Cyprus Legislation | Purchasing Property
5 years March 14, 2019
The Legal Responsibilities of a Management Committee in a Cyprus Communal Building
In the Republic of Cyprus, there is legislation holding that all buildings with communal areas, such as apartment blocks or office units, should form a management committee as a standard obligation.
The committee is required to be elected via a general meeting of the owners of the individual flats or units and essentially create an established legal entity, which is accountable for the administration and organisation of the buildings’ communal areas.
As per Cyprus Immovable Property Law, a management committee has the rights, duties and powers over their own agreement, whereby organised home owners could have written and submitted a document to the Land Registry. In the absence that such document exists for a communal building, standard procedures are followed as per the relevant annex of Cyprus legislation.
The management committee acts with the best interests of the other residents and on their behalf; should act lawfully, and be duly established and should apply the decisions unanimously reached at general meetings. The committee, once established, holds the following duties:
- Impose the established building regulations.
- Keep and maintain the communal areas in an operational condition.
- Establish and operate a building fund, to cover all communal expenses. The payment of which must be organised and shared accordingly. *
- To oversee, operate and administer the communal areas of the building.
- Hold an annual general meeting between the owners of the apartment units and record attendance, voting and the minutes. **
*The management committee is entitled to recover any payments for repairs and or other communal works carried out in the building or relating to its management; by filing an action in a Cyprus municipal court against any unit owner who has failed to contribute accordingly to the balance of the fund.
**Recording minutes and any decisions made in full detail is necessary to avoid any disputes or challenges to the committee’s validity or status. This includes the figure of projected costs and communal charges.
What if the Management Committee Has Not Been Duly or Lawfully Established?
As a legal entity, a management committee can sue and also be sued in a Cyprus court of law for any matters that arise regarding the building’s communal ownership.
In buildings when an annual general meeting is called without a legally elected committee, in court its existence and legitimacy will be questioned and even annulled in the event of a dispute arising between a building unit owner and a decision made on behalf of a unlawfully elected management committee.
In buildings where the management committee was never elected or exists; bringing an action to a Cyprus court is classed as abuse of process and the order may be dismissed at the initial stage of the proceedings.
Eltoma Property have local Solicitors on hand to assist with any queries regarding the lawful establishment of management committee in Cyprus. Contact us for more information.