Larnaca complex residents say rental ring still tapping water after deadly raid
A committee at the Filanta complex in Larnaca says a network renting out roughly 30 flats illegally reconnected stolen utilities this week, and that threats followed when residents intervened.
About 30 flats at the Filanta complex in Larnaca are being let out without the owners' knowledge by a group of foreign nationals, according to Marios Fotiou, who chairs the building's management committee. He told philenews that the group has been drawing power and water through cables connected straight to the meters, and that the supply was tapped once more on Monday.
Residents' complaints to police, the Aliens and Immigration Unit and other agencies have gone unanswered, Fotiou said, while crews hired by the committee twice pulled out the cables only to see them restored. The standoff follows a May 27 immigration operation at the complex in which one foreign national died and two were hurt after jumping from balconies.
A lawyer for the legal residents, Alexandros Clerides, has written to the justice minister, the chief of police, the migration and welfare authorities and local police, asking for an on-site operation to identify occupants and gather evidence.
What it means for residents
The dispute at the Larnaca block is a reminder that shared buildings can turn into a running cost for those who pay their bills properly, and that paperwork trails behind when a property is in liquidation.
- Check the bills. If a building loses a large share of its water, the shortfall is usually spread across the accounts of everyone connected, so residents should ask the committee for meter readings and supplier statements.
- Keep a paper trail. Reports to police or local government should be logged in writing with dates and reference numbers, as these can later support a formal complaint or a request for an inspection.
- Know who to call. Welfare and migration services, not just the police, can look into living conditions, and the district organisation that declared the building dangerous is the body to press for a safety order.
This text is written from the source article and is not a translation of it.
