Exclusive use does not make the roof yours: it stays common property of the block. Panels on it need the consents that the building’s regulations and the law require.
Klitos Platis, advocate
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klitos@kleanthousplatis.com
You are buying, or already own, a flat whose papers give it exclusive use of the roof, and you want photovoltaic panels up there. Two questions decide it: whose roof is it, and who has to agree before the panels go on.
The answers are in the Part of the Immovable Property Law, Cap. 224, on jointly owned buildings, in the model regulations attached to it, in section 3 of the Streets and Buildings Regulation Law, Cap. 96, and in section 38 of Law 107(I)/2022 on renewable energy. At the end we set out what to check before you buy and how to go about the consents.
Exclusive use is a right to use the roof, not to own it
The roof stays common property of the whole block. A building of at least five units is a jointly owned building (section 38Β), and its common property is every part that is not registered as a unit (section 38Α). That common property belongs to all the unit owners together, in undivided shares (section 38ΣΤ(1)).
A defined part of it may be granted for the exclusive use of one flat. The Law calls that part limited common property, and it must be described specifically in the flat’s registration. Three consequences follow:
- The others still own it with you. Exclusive use gives you the use of the roof; it does not take the roof out of the common property.
- It goes with the flat. Every sale or other disposal of the flat includes it without express mention (section 38ΣΤ(3)).
- It cannot be sold apart from the flat. A dealing with the limited common property separately from the unit is void.
Exclusive use lets you use the roof. It does not let you treat it as part of your flat.
Where the right has to be written down
Check that the exclusive use appears on the title deed, not only in the sale contract. Under section 38ΣΤ(2), the title certificate of a unit states any limited common property granted to it. Where the building has no separate titles yet, look at the division permit: section 3(1Α) of Cap. 96 requires it to specify the common areas with exclusive rights of use for each unit.
A right that appears only in the developer’s sale contract is a promise the developer must still carry through to the permit and the registration. It matters for the roof in particular. The owners of at least 75% may later designate part of the common property as limited common property, but section 38ΣΤ excludes from that the stairs, the roof, the foundations, the main walls, the lifts, the corridors and the spaces serving the owners. A decision in breach is void, and nothing is registered under it.
Panels on the roof need consent, even on a roof only you use
Panels are equipment placed on common property, so the building has a say. The model regulations in the Annex to Cap. 224 are clear on two points:
- No interference with common property. Subject to his rights over limited common property granted to his flat, no owner moves, replaces or interferes with any part of the common property (Regulation 7(γ)).
- No device without the Committee’s consent. Without the prior consent of the Management Committee, no owner or occupier places an aerial, a wire, a pole “or any other device or object” on any external part of the building or any part of the common property (Regulation 8(ιδ)).
Your building may have its own regulations. Owners of at least 75% can make and amend them (section 38ΙΘ(2)), and once registered they bind every owner and every later owner (section 38Κ(1)). Read them before anything is bought or installed: they may deal with the roof expressly.
For solar panels the law sets the bar at 75%, not at unanimity. Section 38(2)(β) of Law 107(I)/2022 provides that, notwithstanding any other Law, an installation producing renewable electricity for self-consumption in a common area of a building or block of flats, for the needs of the building or its units, may go ahead with the consent of the owners of 75% of the property. The condition is that it does not affect the comfortable enjoyment of the other owners.
The building permit
The permit exemption for panels on an existing building is for a single owner. Section 3(1) of Cap. 96 forbids an alteration or addition to an existing building without a permit. One proviso frees panels on the shell of an existing building from that, but only where the building belongs to one owner, or to spouses or civil partners.
For an existing building with more than one owner, the next proviso sends the matter to section 38(2)(β) of Law 107(I)/2022, which is the 75% consent above. A later proviso then deems the permit issued, where one is required for self-consumption panels on the roof of a building, if the conditions of a decree of the Minister under section 4Β are met. Those conditions are technical, and your installer or engineer should confirm in writing that the system meets them. Our article on the rules for solar self-consumption sets out the rest of the energy framework.
When equipment goes up without the right to put it there
A court can order it taken down. The Management Committee enforces the regulations and may sue in any matter concerning the common property (section 38ΚΣΤ). The courts have long treated equipment placed on a roof without the right to place it as a trespass.
