Common new-build defects in Cyprus: what inspectors find and why

What did one real inspection find?

Numbers first, from one home. A new house with a pool in Paphos district, inspected over two days in July 2026: 146 points in 22 areas, grouped into 19 findings. Four findings were urgent, 15 needed work, and 40 points were cosmetic (Etimo sample report). One house proves nothing about the market. It does show what a list looks like.

• Roof terrace: open gaps at the edges, cracks in the waterproofing layer, grout missing, tiles not fully bonded.
• Outside doors and windows: silicone missing, cracked or badly done at the entrance door, three glass doors and four windows.
• Two pipes with a burnt surface, one on the roof terrace and one on an outside wall.
• A loose top rail on a glass balcony railing.
• Grout missing or gapped in 11 floor areas, and air gaps under tiles in four rooms.
• Taps, basins and shower heads loose in all three bathrooms.
• A wire showing from a bathroom ceiling.

Why is water the main problem in Cyprus?

Three reasons that have to do with how the island builds. Roofs are flat concrete slabs, often tiled and used as terraces, so the roof is also a floor with furniture on it. Rain comes in a few heavy months and then not at all, so a weak membrane can go a whole summer unnoticed. And strong sun moves every joint, every day: sealants and grout on a south-facing terrace have a hard life.

The national numbers fit. In 2023, 32.1% of people in Cyprus lived in a home with a leaking roof, damp walls or rot, against 15.6% across the EU (Eurostat, ilc_mdho01). That figure covers homes of every age, not new ones only.

Which defects turn up on roofs, terraces and balconies?

• Falls that send water towards the door, or nowhere.
• Membrane not turned up the wall, or cut short at the threshold.
• Open joints at edge stones, upstands and around drains.
• Drains blocked with mortar from the tiling.
• Holes drilled through the waterproofing for railings, air-conditioning brackets or solar frames, and left unsealed.
• Thresholds level with the terrace, so driven rain comes in under the door.

Which defects turn up inside?

• Floor tiles that sound hollow. Large tiles laid on dabs of adhesive crack later under furniture.
• Shower floors with no fall to the drain.
• Doors that rub, locks that miss the keep, wardrobe doors out of line.
• Kitchen worktop joints left open next to the sink.
• Paint over dust, patches where a repair was touched up in another shade.
• Hairline cracks where block walls meet the concrete frame. Common, and usually a finishing matter.

Which defects turn up in the installations?

• Air-conditioning condensate pipes that end above a wall, a window or a neighbour’s balcony.
• Solar water heaters with uninsulated pipes or a weeping joint at the tank.
• Sockets without power, switches that work the wrong light, bare cable ends.
• Open pipe ends and missing drain covers.
• Pressure pumps that start every few seconds, a sign of a leak or a failed vessel.

The rules for these systems are tightening. Building permits applied for after 11 March 2026 need full mechanical studies, also for single-family homes, and the installations must be supervised and signed off by engineers at the end (Cyprus Mail, 18 Mar 2026). Homes permitted before that date were built under the older regime.

Which defects cost the most if they are missed?

The ones that are covered by something else afterwards. A failed membrane under a tiled terrace means lifting the tiles. A leaking joint inside a wall means opening the wall and replacing the tiles of the bathroom behind it. Compare that with a scratched door, which costs the same to fix in any month.

1. Urgent: anything that lets water in, lets water out, or could hurt someone. Fix before the next rain or before use.
2. Needs work: what stops a part of the home doing its job. Fix before you move in.
3. Cosmetic: what you see but can live with. Fix while the painter is still on site.

That is the order our reports use. It is also the order to press the developer in. More in getting snags fixed (How to get a developer to fix snags in Cyprus), and the whole process in the main guide (Snagging in Cyprus: the complete guide).

Questions buyers ask

More on new-build and off-plan and related guides

• From permit to title deed: how a new-build in Cyprus gets its papers
• Snagging in Cyprus: how to check a new home before you pay the balance
• New-build snagging checklist for Cyprus: what to check, room by room
• When to snag a new build in Cyprus: before handover or after the keys

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