June 30 they expire … the elevators – a fine of up to 60,000 for those who do not certify them
On the brink of … nervous crisis today there are thousands of property managers and property owners across the country due to the expiration of the deadline for the certification and registration of elevators in the relevant municipalities.
This is because non -compliance with the foreseen results in high fines that can reach up to 60,000 euros.
The deadline (after many extensions given) expires on June 30, 2025, with a fairly possible, de facto extension. But the problem, according to sources who know the issue well, is not only whether or not a new extension will be given.
The need to comply with the new security requirements opens a new cycle of problems that have – and – with the poor financial situation of apartment buildings where too many tenants pay neither the communal nor agree to the General Assemblies, so managers cannot run the process …
POMIDA has already requested a new extension of the deadline, a request that is agreed by the Communist Party Association – representing communal management companies and supporting apartment buildings across the country.
Only 10% -15% have been checked and certified
It is indicative, according to the same sources, that today the percentage of lifts that have been controlled and certified throughout the country does not exceed 10% to 15%. In addition, no one knows the exact number of lifts in Greece. The estimate is that they range between 400,000 and 700,000!
Whether or not a new extension is given, however, does not negate the obligation to control and certify the lifts, because if not given, the owners and administrators are at risk of fines that may reach, as mentioned above, and 60,000 euros. For this reason there is a sharp increase in demand for controls, upgrading and registration work of lifts.
It is noted that while the registration of the certified lifts in the electronic « single lift register » of the country has been established (article 52 of Law 4961/2022), however, the register has not been activated, resulting in the old bureaucratic process of registration of elevators.
One of the causes of the problem is that, as the POMIDA President, Stratos Paradias, the accredited bodies that can provide lift control and certification services are specific and few, have serious restrictions on the number of checks that can be carried out each day and to be carried out each day, lifts all over the country.
To facilitate the « TA NEWS » managers and owners in cooperation with POMIDA, they present a list of accredited bodies that provide Lift Control and Certification Services, based on the details requested and provided by the National Accreditation Council (ESYD) and the Hellenic Association.
In the meantime, another field of controversy in apartment buildings has to do with the cost of checking and certification of lifts as the relevant costs for control, interventions or even replacement of old technology lifts can reach or even exceed 5,000 euros, depending on the accredited entities.
Legally these expenses are considered common burdens. The lift apartment buildings contain a special millimeter panel per apartment, according to which the tenants of the upper floors are more burdened, while the ground floor and shops that do not use an elevator are exempt.
The non -timely issuance or renewal of a certificate results in a fine of EUR 1,500 per owner or manager. In cases of serious violations, fines are increasing drastically: from EUR 6,000 to EUR 9,000 for illegal electricity, EUR 1,500 to 15,000 euros for maintenance omissions and up to 60,000 euros in an accident due to a lift without permission or violated seals.