In P & A Enterprises (Larnaca) Ltd v. Louis Tourist Agency Ltd (1987) 1 CLR 142, tenants of the lower floors of a building put an aerial on the terrace at the top without the consent of those in possession of it. The Supreme Court found nothing in the lease and nothing in the law that allowed it, held it a trespass under the Civil Wrongs Law, Cap. 148, and granted an injunction. The case predates the present Part of Cap. 224, but the lesson carries: put the consent in writing before the panels go up.
What this means in practice
Before you buy, read the title and the permit for the roof. The exclusive use should be stated on the title certificate or, where there are no titles yet, in the division permit. If it is only in the contract, ask how and when it will be registered, and make the contract say what happens if it is not. Our property due diligence covers these checks before you pay.
Ask for the regulations and the register of decisions. Registered regulations and the decisions entered in the register bind you as a later owner, and any owner may inspect the register (sections 38Κ and 38Λ). They tell you whether the roof is dealt with, and what the Committee has already decided.
Get the consents in writing before the installation. Ask the Management Committee for its consent to the position and the fixing of the panels, and, for the system itself, the written consent of the owners of 75% under Law 107(I)/2022. A short note of the decision, entered in the register, protects you and whoever buys the flat from you.
Already installed without consent? Talk to the Committee before it talks to a court. A consent given now and recorded properly is the simpler route. The costs of the common property, including the roof, are explained in our article on common expenses and communal areas.
Questions we are asked
Do I need the other owners’ consent to put solar panels on a roof I have exclusive use of?
Usually some consent is needed, even though only you use the roof. The roof remains common property, and under Regulation 8(ιδ) of the model regulations in Cap. 224 no owner places a device on common property without the prior consent of the Management Committee. For a solar installation in a common area of a block of flats, Law 107(I)/2022 sets the consent of the owners of 75% of the property. Your building’s own registered regulations may say more, so read them first.
Can the other owners give my flat exclusive use of the roof later?
Not by a later decision of the owners. Section 38ΣΤ of Cap. 224 allows a later designation of limited common property by owners of 75%, but excludes the roof, the stairs, the foundations, the main walls, the lifts and the corridors. A decision in breach is void and nothing is registered under it.
Does the exclusive use pass to the buyer when I sell the flat?
Yes. Under section 38ΣΤ(3) of Cap. 224, every disposal of the unit includes the limited common property granted to it without express mention, and a dealing with it separately from the flat is void. It cannot be sold on its own.
Do I need a building permit for panels on the roof of a block of flats?
The exemption for panels on the shell of an existing building applies only where the building belongs to one owner, or to spouses or civil partners. For a building with more than one owner, Cap. 96 refers to the 75% consent route of Law 107(I)/2022. Where a permit is required for self-consumption panels on a roof, the Law deems it issued if the conditions of a ministerial decree are met, which your installer should confirm in writing.
What should my first message say?
Whether you own the flat or are buying it, whether the building has title deeds, what the title or the sale contract says about the roof, and whether the building has a Management Committee and registered regulations. A copy of the title or the clause is enough to start.
Can you act for me if I am abroad?
Yes. We act regularly for clients who live outside Cyprus, by email, telephone and video call, and a great deal can be carried out at a distance where the law allows it, including through a power of attorney drafted for the specific transaction.
Sources
- Immovable Property (Tenure, Registration and Valuation) Law, Cap. 224, consolidated text, sections 38Α, 38Β, 38Δ, 38ΣΤ, 38ΙΘ, 38Κ, 38ΚΣΤ and 38Λ, and the model regulations in the Annex, Regulations 7 and 8, CyLaw
- Streets and Buildings Regulation Law, Cap. 96, consolidated text, section 3(1) and its provisos, and section 3(1Α), CyLaw
- Law 107(I)/2022 on the promotion and encouragement of the use of renewable energy sources, consolidated text, section 38(2)(β), CyLaw
- P & A Enterprises (Larnaca) Ltd v. Louis Tourist Agency Ltd (1987) 1 CLR 142, Civil Appeal 6840, Supreme Court of Cyprus
Need advice on your own matter?
Your first message costs nothing: within one working day we tell you whether we can help and what it would cost.
klitos@kleanthousplatis.com
Kleanthous & Platis LLC Registered law company Cyprus Bar Association HE 441973
Further reading
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws and their application can change, and individual circumstances differ. For advice on your own matter, contact Klitos Platis at klitos@kleanthousplatis.com.
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