What follows is a brief guide to the technicalities of buying property in Cyprus

These details are subject to change as Cyprus comes into line with EU procedures, however, having joined, exchange control restrictions no longer apply so this is one less factor to consider.

Once you’ve signed a contract for purchase, if the premises aren’t intended as a permanent residence, EU citizens must make an application to the District Office. Although this approval takes a while theres no restriction on taking possession of your property. You can also re-sell during this time. It does not affect your inheritance rights.

Once the contract is signed and stamped it must be sent to the Land Registry office within two months, together with payment of the stamp duty. This is a safety measure, blocking the property from being sold to anyone until the District Office’s approval is actually issued. This is when the Title Transfer Fee becomes payable.

Ownership of land is protected by the island’s very clear, British based land registry system and, historically the issuing of the Title Deeds by the central authorities has taken three to four years. However this is about to be sped up because the Government has realised that it doesn’t get the Title Transfer Fee until it issues the Title Deeds. As a result, they are understandably keen to recoup all the back tax.

This tax payable by the purchaser is 0.15% up to CYP£100,000 of value and then plus 0.2% for values in excess of this amount.

The Title Transfer Fee is payable by the purchaser on a graduated scale as follows:

However, because of a quirk in the local tax system, if a property is bought in joint names the tax is reduced significantly.

This is calculated on the market value of the property as at 11 January 1980 on a scale as follows:

Most houses show a minimum value and the tax is negligible. Roughly the Cypriot tax payable amounts to only CYP£60-150 per annum.

Wrapping up These procedures are there to ensure you are clear about your position and to ensure you have a hassle free experience of buying and owning a few years down the line.Generally, these laws are fair and no more complex than any other EU country and considerably simpler than some. All the property taxes put together represent a very small proportion of your actual purchase price.

Nobody likes long lists (apart from maybe Santa) but once you’ve got the idea, its very simple, and off course, we’re always on hand to help you go through these stages successfully.