Title deeds debacle

I don't (yet) own property in Cyprus - and possibly never will. However, it's been common knowledge to anyone who's done their homework in the last 30 or 40 years that it's not a safe place for the unwary buyer, and that sellers, agents, builders - and lawyers - are not always to be trusted.  It must be galling to be taken for a ride, but isn't it the case that some people let their enthusiasm for their "dream home" run away with them and skip the due diligence that's essential when they're laying out substantial sums?

Sorry for the short reply: I need to get down to Western Union smartish - my long-lost Nigerian uncle is waiting for my final payment in order to process the inheritance....

There are many pitfalls to be aware of in property purchase not just deeds..

Clean deeds

Grey deeds

Do you own the land

Do you own the property

Do you own both

Do the land boundaries match the land registry record.

Are there additions to the property are they approved and legal

Are there things missing from the property, IE planning permission approvals given not started or completed and conversely items started and completed and not approved.

Have all communal fees been paid by seller, they are often left unpaid by seller as currently there is no law to enforce that disclosure during the sale transaction. That omission is to be corrected in new draft IPL

Identifying property as being on a complex isn't necessarily easy it may not be obvious. IE some properties have their own pools but may still be in a complex with a communal pool and gardens which will make one liable to communal fees.

If buying on a complex with communal fees payable ..always check the state of the accounts it's not always clear in terms of debts ie the levels of unpaid debts, empty property's  etc and can and often does lead to payers covering non payers  debts as is required by IPL for jointly owned properties. Ask the seller for the latest set of GDPR Accounts. If refused walk away.

Check condition and age of communal services such as sewage systems, lifts and pool liners/tiles and  skimmers pumps etc ..get a good survey done if the communal areas are not upto scratch

Is the sewage system the one that was approved for the development

Are the communal pools legal

Are the fire doors legal

Are there any outstanding works of the project. IE incomplete roads and lighting that the municipality are not responsible for

That's just for starters..am sure there will be others I haven't come across.

Sounds rather like here in Bulgaria, although I could add quite a few other points to ponder!

@JimJ

And why not ..forewarned is forearmed

@Toon

Mainly because some of the things that happen here are probably regarded as beyond the pale, even for Cyprus...

Never use a developers lawyer.ALWAYS USE A TOTALLY INDEPENDENT LAWYER... not linked in any way by family or friends of builder developer etc

Land on which that the property you are buying may already have mortgages in it ... collateral for other loans!!!!!

Interesting Article

Do your due diligence check everything then double check, and check again..... There are good lawyers and an awful lot of bad ones. Check out other buyers recommendations.

Never ever use the same lawyer as the seller...a good lawyer will immediately disclose they are already engaged by and acting for the seller

https://www.mondaq.com/cyprus/real-esta … -in-cyprus

Title deeds amnesty.....

Article by Nigel. Howarth Cyprus Property News

Cyprus Property News.... Planning amnesty has very limited scope

Cyprus Planning Amnesty Letter

Earlier this week, I wrote a letter to the Cyprus Mail about the Planning Amnesty, which they kindly published earlier today.

They titled my letter ‘Title deed amnesty has very limited scope‘, which I’ve republished below.

I was quite excited when I read “Buildings amnesty approved, thousands to receive title deeds”, which was published in the Cyprus Mail Friday, September 13. At last, I thought, the government’s got a grip on sorting out the mess with illegal constructions and tainted title deeds.

However, on second thoughts, as the article was published on Friday 13th, I should have known better!

The amnesty has very limited scope. The most glaring omission is that only foreigners with Alien Registration Certificates (ARC) can apply as the online application system (Ippodamos) requires foreign applicants to enter their ARC number.

So what about non-Cypriots with holiday homes who are not permanent residents? Why has the system been designed prevent a sizable proportion of non-Cypriots benefitting from the amnesty? Is this a cunning plan by the government to reduce the workload on civil servants?

And what about the non-ARC holding foreigners who have title deeds, but who are unable to sell their properties because building irregularities have resulted in tainted title deeds? It’s also worth noting that the amnesty doesn’t include a large number of irregularities that result in a tainted title deed.

