New Decree to Ease the Pain of ‘Trapped Buyers’

Buying or selling property in Cyprus is safe.  The property ownership is one the fundamental rights enshrined in the Cyprus Constitution.  The ‚Trapped Buyers‘ issue arose when the middle men, in this case some of Cyprus property developers, decided to build what suited them.   Short on compliance or due diligence,  some developers followed their own agenda and built what they wanted and not was approved on the Building Permit.

One of the most punishing laws was the non-issue of Certificate of Approvals,  where authorities found any  ‚irregularities‘ in design or construction.  The Certificate of Approval is only granted when the project/building, etc,  is in fact built to specification shown in the Building Permit.

As the Certificate of Approval is one of the major requirement for the issue of the  Title Deeds,  many buyers have found themselves in the ‘trapped buyers’ category.  New  government initiatives in Cyprus slowly but surely  are building solid bridges to smooth  property transfers and to ease the pain surrounding the issuance of the Certificate of Approval.

To ease the problem, way back in 2013 the government has introduced a raft of  new laws whereby various degrees of developer’s ‚misdemeanours‘ could be ‘cancelled’ for a fee.  For the sake of getting their Title Deeds,  many buyers have settled with authorities even paying for the construction of roads and pavements, at their own costs.

Thankfully, on the 3rd June, 2016  the Interior Minister ISSUED A NEW DECREE which allows planning irregularities to be ‚excused‘ enabling Certificates of Approval to be issued, and the road to secure the Title Deeds to their properties is so much closer for many.   This has a “retroactive effect“ covering all past pending cases, ensuring that the variety of „deviations“ will not prevent the certification process,  leaving the door open to secure the Title Deeds.

This decree is helping solve the riddle of planning irregularities and brings many so much closer to getting their Title Deeds. For many a ‚trapped buyers‘  this  is a welcome news indeed. Importantly, this initiative will have an enourmous positive effect on the growth of the Cyprus property market.