Property Lawyers in Cyprus – Review – Cyprus Title Deed Reform – Completed 10th May 2011.

At long last the Cyprus Title Deed legislation has been passed.

Hip Hip Horary…!

After many years of laying dormant resulting in the cause of major back log in the issuing of title deeds and even bigger disasters for some investors the fight for title deed reform has paid off.

Mr Syliotis the Cyprus interior Minister has fought tooth and nail since the title deed issue came to light in devising and getting passed new title deed legislation and now we have it.

The New Cyprus Title deed Town Planning Amnesty Law.

Hallelujah!!!

It has been a long hard slog and our office has also put a lot of effort in to the fight for title deed reform from writing to MPs and visiting the Interior minister himself and we are so happy the time has come.

The new legislation will help new and existing property owners and also push developers to fulfil all their obligations in order for the investors to gain their title deeds.

There are over 120.000 title deed applications that will now be rushed through and title deeds granted. This is not only good news for the property owner but also for the government as it will bring in thousands in extra revenue for the country.

Any new applications deposited within 2 years of this new law will benefit from a reduction in transfer fees of up to 20%. So now is a great time to get your application in.

We are ecstatic with the news not only will this help thousands of existing and new Cyprus property owners it we hope restore investors confidence in the Cyprus property market.

We have our fingers crossed our market will return and thrive once again and we will continue to put in the same effort in promoting our property market as we did in the fight for title deeds.

It is all up hill from here on in for Cyprus.

We would like to thank Mr Syliotis for his efforts and a job well done!

PUBLISHED BY A&G KOUZALI LAW OFFICE ON 1211TH MAY 2011.

Cyprus Property lawyers – review – Cyprus Title Deed Reform Delays

After all the controversy over the title deed issues, and the urgency in devising the 5 new legislations to form a new title deed procedure, we are still no closer to a solution.

We have to however, respect the efforts of Mr Syliotis Cyprus Interior Minister as his efforts towards this issue have been outstanding.  It may have been along time coming but since the controversy broke out Mr Syliotis really has tired his best to have this matter resolved as quickly as possible.

Mr Syliotis recently slammed the house of parliament claiming MPs were delaying the legislation. We for one are outraged that further delays are evident.  Why would MPs want to delay this strategy from coming into effect as soon as possible? What possible valid reason is there for not wanting to put public outrage to rest?

Last year we were waiting in anticipation for the 5 legislations to be passed then to be told there was a delay due to imperfections in the bills and discussions would resume after the summer break in September.

We are now in April 2011 and low and behold we are once again being told 2 of the 5 bills are still not ready.

This is very hard to conceive. The new reform will not only help many thousands of homeowners, clear the back log of deposited application and issue thousands of title deeds, but it will also bring in hundreds of thousands of euros each year helping the Cyprus economy.

We are asking the MPs outright what is the reasoning behind this we would like to know?

We would like to thank Mr Syliotis for his efforts. We feel he is the only politician who really tries to do something!  We support him and we will continue the fight for Cyprus Title Deed Reform until public justice prevails.

PUBLISHED BY A&G KOUZALI LAW OFFICE

Guaranteeing Your Investment

Cyprus Title Deeds one of the most controversial property issues in Cyprus.  No one knows this better than A&G Kouzali Law Office based on the East Coast of Cyprus.  As one of the leading Cyprus Property Law Departments we have first hand knowledge of all property issues that may arise.  Which is why we strongly advise for you to appoint a local lawyer to undertake all the necessary searches and due diligence concerning your dream investment. Prevention is better than cure! For all you property needs contact the experts today. http://www.lawcyprus.org/areas-of-practice/cyprus-title-deeds/

Cypriot Lawyers – Help and information on How To Get Title Deeds in Cyprus.

Fact is, A&G Kouzali Law Office is renowned for their fight for Title Deed Reform in Cyprus. Therefore, if you are looking for quality and expert advice on Cyprus Title Deeds A&G Kouzali Law Firm in Paralimni Cyprus are the right Legal Representatives for you. No matter of your query or type of service you require we will assist you. Whether it be advice or a lawsuit we are the best company to deal with your case.

Read more – How To Get Title Deeds in Cyprus.

