Elevators (Communal Expenses and Non – Payers)
Under The Immovable Property (Tenure, Registration and Valuation) (Amendment) Law of 1993 – 6(1) of 1993, section 38K (hereinafter referred to as “The law”), common expenses should be shared between all owners, hence it is an obligation of every owner to participate in the payment of common expenses.
Those, who are resistant to comply with the law and participate in the common expenses, will be deprived from rights, which other owners are entitled to have, such as a right to vote at the general meetings. Moreover, the Management Committee can file a lawsuit against the owner, who does contribute to payment of common expenses in accordance with the law.
Elevators are an integral part of the majority of the apartment complexes in Cyprus, since it is reasonably foreseeable that most of them are occupied by elderly people. Elevators have high maintenance demands, safety issues, and power consumption, hence they will attract some substantial common expenses, which should be jointly paid by all the owners in accordance with The Immovable Property (Tenure, Registration and Valuation) (Amendment) Law of 1993 – 6(1) of 1993.
However, if the owner, despite the attempts of the legally elected committee to persuade him/her to contribute towards the payment of elevator maintenance fees is still resistant to pay, the legally elected committee can initiate legal proceedings against the non paying owner in order to recover the debt due.. If successful, a court order will be issued ordering the non payer to recover all the amounts of common fees that are due to the legally elected committee. enabling them to lodge a ‘memo’ against the property registered in the name of the debtor. This will make it impossible for the debtor to sell the property without having first repaid the debt.
Nonetheless, the preferred option is to persuade the owner to contribute towards the elevator maintenance fees without resort to legal measures.
