The apartment building at 14 Piale Pasha Street has been deemed structurally sound, vindicating its refugee tenants.
In contrast to the estimates of civil engineers, the occupants insisted that the building does not face serious structural issues and could be maintained and operational.
As reported by philenews, the president of the Refugee Committee, AKEL MP Nikos Kettiros, who had requested a structural integrity study on behalf of the Committee, was duly informed that the building is ultimately not dangerous.
Consequently, it is estimated that the general maintenance process for the apartment building, situated in one of the sought-after areas of the city, will commence. Simultaneously, the path is cleared for issuing property titles to the refugees residing in it.
Under normal circumstances, title issuance was not possible because the apartment building, consisting of eight units, was Turkish Cypriot-owned. However, the Republic of Cyprus alienated the property on 31/3/2016, following a “friendly settlement” with the late Turkish Cypriot owner Mehmet Raghib Kenan.
The static condition of the apartment building and its overall appearance had, at times, concerned the Refugee Committee, whose members had received complaints about the prevailing conditions.
Until May 2022, maintenance work was being carried out by the Turkish Cypriot Properties Management Service, and financial assistance was provided to tenants on occasion to perform necessary repair work.
The situation in the apartment building was such that when, in 2019, the Larnaca District Administration, in collaboration with the Turkish Cypriot Properties Management Service, announced a tender for the execution of repair works on the building, no interest was expressed by contractors.
The works included the demolition of illegal structures on the roof, insulation of the roof, erection of a parapet or installation of a metal railing on the terrace and balconies, repair of cracks in walls and ceilings, repair or replacement of frames, restoration of the staircase plate, painting of common areas, as well as external works.
The Municipality of Larnaca announced the project “Restoration and Improvement of the Facades of the Buildings on Piale Pasha Street” on 01/07/2022.
The works included in the project are the landscaping of the facade and two side facades of the apartment building, as well as the demolition of the illegal structure on the roof.
As part of the effort, it was agreed that insulation work would be carried out by the Municipality of Larnaca immediately after the illegal structure on the roof is demolished, to avoid further damage to the ceilings of the top-floor apartments.
The cost will be covered by the Town Planning Department.
Therefore, the repair of the rear facade, common areas of the staircase, and the interior of the apartments are pending.
The maintenance works are expected to be included in the framework of the “ktiZO” Plan.
However, at least in terms of appearance, the apartment building did not inspire confidence. It is characteristic of the Mayor of Larnaca’s statement during the last meeting of the Refugee Committee in November, that if the building did not belong to the government, he would act as he does with other buildings in a similar condition.
In other words, legal action would be taken against the owner, namely the government.
He also stated that based on a “visual inspection” and without laboratory examination of parts of the apartment building, the building is deemed by the municipality’s engineers to face a serious safety and structural adequacy issue.