Information on: How Can My Developer Claim My Cyprus Title Deeds

Lawyers in Cyprus A&G Kouzali offers free advice on developers claiming your Title Deeds.  Check out their website or contact the office directly for more information.  Do not fall prey to the already existing horror stories, when this can be avoided by appointing expert legal advice before hand.  Make sure your investment is protected and you fulfil all your legal obligations.  We will guide you from the very beginning even while in the thought process. Read more How Can My Developer Claim My Cyprus Title Deeds

Review – Cyprus Title Deed Investigation

The Title Deed issue in Cyprus has been quiet of late! Maybe this is because we are waiting for the government to solve the new Title Deed Legislation or maybe it is because all the relevant property officials are stepping up their acts in order to keep publicity to a minimum.

Whatever the reason this may soon change as the Vice President of Cyprus has applied to the European Union asking them to intervene in the Cyprus Title Deed problem.

The Vice President would like members of the European Commission to preside over a meeting ‘so to speak’ in order to hear all the facts and investigate the Title Deed issue.

Under an EU directive that relates to consumer protection against commercial practices within the EU, of which incorporates immovable property, the European Union has every right to intervene.

In simple terms many properties in Cyprus are being sold to consumers by property professionals, with the full knowledge that there are still loans outstanding against the said properties potential putting investors at risk and not being able to acquire Title Deeds to their investment.

Under the EU Directive this could be seen as ‘misrepresentation’ and there fore in breach of EU laws.  It is not clear yet if the EU will intervene and conduct an investigation although we actually hope that this does prevail.

The local government do not seem capable of correcting this issue themselves so maybe a higher power will do the world of good.  It appears we really are getting no where with the Title Deed problem, parliament have not as yet passed any legislation even though this was a matter of urgency, so bringing in the EU to get to the bottom of it all we feel will only do good and also put further pressure on the Cypriot government.

We ourselves will continue to make the public aware of the dangers and safety procedures for buying a Cyprus property and continue to push the fact that due diligence must be performed before any monies are handed over.

We will continue to urge potential investors to appoint a Cypriot Lawyer before taking any steps in to their potential investment and we will continue the fight for Title Deed Reform as well as helping existing investors.

PUBLISHED BY A&G KOUZALI LAW OFFICE

Cyprus Title Deed Status Included In Sales Is Good Move But Always Take Caution Advise Cypriot Lawyers

Cypriot lawyers – Review – Developers and Title Deed status – 2nd October 2010.

The Cyprus Title Deed issue has scared a lot of investors away and to try and revive the markets developers are offering their properties with title deeds included in the sale.  But investors should be very cautious of this!!!

Title Deeds can only be issued when all loans on the development have been paid, all transfer taxes have been paid and the certificate of final approval has been issued.

The property must be clear from all loans used against it by the developer this is a prerequisite for all investors.

It is a good incentive that due diligence reports and accounts are being offered but it is imperative that you ask an independent Cypriot lawyer to conduct a due diligence on the development also.

A lot of lessons have been learned through the whole Title Deed publicity both from the investors and the developers and while the majority of developers offer good and clean projects there are still 1 or 2 that will still try to cut corners, and these are the ones we have to look out for, so your Cyprus Lawyer is as important as ever.

While the government and Parliament are still toying with the new title deed legislation it is still widely viewed that this will not help the existing investors who have already encountered problems gaining their title deeds.  We expect a large influx of existing investors wanting to take their cases to court as this is the most viable option available to them.  This is what they have had to resort to.

The only positive to have come out of the title deed fiasco is firstly, developers have to offer good clean bills of sale, and all searches must be clear of debt. Secondly, when the government pass the legislation it will give potential investors security.

We understand this has come way to late and should of been addressed many years ago as our office did, but all we can do now is the very best we can in helping the existing problematic cases of which we are already addressing at out Famagusta Law office, and look forward to a clean and debt free Cyprus Property Market.

Just to iterate on the above please do not be taken in by what a developer has to say or any documents presented to you by the developer.  The only way you can possibly be protected is if you consult an independent Cypriot Lawyer to conduct a full due diligence on the intended property investment.

Prevention is the only cure!

At the same time we applaud all the developers who have taken heed and are now operating by the Cyprus and law and the Cyprus people.

PUBLISHED BY A&G KOUZALI LAW OFFICE ON 2ND OCTOBER 2010. http://www.lawcyprus.org/

Legal Consultants in Paralimni – Review – Title Deed Reform Delay – Completed on 28^th July 2010. Cyprus Title Deeds

There are many angry people over the Cyprus Title Deed legislation being delayed. The Government has made a lot of promises to the public and had failed to follow through on these.

It has been reported that the delay is due to lack of information not being given to the relevant officials, and therefore these officials have no recollection of them.

However, the Minister believes that all details were discussed and agreed up on and therefore were ready to go to the House of Parliament to be passed.

