external insulation

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pauline michie
Posts: 22
Joined: 26 Apr 2013 23:02

external insulation

Post by pauline michie »

We have a ground floor apartment on a small, two storey complex in Peyia. The graffiato needs repairing and we are wondering if, at the same time, we can upgrade it by having it externally insulated by a specialist company, who will add insulation panels, then finish to match the existing graffiato.

Do we require permissions for this? Are any E.U. grants available?
Nigel Howarth
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Re: external insulation

Post by Nigel Howarth »

Hi Pauline and welcome to the forum.

Unfortunately Louise is rarely able to visit these days.

If you are in a complex, then you should have a Management Committee to take care of the insurance and maintenance of the common facilities. Louise wrote an article about this some time ago that you can read at Managing Cyprus apartments and building complexes.

The maintenance and repair of the external walls of the block will be the responsibility of the Management Committee and you should discuss the problem with them. I know that some Management Committees set aside some of the money they collect to carry out these ad-hoc maintenance/repair jobs, while others do not.

The Committee will not need planning permission if the external appearance remains unchanged - but if they want to add insulation panels, it may be a different story and they need to check with the Planning Authority.

As far as I am aware there are no grants for this type of general maintenance work.

Regards,
Nigel Howarth
Independent information & advice for Cyprus property buyers
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pauline michie
Posts: 22
Joined: 26 Apr 2013 23:02

Re: external insulation

Post by pauline michie »

Thanks, Nigel.

The situation at the moment is that we do have a management committee, though as far as I am aware their position has not yet been made legal - so I suppose you could argue that it is a co-operative venture. We and other owners have been paying them a sum to manage the complex and they are making a good job of freshening it up.

As far as graffiato repairs are concerned, their view is that they will only take responsibility for the 'communal areas'. With the design of our complex, this means that communal walls may be abutting the walls of owners' properties.

So it's a problematic situation anyway.

When I was in Cyprus recently I borrowed some graffiato samples from our D.I.Y. shop and picked out a colour which matched the existing, handing it over to one of the committee members (who was in agreement) to put before their next meeting as a suggestion.

If we decided to go ahead with external insulation, we would definitely want the final finish to match the existing. The only difference would be that there would be a small lip - the thickness of the panels - around the top of our ground floor apartment.

When I mentioned to the 'Chairman' that we might want to carry out this work, he was up in arms and said that any work we decided to do would have to get the approval of the 'committee'. I then said "and what if you say no", to which he replied "Then the committee would stop any tradesmen commencing work" (to which my contractor later replied "then my workmen will remove them from the site".

We feel that we should have a right to decide what to do to our own property without interference, provided the work is done sensitively. With the recent cold winters in Cyprus we can see that the apartment is unsuitable for occupation for several months of the year. We want to upgrade it to something approaching current E.U. standards and cannot for the life of us see how a not yet legal committee can stop us doing it. It is not as if we want to paint it purple (though I just might!).

We have a simple sales contract which says nothing about not altering the appearance, etc. of the apartment.

I feel I need to be on solid legal grounds before we do anything.
Nigel Howarth
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Posts: 2905
Joined: 24 Oct 2007 14:38
Location: Erimi, Limassol, Cyprus
Contact:

Re: external insulation

Post by Nigel Howarth »

The external walls of the block are part of the common areas as you share it with other apartments.

“Jointly-owned property” means every part of a jointly-owned building which has not been registered as a unit.
The law does not enumerate the individual parts of the building that constitute the jointly-owned property, but the jointly-owned property generally includes:

(a) common-use areas / corridors / yard,
(b) staircases,
(c) roof,
(d) foundations,
(e) common structural elements,
(f) main walls supporting the whole jointly-owned property,
(g) common walls between units and the jointly-owned property,
(h) electrical installation,
(i) plumbing system and engine room,
(j) lifts.

The jointly-owned property belongs, is possessed and enjoyed by all the unit-owners in undivided shares, according to the proportion of the value of each unit to the total value of the units of the jointly-owned building, and belongs to the units according to this proportion.

Read more at: http://www.news.cyprus-property-buyers. ... /id=003525

Regards,
Nigel Howarth
Independent information & advice for Cyprus property buyers
Contact Nigel Howarth
Read the latest Cyprus property news
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