Communal Fees in Cyprus
Do you own an apartment in a building complex in Cyrus? If you do, then you would have to pay communal fees. You’ll be required to pay these charges the moment you take delivery of your apartment. In case you are wondering why you should pay these fees, the fees are required by the management committee of the jointly-owned building for the up-keep, operations, and repairs of the shared facilities and assets. Does this mean that communal fees are limited to apartment owners is jointly-owned buildings alone? No, the fees are also payable in diverse kinds of building complexes where the property owners share facilities, such as tennis courts, and swimming pools.
Believe it or not, the communal fees payable by buyers of these jointly-owned buildings are to their advantage. Because of these communal fees, they can ensure that the shared facilities in their building complexes are well maintained and well taken care of. In the event of damage or fault, communal fees will be used for repairs and restoration of the facilities. Consequently, the occupants of these building complexes will be able to maintain and possibly improve their quality of life.
What should be covered in the communal fees
- Communal areas and fixed assets
If you are obtaining an apartment in building complexes where occupants share staircases, corridors, pathways, and roads on private development, you’ll have to pay communal fees on such areas. You should know, however, that the communal fees payable on these fixed assets may vary slightly depending on the operating cost of the area itself.
- The building complex
In Cyprus, it is rare for individual blocks within a complex to be treated as separate entities. As a result, building complexes that have their roofs marked as communal assets will almost certainly attract communal fees. These fees will protect the roof against water damage and other possible issues. General renovations of the building complex exterior may also come within this remit.
- Utilities
In building complexes where occupants share utilities such as electricity, in the stairwells, passageways, and around the building, apartment owners will have to pay a separate energy bill. Communal fees are also payable when utilities such as water are shared by occupants in the building. For instance, you’ll be required to pay communal fees on the shared shower, taps, and water fed to the communal pool.
- Elevators
Elevators have become an integral part of most apartment blocks in Cyprus. This comes as no surprise, as most of these buildings are occupied by elderly individuals. Elevators have high maintenance demands, safety issues, and power consumption, and as such, will attract substantial communal fees.
Other payable areas include
- Cleaning of communal areas
- General maintenance
How to calculate communal fees
All things considered, there is just one way to calculate the communal charges that you are liable for when you purchase an apartment unit in Cyprus. You’ll estimate the communal charge based on the relative size of each unit (in square meters). This will include the covered and uncovered areas of the verandas and balconies and the enclosed area of the unit itself.
All Rights Reserved C.N. Property Canvas Ltd. Any unauthorised copying, reproduction and broadcasting is strictly prohibited.
Author: Christos Nikolaou
BEng Mechanical Engineering, MSc Real Estate, ETEK Property Valuer, Register and Licensed Real Estate Agent.Christos Nikolaou is the founder and Managing Director of Property Canvas, he holds a license as an Estate Agent from the Association of Real Estate Agents of Cyprus and he is a registered Property Valuer in the Technical and Scientific Chamber of Cyprus (ETEK). He is the author of our “Communal Fees in Cyprus” and is a certified advance negotiator.