This discrepancy is very frustrating to the public and the delay will carry on until at least October after the summer holiday has finished, before discussions will open again on the issue.

Some details within the bills are being totally rejected by certain parties and even when talks do continue in October it appears it will still not be smooth sailing.

Some views seem to be that the bills do not help purchasers who have already brought property and are having trouble claiming their Title Deeds due to the developer mortgaging the land, even after the launch of the contracts to the Land Registration office.

The Title Deed Reform was devised to help with the country’s high deficit in mind, so not only are many people still stuck without a Title Deed solution, the state deficit will also suffer until progress is made.

Now if some of the bills are being rejected and discussions and amendments need to place further, this could mean a very long wait and 2010 may not be the year to celebrate the Title Deed reform.

Our office after extensive hard work trying to get the Title Deed Reform moving, has written to the Minister asking for the legislation to be passed as the public are very angry over this issue.

We urge all citizens to write to their local MPS stating their views and ask for them to hasten up this frustrating issue.  We believe that we should do something about this! The Minister states that the parties have delayed the bills, so let’s ask our local MPs about this?

PUBLISHED BY A&G KOUZALI ON 28^TH JULY 2010.

Cyprus Title Deeds – www.lawcyprus.org Letter to Clients

Distinguished client and Distinguished friends,

May I take this opportunity to inform you regarding the latest on the “Title deed” matter.

We have information from the minister Mr. Silikiotis, that the Cyprus Parliament and the political parties, are avoiding to finalize the issue and instead of dealing with the matter they have now postponed it for October, 2010!

The minister states that the parties wanted him to withdraw the 5 Bills of legislation!  Also some of the people involved demanded that the contracts not to be land registered.

Further to that we have been told that though the Minister wanted to apply sales only with final building permits, he now had to back down with sales only with planning permits following pressure from the political parties.

The Legislation proposed also had provision that a percentage of every payment to go directly to the bank in order the Land Loan by the developer to be paid as soon as possible.  The question now is “Is it still the case”?

My question is, if our MP’s want us to be unsafe and continue the same cancerous procedure…It seems that the ministry wants to finalize that but the obstacles he gets are coming from our MP’s.

We have on one side the developers that it seems they prefer that the legislation not to be passed.  Actually our source tells us that the minister was asked to “negotiate with the developers” and being honest WE DO KNOW that when the bill for the “committees” was prepared by the Land Registry some years ago (which is still in the drawer) the official was asked to negotiate with the developers and find a solution before the approval of the bill by the parliament.

We feel that its time for our Members of the Parliament to work for the people and not for the developers or anyone else. However as we don’t have their response yet, it is more than fair to give them the information we have…and this is what we do and kindly ask them to make statements as to their position.  To find their email address you can visit the governmental website which is www.parliament.cy and also we feel that you should send them your thoughts and complaints.

Let’s all give our MP’s the benefit of the doubt and expect our Members of the Parliament to give us their position…and the most important of all to make sure this problem is sorted out as soon as possible.

The parliament has a responsibility towards us, towards the economy of this country, towards our families and our children.

Τα τελευταία χρόνια φαίνεται να υπάρχει τεράστιο πρόβλημα αναφορικά με την έκδοση των Τίτλων Ιδιοκτησίας. Ένας σημαντικός λόγος καθυστέρησης είναι οι διάφορες παρατυπίες σε μέρος των μονάδων ή των κοινόχρηστων χώρων τόσο από τους νέους ιδιοκτήτες όσο και από τους επιχειρηματίες ανάπτυξης γης. Επίσης  ο Υπουργός Εσωτερικών ανάφερε ότι το πρόβλημα της πολύχρονης καθυστέρησης έκδοσης τίτλων ιδιοκτησίας οφείλεται κατά κύριο λόγο σε ελλείψεις της κρατικής μηχανής, με αποτέλεσμα να δημιουργηθούν πολλές φορές εκ των υστέρων, παρανομίες που επιτείνουν το πρόβλημα.

Για αυτό τον λόγο προωθούνται πέντε νομοσχέδια για πολεοδομική αμνηστία προκειμένου να αντιμετωπιστεί συνολικά το ζήτημα το οποίο έχει γίνει ένας γόρδιος δεσμός που προέκυψε από τα κενά που υπήρξαν όλα αυτά τα χρόνια αλλά από την απότομη έξαρση στην βιομηχανία.

