Balcony collapse in Limassol renews calls for dangerous-building law changes

Limassol, Cyprus. The technical chamber, Etek, expects revised legislation on dangerous buildings by the end of the year, secretary general Andreas Theodotou said on Friday. His comments followed the collapse of a fifth-floor balcony onto the flat below in a Limassol building on Thursday.

Residents evacuated

Civil Defence evacuated all 56 apartments in the building, part of the Rousos Olympic Palace complex at the corner of Georgios Katsounotos and Christodoulos Hadjipavlou streets. Tenants were moved to alternative accommodation while the owners of the affected flats arrange for a civil engineer to assess and repair the building.

Theodotou said the collapse was concerning because the building had already been declared dangerous and legal proceedings were under way. Limassol EOA chairman Yiannis Tsouloftas said another balcony had collapsed there in 2022. He said the property was listed as dangerous and a solicitor’s office had been assigned to proceed with evacuation orders.

About 1,100 buildings are currently listed as dangerous in Limassol.

Proposed legal changes

Theodotou said discussions on amending the roads and buildings regulations law began before the House interior committee in early September. The aim is to give EOAs greater powers to act quickly, including sealing a building or carrying out work when necessary. Under current law, he said, they cannot act without the owner’s consent.

He said funding must also be addressed so organisations can pay for evacuation or repairs upfront and recover the costs from owners where necessary. He welcomed Interior Minister Constantinos Iannou’s willingness to allocate a budget for that purpose.