Management Committee "Rights"

[Pete G]

I notice that most of the properties for sale on complexes which have an independent [i.e. not the developer] management committee, also come with a set of "rules"

It seems to me that in terms of the obvious common area maintenance fees and the owners required contributions to upkeep etc., these make tremendous sense, however most [it seems to me] stray out of the legal [safe use of the pool etc.] and financial requirements, and wander into areas that are, I feel, essentially none of their business. This includes things like how many pets one may have and of what type, if one is allowed to fit shutters on the property, even down to if one is allowed to hang towels from the balcony.

Does anyone have any experience of how these rules are applied/activated? Especially in terms of:

Does purchasing a property automatically bind me to all of these rules as a condition of sale, even the non-financial/legal ones?
Can a Management Committee legally apply any sanctions for the breaking of the discretionary rules [with the exception of course of calling the Police if I am breaking the law?]

In specific terms, I am particularly interested in the in the pet issue. I am, generally speaking quite happy for my tenants to have pets. If I purchase a property on a complex where the management committee have decided pets are not "appropriate" must I of necessity change my rental terms to exclude tenants who have pets, and does the management committee have any actual sanctions they can bring to bear should I choose to allow it?

I actually feel that these rules actually provide a "let or hindrance to my full enjoyment of the property" and are therefore probably practically unenforceable, but I'd be interested to hear of anyone's practical experience of this

[footy123]

Pete,the pet issue is a very sensitive one,Our 44 apartment block has a no pets rule which does not bother us one bit,You say you are not bothered about your nieghbours owning pets??What about if the apartment next to yours owns a dog that howls night and day..

[Nigel Howarth]

Hi Pete G and welcome to the forum.

Each Management Committee has a set of regulations that provide for the control, operation, management, use and enjoyment of the units comprising the jointly owned property. You can read more about these regulations in the English translation of the law that you will find at http://www.cyprus-property-buyers.com/f ... gs-law.pdf

You'll find a set of 'standard' regulations as an appendix - which includes a reference to the keeping of domestic animals.

These regulations can be changed (the law above states how this changes may be approved).

Regards,

[Pete G]

Pete,the pet issue is a very sensitive one,Our 44 apartment block has a no pets rule which does not bother us one bit,You say you are not bothered about your nieghbours owning pets??What about if the apartment next to yours owns a dog that howls night and day..

The Cypriot authorities have laws about both noise nuisance generally and dog behavior in particular and, from the small experience I have with Peyia, they are pretty good at enforcing them [except for the Cypriot hunting dogs, of course, but thats a different story]. It just seems unnecessarily punitive to me to ban *All* pets assuming the owners will not keep them under control [I am unaware of any instances of noise nuisance being caused by cats, for example], on the off chance that we will have to be terribly un-British and actually decide to discuss any disputes like adults should the pets cause a nuisance.

But mainly, I don't understand what it has to do with the Management Committee. If another owner breaks the rules, could I take them to court for not enforcing the rules, for example? If not [and I'm definitely suggesting "not" is the reasonable position], then it is hard to see what skin they have in the game of handling disputes between neighbours. And indeed what sanctions they could apply even if they did

[lykoz]

I see that the English translated laws have some English insufficiencies..
Some of that document can be interpreted with completely opposite meanings...

I was wondering if you have a link to the original Greek document.

thanks

[Nigel Howarth]

Hello lykoz and welcome to the forum.

Unfortunately I do not have a copy of the law in Greek. But you should be able to track in down in the Cyprus Gazette - it was published on 12/2/1993.

Regards,