will remain closed this year affecting tourist revenues and local businesses.
Some Management Committees in Cyprus have set up a 'sinking fund'; money set aside to replace/renew/repair items like swimming pool equipment, watering systems, external redecoration, etc.
The Almyra hotel in Paphos is the venue for a free seminar to be held in November covering communal ownership, management committees and general management of communal areas.
Taking criminal proceedings against owners and Management Committees who fail to comply with the swimming pool law and regulations will damage the Cypriot economy - especially tourism.
The owners of unlicensed communal swimming pools are facing court action following inspections carried out by the Paphos Municipality who insist that pools must be licenced, inspected daily and a lifeguard appointed.
A number of management committees, which manage and administer jointly-owned buildings in Cyprus, have recently found their bank accounts frozen due to a law introduced in 2017.
Communal fees are required to pay for the insurance, maintenance and repair of apartment buildings in Cyprus and other types of building complexes that contain common areas and shared facilities.
Laws and regulations regarding the design, construction and authorisation of swimming pools may soon be revised as part of the package to reform Cyprus' complex and time-consuming planning system.
Auditor General Odysseas Michaelides has called on the police to bring the owners of unlicensed swimming pools to justice due to the serious safety concerns arising from the problem.
Unlicensed swimming pools in Paphos are a major health hazard - they lie half empty, some with stagnant water and this is attracting mosquitoes because no-one's available to look after them.
A new law that will make a distinction between private and public swimming pools has been proposed by the Interior Ministry and a draft is currently being scrutinised by the Legal Service.
A group of residents in Kato Paphos are demanding that the Cyprus laws on private swimming pools are updated after their passports were temporarily confiscated over non-compliance with regulations.
Antonio Tajani, the European Commissioner for Enterprise & Industry, has replied to a question raised by Arlene McCarthy MEP concerning the licensing of swimming pools in Cyprus and legal proceedings taken by the authorities against some owners.
MEP Arlene McCarthy has called on the EC to ensure unfair legal proceedings against Cyprus swimming pool owners are halted and that the correct European standards are enforced.
The safety of swimming pools, particularly in buy-to-let holiday homes, in Cyprus is a concern for both the owners of the holiday homes and those who rent them. The European Child Safety Alliance EuroSafe has published a document containing advice on how to protect youngsters in pools.
The costs of owning a communal swimming pool in Cyprus are escalating as authorities tighten up the enforcement of regulations seemingly designed for hotels and tourist complexes.
In a follow up article to 'Managing Cyprus Apartments and Building Complexes' Miltiades Miltiadou, the General Manager of Chartis Cyprus, writes about the insurance of jointly-owned buildings.
