Context
Why this matters now
In June 2026 the vice-chairman of the Cyprus developers' association publicly asked the newly elected parliament to treat the reform of co-owned building law as an urgent public safety issue. His argument, as reported in the Cyprus press, was that years of delay have left residents exposed to poor maintenance, weak management and deteriorating buildings.
The call followed a fatal building collapse in Limassol and the precautionary evacuation of apartment buildings elsewhere in Cyprus after structural assessments found serious defects. Those events are the reason the debate has moved from the trade press to the front page; the underlying problems, weak collection, unfunded repairs and committees without teeth, are older than the headlines.
The instrument in play is a bill referred to as the Management of Co-Owned Buildings and Related Matters Law, first tabled in 2023 and not yet enacted. The current framework, Part IIA of the Immovable Property Law (Cap. 224), was criticised as failing to “respond to modern needs and market realities”, particularly on collecting common expenses, enforcing decisions and maintaining the building. Until the bill is published in its final form, treat every provision described below as reported, not enacted.
Proposed reform
Four pillars of the proposed law
The reform addresses four failures in how Cyprus manages jointly owned buildings. For each, here is the problem, what the bill is reported to change, and the mechanism already in the product.
- 01
Management committees as legal entities
The problem
Many building committees operate informally, without clear legal standing, enforceable authority or defined liability. Decisions are hard to enforce and an owner who ignores them faces few consequences. Cap. 224 already provides for a management committee, but many buildings have never properly constituted one.
The reform, as reported
As reported, the proposed law would give management committees formal legal standing, defined responsibilities and the authority to enforce decisions, collect common expenses and represent the building in legal proceedings. Confirm the detail once the bill is published.
In Domera today
Committee roles, decision records and expense approvals are recorded per building, and every change writes an audit trail entry naming who acted and when.
- 02
Mandatory reserve funds
The problem
Many buildings hold no reserve fund. When the roof, the lift or a structural element needs major work there is nothing set aside, so the committee raises a special levy, disputes follow and the work is delayed or abandoned. Cap. 224 obliges owners to contribute to common expenses but, as we read it, does not prescribe a funded reserve.
The reform, as reported
The proposal, as reported, would make a dedicated long-term maintenance fund compulsory, with contributions collected and held separately from day-to-day common expenses.
In Domera today
Reserve fund contributions are levied on their own schedule, monthly to annually, held in a ledger separate from common expenses, and shown as a distinct balance on every owner statement and in the owner portal.
- 03
Enforceable fee collection
The problem
Collection is the weak point of the current framework. An owner who does not pay shifts the cost onto those who do, and the committee's remedies are slow. Common expenses can remain unpaid for years while the building goes unmaintained.
The reform, as reported
The reform, as reported, aims at stronger collection mechanisms: pursuing arrears through the courts more readily and potentially restricting the transfer of a unit until outstanding common expenses are settled.
In Domera today
Reminders go out every week to each owner with a balance on their latest final statement, arrears are listed by owner, and an ownership transfer is blocked while the departing owner owes money. A clearance certificate records the position either way.
- 04
Stronger inspection and monitoring
The problem
Existing residential buildings in Cyprus are, as far as we can establish, not subject to a general statutory regime of periodic structural inspection; lifts and certain installations are inspected under separate rules. Structural problems are often found only after visible damage appears.
The reform, as reported
Industry voices are calling for mechanisms to check and monitor the suitability of existing buildings so that structural and safety risks are identified early. Who inspects, how often and at whose cost is not yet settled.
In Domera today
The compliance record schedules recurring inspections per building (structural, fire, electrical, lift and others), chains each next due date from the recorded inspection, files the certificate against the item and raises a task before the date arrives.
Action plan
What property managers should do now
None of these steps depends on the bill passing. Each one is defensible under the law as it stands and leaves a record you can show an owner, an insurer or an inspector.
- Set up a reserve fund now and levy it on a fixed schedule; do not wait for the law to compel it.
- Record every committee decision with the date, the attendees and the outcome.
- Send payment reminders on a schedule and write down the escalation steps for persistent arrears.
- Schedule and record periodic inspections (structural, fire, electrical, lift) and file each certificate against the item.
- Keep an audit trail for every financial entry, above all for reserve fund movements.
- Issue owner statements regularly, showing the common and the reserve balance separately.
- Store inspection reports, engineers' certificates and safety assessments digitally, attached to the item they evidence.
- Review the building's insurance cover against its current structural condition.
Beyond Cyprus
If you manage buildings elsewhere
The Cyprus debate is a local version of a European one. Every country with co-owned apartment buildings has had to decide whether a reserve is compulsory, whether the owners' body has legal personality and how arrears are enforced, and most have legislated. Germany's Wohnungseigentumsgesetz, reformed with effect from 1 December 2020, gives the community of owners legal capacity and requires an appropriate maintenance reserve (Erhaltungsrücklage) without, as we read it, prescribing the amount. Spain's Ley de Propiedad Horizontal requires a fondo de reserva of, as we read it, at least 10 % of the last ordinary budget. France's fonds de travaux sets a floor of 5 % of the budget prévisionnel for most copropriétés. Confirm the current figures with a local professional before you rely on them.
The principle underneath all of these is the same: a funded reserve, a body that can act and be held to account, a collection process that does not depend on goodwill, and an inspection record that a named person signs. If your building already has those four things, a change in the law is mostly a change in paperwork. The compliance record and the reserve fund ledger work the same way in every country Domera supports; only the catalogue of inspections and the intervals differ.