Information for buyers: property purchase stages

Article 109 of the Law on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners regulates the purchase of real estate in Cyprus. The term “foreigner” includes all non-Cypriot citizens, both individuals and legal entities registered outside Cyprus, Cyprus international companies, as well as those managed and controlled by foreigners (possession of more than 50% of the shares).

A foreign individual may own one property (apartment, house on a plot not exceeding 4012 m2, or just a plot up to 4012 m2). Real property ownership permits are issued by the Council of Ministers, but the procedure is just a formality.

Legal protection of foreign investments, including the purchase of real estate, both new and resale, is provided by international agreements that have been signed and ratified by the Republic of Cyprus (for example, the World Bank Convention on the Resolution of Investment Disputes between States and Citizens of Different Countries, which has been ratified by the Law No. 64 of 1966 as part of Cyprus domestic legislation).

Title deeds certificate for villas in Cyprus

Title deeds is a certificate of title to property in Cyprus, which is issued by the Land Committee during the re-registration of real estate.
As a rule, obtaining a title when buying a new property can take up to 6 years, these are the peculiarities of the processing by the Land Registry. When buying a resale property, which is older than 6 years, special attention must be paid to the presence of the title, and in case of its lack, it is important to find out why it still has not been issued.

Title verification verifies the following:

1. The identity of the property (in other words, the identity of the certificate number and the location of the property)

The certificate number and the property scheme/plan are unique and allow to distinguish one property from another. The location of the property is indicated in the upper left corner of the certificate, while the certificate number and scheme/plan are indicated in the upper right corner. The area of ​​the property in square meters is indicated on the left side. In Cyprus the old title deeds certificate (mostly for resale objects) might specify property area in donums and evleks (donum equals 1338 square meters and evlek equals 334.5 square meters).

The title deeds of the apartment also includes the number of the door and the floor of the building where the apartment is located. In the recently issued titles, area of ​​an apartment and area of a covered veranda are indicated separately.

2. The owner of real estate

As it was earlier mentioned, an individual or a legal entity can own property. The title deeds certificate includes the ID number of the owner. If ownership belongs to several legal entities, the number under which they are registered in the company registration office is indicated.

The share belonging to the owner is indicated on the left side of his name, for example, ½, ¼, 32/74, etc.

The procedure for the acquisition of new or resale properties in Cyprus:

The first step is to make a deposit, which usually equals 1-2% of the total transaction amount. Further, the lawyer accompanying the transaction prepares a Purchase and Sale Agreement, at the same time he checks whether there are any encumbrances for the property (in case of absence of title deeds). The sales agreement should include the full details of the parties, complete information about the property being acquired with a topographic plan and other specific details attached, the amount of the transaction, payments’ deadlines, the consequences of non-fulfillment of the contract clauses.

The lawyer registers the contract with the Land Committee, and the buyer must pay Stamp Duty and Permission Fee from the Council of Ministers.

Payment for the property can be made either directly to the owner or through the client’s account of the lawyer accompanying the transaction.

Our highly qualified employees accompany their clients at all stages of the purchase of real estate, as well as its further registration. We guarantee high-quality service, professional approach, as well as absence of hassle when buying and registering both new from the developer and resale real estate in Cyprus.