From the many emails I receive, similar to Lionel Grancourt’s letter “Victim of the title deed nightmare”, which was published in the Mail on August 4, shoddy work by property developers is the overwhelming cause for building irregularities, which the amnesty attempts to correct.

Does the government really believe that developers responsible for planning irregularities will be willing to pay to get them legitimised, bearing in mind that these developers have sold the properties and banked the proceeds?

The government needs to think again!

Here’s a few of the issues the Planning Amnesty fails to address:

Unfinished/lack of roads and/or pavements

Unfinished/lack of green area

Unfinished/lack of surface water drainage

Parking spaces configured incorrectly

Lack of disabled parking spaces

Lifts not installed according to the permit

Balcony railing heights built less than 1.1m from the parapet

Electricity sub station built in wrong place

Boundary walls too high

Access in wrong place

Lack of sewage green card

Final approval certificate not issued

Communal facilities not inspected

Nowhere to keep rubbish bins and/or not enough bins

Swimming pool changing rooms and facilities not built according to permit

Properties built facing wrong direction

Street lighting not installed

Parking areas blocked in and covered

Biological sewerage systems not installed as required by permit

Buildings failing to meet fire regulations

Buildings encroach on land belonging to someone else

In 2011 the Immovable Property Law, CAP. 224, was amended to prohibit the owner of a property from transferring or mortgaging their property if its Title Deed had been issued with a ‘Certificate of Unauthorised Works‘.

A note to this effect was added on the property’s Title Deed, thereby making the property effectively worthless on the open market.

A Certificate of Unauthorised Works indicates that a property suffers from serious planning infringements which, in the main, have been caused by shoddy or incomplete building work. When the serious planning infringements have been corrected, the owner can apply to have the prohibition removed and thereby have a ‘clean’ Title Deed issued..

Some infringements, such as a balcony’s balustrade/guardrail/railing being too low, failing to comply with fire regulations, etc. have serious health and safety implications. Others, such as a lack of a green area, are less significant and generally pose no danger.

Although a ‘blighted’ property could not be transferred or mortgaged, it could be left to someone in a Will (transferred by inheritance) or donated to a close family relative.

In my opinion, this change in the law was a positive move as it prevented unscrupulous vendors dumping their worthless and possibly dangerous properties onto their unsuspecting buyers while retaining responsibility for sorting out the mess they created.

(The recently announced ‘Building Amnesty‘ may help those with a ‘blighted’ property overcome a small number of planning infringements.)

Government’s temporary Title Deed ‘amnesty’

Earlier today I learnt that the Government introduced a temporary amendment to the law (Law 54(I)/2021) – effectively an amnesty – that permitted the registered owner of the property (in most cases the developer who built it) to transfer and/or mortgage it despite the fact that the property had been issued with a Certificate of Unauthorised Works.

This temporary amendment/amnesty came into force on 14th April 2021 and ended on 31st December 2021.

The government’s motive for introducing this temporary amendment/amnesty is open to speculation.

Regardless of the government’s motive, I suspect that during this time, unscrupulous property developers (and others) managed to offload their ‘blighted’ properties onto unsuspecting buyers.

If you have the Title Deed for the property you purchased, it’s easy to check if your property’s ‘blighted’ with a ‘Certificate of Unauthorised Works’.

How to check your Title Deed

Your Title Deed will be in the Greek language. Look though your deed to see if it contains the Greek text shown in the image below, where you’ll also find an English translation. (The smudged text is the Certificate of Unauthorised Works’ reference.)

Certificate of Unauthorised Works

What to do next

If your property has been issued with a Certificate of Unauthorised Works, you can visit the local Planning Authority to discover the scope and severity of the infringements.

If you bought an apartment or a property on a development, it’s extremely likely that others on the development have the same problem (although some of them may not have a Title Deed as the law protected them when the Deed became available for transfer.)

I know people who have clubbed together and paid for the work needed to resolve the planning infringements; understandably, others are reluctant to do so.

A second option is to club together and investigate the possibility of suing the vendor.

There is a third option if a bank has foreclosed one or more of the properties on your development.

Source Cyprus Property News

Cyprus property gets ever more attractive to those of us living in other parts of the EU! 😂