Roofs on an apartment complex – who is responsible?
If you own an apartment on a complex in Cyprus, more often than not at some point during your ownership, the topic of communal roofs will have arisen.
Often owners believe that the responsible person/people are the top floor apartments. This is not the case. All owners are responsible for the roofs and all owners should contribute to their maintenance and ultimately their repair if needed. Without the roof, there would be no complex, and no apartment would be complete. It seems to have the same effect as the ground areas. A top floor flat uses the ground floors and the gardens even if they are on the top of the project and may not really use the stairs and or the communal areas.
The committee, during its management of the complex, should see to the timely maintenance and repair of the roofs to ensure that they are maintained and repaired as required to allow all owners, peaceful enjoyment of their properties in Cyprus.
For more information on committees and communal maintenance issues please contact G KOUZALIS LLC and speak with a dedicated member of staff.
An article on Communal Fees by your Cyprus property specialists G. Kouzalis LLC
Q: I live in a complex, and my communal fees seem very high… My friend also lives in a complex and she pays a lot less than me. This doesn’t seem fair. Why is this the case?
This is a question which we at G KOUZALIS LLC, receive a lot, so we thought it only appropriate to put this answer to all owners.
On every communal complex in Cyprus, the committee needs to provide SPECIFIC Services. Some of these services are visible (such as pool cleaning/complex cleaning) but others are not so visible (complex insurance/lift maintenance). It is the job of the committee to ensure that all the services required at the complex are performed and not just the visible ones.
It should be noted by virtue of Chapter 224 of the Cyprus Constitution the committee has a legal obligation to procure the appropriate level of insurance cover for the complex.
The committee also needs to ensure that in addition to paying the insurance there are sufficient funds to pay:
- Water
- Electric
- Service the lifts
- Clean the pool
- Clean the communal areas
- Clean / maintain the gardens
- Maintain the roofs
- Create a sinking fund for the painting of the complex, repairs at the complex, and repairs of the swimming pool and/or any other expense which may arise.
The total forecasted budget should then be shared between the owners according to the size of their property.
Now on a complex with 10 apartments, the fees which each apartment will pay, will be higher than an apartment on a complex with 50 apartments. This is a fact of numbers.
i.e.
If the complex’s operating budget is €10,000
On a complex with 10 apartments, each which is the same size (for ease of example) each apartment will pay €1000 per year.
With the same budget but a complex with 20 apartments, each apartment (again all the same size for ease of example) will pay €500 euros.
With the same budget but a complex with 40 apartments, each apartment (again all the same size for ease of example) will pay €250 euros.
Basically, the bigger the complex and the more apartments there are who share the expenses, the lower each person’s contribution will be. Also, it is possible that your complex has additional services than your friends (more lifts / bigger pool etc.) HOWEVER, if you are concerned, you can contact us for advice, your Cyprus property consultants, we are always here to help.
There is also another factor for the high cost of maintenance. That is Non- Payers. Projects that have a lot of non-payers do need to increase the fees of the regular payers in order to facilitate the correct and proper maintenance of the project. The committee must secure that the Non-payers do pay so that to reduce the yearly fees for the payers but also to stop this unfair situation. For this issue, we will give you a full and more detailed article by your Cyprus Property Specialists, soon.
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