Cyprus Property Forum for Buyers, Sellers & Investors

Good morning Nigel
We own a villa on a complex of approximately 54 units. Since the properties were built in 2005, a management committee has never been formed nor requested by the developer. The site was meant to be on main drains within two years but is still on cesspits, which the developer has emptied. The site was promised street lights and a green communal area, apart from many assurances theses would be forthcoming, these items have still not materialised. There is no other services the developer provides to the site, no street cleaning and no maintenance.
On the 18th of February we received an e-mail from the developer stating 'Notification for the Election of a Management Committee',
in the e-mail it states that 'a number of buyers at the complex have failed to pay our company the company their share of the common expenses for the maintenance of the public and shared areas of the complex'. In talks with our neighbours, we have not received any invoices for what the developer claims to have done and we are perplexed at were the costs could have arisen. The maintenance costs could only arise from the upkeep of the green area and the cost of the lighting, the cesspit emptying we regard is his costs due to not being on the main drains.
The e-mail then go's onto inform us 'we hereby inform you that we shall cease to offer any further services to the complex, the payment of shared electricity, water and insurance fee's and any other expenses necessary for the complex' and they go on to call a general meeting of the owners etc.
The forming of the committee I believe can be done, but can the developer hand over the complex to a maintenance committee without everything being finished as per contract, if he walks away the green area will never be completed leaving us with an eyesore and a communal dumping ground. I would imagine the lighting could be completed through the management committee.
I would welcome your advice on this mater.
Yours sincerely
Helen & Mark

Good evening Helen & Mark and welcome to the forum.

The residents of your complex should have taken matters into their hands earlier and set up a Management Committee for the management, insurance, maintenance, etc. of the common areas. There is no obligation on the developer to manage the complex (unless there was a relevant clause in your contract or you've subsequently entered into an agreement with the company).

I can't comment on the situation with the drains - mains sewerage systems are (slowly) being installed and it may be that there isn't a system in your area at the moment. You can check with your local Municipality/Community.

The developer is only obliged to supply what is stated in your contract - nothing more, nothing less. But the nefarious developers make all sorts of empty promises to get people to buy their property.

The problem of people not paying their share of common expenses is a very common problem. In these situations, the people who do pay should make up the shortfall and then take action against the non-payers to cough up. A stiff letter from a lawyer usually does the trick - but if not you can apply to a court and what usually happens is the court ruling enables the Management Committee to lodge a claim (known as a 'memo') against the debtors property. This prevents its transfer until the debt has been cleared. However the law on this matter is hopeless!!

You need to read through your contract to see what the developer is obliged to supply you with. Assuming that everything has been supplied - and the development complies with the various permits issued for its construction and building regulations, the developer should be progressing the issuance of Title Deeds. If he is unwilling to do this, I suggest that all the residents apply directly to the Land Registry for the deeds - see my article 'Apply for your Title Deeds now'.

If the developer hasn't completed the development and refuses to do the work, I'm afraid the only option is for the purchasers to club together and pay for the outstanding work to be completed themselves - and then sue the developer for the costs involved (but you need to advise your developer of your intended course of action).

You can find information on setting up a Management Committee in the English translation of the law.

Information regarding the insurance for the common parts of the building (and the management committee) in 'Everything you would like to know about the insurance of jointly-owned buildings' by Miltiades Miltiadou, the General Manager Chartis Cyprus Ltd.

The article 'Managing Cyprus apartments and building complexes' by Louise Zambartas.

Regards,