Συγκεκριμένα σε δημοσίευμα στην εφημερίδα «ΣΗΜΕΡΙΝΗ» στις 03 Απριλίου, 2010 με τίτλο «Τέλος στις καθυστερήσεις τίτλων Ιδιοκτησίας» ανέφερε ότι βρέθηκε η χρυσή τομή για την πολεοδομική αμνηστία που ταλαιπωρούσε τον κόσμο για δεκαετίες και εγκλώβισε στην κυριολεξία δεκάδες χιλιάδες τίτλους ιδιοκτησίας.

Επίσης σε συνέχεια του ίδιου δημοσιεύματος ανάφερε ότι τα πέντε συνολικά νομοσχέδια για τις πολεοδομικές ρυθμίσεις αλλά και την πολυσυζητημένη πολεοδομική αμνηστία, ήταν έτοιμα και θα «περνούσαν» στο Υπουργικό Συμβούλιο και στις 15 Απριλίου, 2010 θα ψηφίζονταν από την ολομέλεια της Βουλής κάτι το οποίο δεν έγινε μέχρι σήμερα και αυτό πραγματικά μας ανησυχεί! Ο κόσμος αναμένει άμεσα την προώθηση των νομοσχεδίων και ευελπιστεί στην έγκριση τους από την Βουλή.

Ο Υπουργός Εσωτερικών, κ. Νεοκλής Συλικιώτης, ανάφερε για να μπορέσει να εφαρμοστεί αποτελεσματικά η πολεοδομική αμνηστία εισάγεται μια νέα πολύ σημαντική καινοτομία που αφορά την εισαγωγή τριών τύπων ιδιοκτησίας αντί του ενός που υπήρχε:

Α. Ο πλήρης τίτλος ο οποίος θα έχει την υπόσταση που είναι γνωστή ως σήμερα

Β. Ο ατελής τίτλος ο οποίος θα εκδίδεται με σημειώσεις αναφορικά με μη εξουσιοδοτημένες επεκτάσεις ή τροποποιήσεις σε σχέση με εκδομένη  άδεια οι οποίες είναι επουσιώδεις ή σε περιπτώσεις που δεν είναι δυνατό να καθοριστούν τα τμήματα ιδιοκτησίας για τα οποία έχει αποκλειστικά δικαιώματα μονάδα της ενιαίας ανάπτυξης.

Γ. Ο Περιορισμένος τίτλος ο οποίος θα έχει σημειώσεις αναφορικά με μη εξουσιοδοτημένες ουλώδεις τροποποιήσεις ή επεκτάσεις, ο τίτλος θα στερείται δικαιοπραξιών και το ακίνητο δεν μπορεί να υποθηκευτεί.

Εμάς μας ανησυχεί όλη αυτή η καθυστέρηση και ευελπιστούμε ότι οι Κύπριοι βουλευτές και τα κόμματα θα συμμεριστούν την δική μας ανησυχία!

Cyprus Title Deeds – Review by Cyprus Lawyers – 30^th May 2010.

A lot of emphasis has been put on the 5 legislations the Cyprus Interior Minister devised to help ease the burden and fight the battle the Cyprus Title Deeds issue.

It is now official that the 5 Legislations are now finalized and will be brought to Parliament by the end of April, with a strong view of being passed without any opposition.

The Cyprus Minister after much scrutiny and bad publicity has made promises that he intends to keep by turning around the whole Cyprus Title Deeds procedure. Once the 5 legislations come in to play it is highly thought the backlog of Title Deed applications will soon diminish with Title Deeds being issued at an accelerated rate.

The Minister has taken great effort and concentration on modernising, restructuring also simplifying Government and local authorities’ administrative procedures. Communication between relevant offices and the Government is to be prerequisite.

New positions and quality evaluation for existing positions will be implemented and a single and set   national policy will also be in place.

Many positive changes are involved in the Ministers plans for new Title Deed reform and we for one are very excited.

Once we have official confirmation that the 5 legislation have been passed in Parliament, we will endeavour to bring a full report on all 5 legislations and how they will help the Title Deeds issue.

For more information visit us at www.lawcyprus.org

PUBLISHED BY A&G KOUZALI LAW OFFICE ON 30^TH MAY 2010.

International Property Lawyers in Paralimni Cyprus – Review IDR and benefits to Cyprus property market completed on 1^st February 2010.

CAN IDR HELP RESTORE CONFIDENCE IN CYPRUS TITLE DEEDS PROCEDURE?

The International Development Registry (IDR) has been specifically created to protect buyers against the increasing issues surrounding buying overseas property. IDR wanted to give extra protection to clients as they felt standard legal advice is not enough.

