There are 711 buildings in the Nicosia district officially confirmed as dangerous, according to updated figures released by the Nicosia district government organisation (EOA) on Friday. 

The organisation is calling for the government to provide steady funding of €2 million a year for the next decade to resolve the matter. 

The technical chamber (Etek) has warned that the buildings already marked as dangerous are “only the visible part of the problem”.

The Nicosia EOA is currently dealing with 1,495 cases in total; of these, 711 have been formally added to the active register of dangerous buildings, 130 are going through the process of being officially declared dangerous, and the remaining 654 are still being checked. 

So far the EOA has forced residents out of only two dangerous buildings and sent a multitude of warning letters to owners in seven other cases. 

If those owners do not act, the EOA has affirmed that it will begin legal steps to have tenants removed. 

In another two cases the organisation has gone to court asking for permission to demolish buildings after owners failed to respond, and five buildings have been fenced off as an immediate safety measure.

The EOA labelled the shortage of staff and funds as its primary issue, for the EOA only took on responsibility for dangerous buildings in April of last year, and says this transfer occurred without sufficient planning. 

The organisation insisted that the interior ministry should have prepared better in advance, including installing new software, organising staff needed for such a task, as well as setting fees that actually cover the real cost of the work.

On funding, the EOA has requested that the finance ministry set up a special fund, which would lend money to pay for urgent repair work when owners refuse to do it themselves, with the cost then charged back to them. 

The EOA suggests the interest rate on these loans should be higher than normal, so that dishonest owners see it as a last resort rather than an easy option. 

In the case that such an owner still does not pay, the debt would be registered against their property.

Etek president Constantinos Constantis called the present situation “a perennial and systemic problem”. 

He pointed to blocks of flats with no proper management committee as a particular worry, since repairs there are often delayed because no one is collecting money to pay for them.

“We need a comprehensive transition from recording to management and, above all, to prevention,” Constantis said. 

He called for three changes, better rules for shared buildings and their management committees, stronger powers for the authorities in charge, and regular inspections. 

Etek also wants a single online register so people can easily check whether a building has been marked as dangerous. 

“Transparency and timely information are a key measure for protecting public safety,” he said.

A new bill expected in parliament in early September would create clearer categories, separating buildings that are “potentially dangerous” from those that are already “dangerous”, so problems can be dealt with earlier. 

It would allow authorities to evacuate, repair, partially or fully demolish, as well as ban entry or rental of the property. 

Owners who ignore these orders could have their water or electricity cut off, face the authorities stepping in directly, and be fined up to €40,000. 

“Etek is positive about the philosophy and the need for a rapid vote on the proposal,” Constantis said, though he warned that paying for the actual repair work “remains a critical issue”.

Both the EOA and Etek agree that older buildings should be inspected regularly, especially those built before modern earthquake safety rules came in. 

Constantis dismayed that the state is constantly acting post-fact, only acting after someone complains or a crisis emerges. 

“We must act as suppliers and not always as firefighters, after a failure or, even worse, after a tragedy,” he said.