IDR in theory offers a health check service on overseas developments.  They undertake research and vetting procedures giving clients peace of mind that a development is a wise and safe investment.

The IDR is an optional register for developers, if they feel confident with their development and want clients to feel the same about buying from them.

This service offers a worldwide register that collects information on the current status of individual properties. Information searched comprises financial searches on developments and relevant permits and licences relating to Title Deed Issues.

These reports are now being incorporated in ‘protected property purchase’ products for pre approval of Title Insurance.

The reports also benefit the developer as this can be used for financial funding from banks and private investors for example. A client is likely to feel more confident in buying from a developer who is IDR registered than not, because this proves all is above board and the developer has nothing to hide.

Registering developments with IDR could help improve property markets as this service helps restore buyers’ confidence in overseas developments.

Visit us at www.lawcyprus.org

PUBLISHED BY A&G KOUZALI LAW OFFICE ON 1^st FEBRUARY 2010

Cyprus Lawyers – review – Cyprus Title Deeds

Cyprus Minister Mr Sylikiotis is expected to be a big hero in 2010. Can he be?  The 5 Legislations to be implemented in the very near future will quicken the Title Deeds procedure and will help many thousands of property investors in Cyprus to obtain their Title Deeds.  In the process it will also gain as estimated €150 million plus, for the government in 2010 alone.

Each Title Deed issued is liable for Transfers Tax Fees and it is expected that 20,000 applications will be processed and issued in 2010 and the same for 2011 and therefore the budget is looking very good for the future of Cyprus.

The new Legislations are expected to be officially passed by no later than March as the Minister has hurried this through. The Minister is very confident there will be no problems at all with the Legislations being passed.

In some recent polls taken by Cyprus Property Purchasers, the indication was that a high percentage of purchasers have been waiting up to 20 years for their Title Deeds, some ten years some five.  This is about to change and with 3 different Title Deeds expected to be issued the process will definitely be a great deal speedier and more efficient. 

Many people have lost confidence in Cyprus but over the next 1-2 years those who didn’t invest in Cyprus will sadly have missed out.  Cyprus is on the move and major things are happening and we do believe and really hope that Cyprus Minister Mr Sylikiotis will definitely be a hero to many in 2010 and especially for the sake of all investors purchasing property in Cyprus.

Visit us at www.lawcyprus.org

PUBLISHED BY A&G KOUZALI LAW OFFICE ON 26^th JANUARY 2010.

Cyprus Title Deeds Review – completed on 26^TH January 2010 by A&G Kouzali International Property Lawyers based in Paralimni Cyprus.

We are very excited about the 5 new Legislations being passed to upgrade the procedure of issuing Cyprus Title Deeds.  After we analyzed the process, we found there will be 3 new types of Title Deeds that will be issued.

The Title Deeds will be issued and titled under a certain criteria the first one being titled ‘CLEAN’ which will indicate no infringements have been made and all is according to plan.

The second Title Deed will be titled ‘INCOMPLETE’ which will indicate minor breaches incurred and finally the third Title Deed will be titled ‘LIMITED’ which will state major violations have occurred and the property can not be sold until these violations have been rectified.

Property investors in Cyprus can also apply directly to the Land Registry Manager for their Title Deeds if the developer is not performing his duty and taking appropriate action, purchasers do not have to wait.  The Land Registry Manager will then investigate the matter and decide whether to issue the Title Deed.  This is called a ‘SPECIAL EXECUTION TITLE DEED’.

Also under the new legislation, the developer will be penalized if it is seen they are in breach of contract or is not performing his due diligence towards the issuing of Title deeds.

Cyprus is on the up and up, and with so much going on 2010 is going to be a fantastic year for our magical Island.

Visit us at www.lawcyprus.org

PUBLISHED BY A&G KOUZALI LAW OFFICE ON 26TH JANUARY 2010.

For Cyprus Property Lawyers, Cyprus Title Deeds are a frustrating issue. A & G Kouzali Law Office, a team of Lawyers based in Agia Napa area of Cyprus have been making great efforts to bring the title deeds in Cyprus matter to the relevant authorities’ attention.

For the last two and a half years Mr. Giovannis Kouzalis, Proprietor of A & G Kouzali Law Office, has proceeded in sending letters to the minister regarding the issue of Title Deeds.  At the beginning this was to no prevail since the minister was unaware of the situation.  Following this, we spoke with the Minister by telephone to enlighten him on the matter and for our intentions. 

The Minister subsequently realized that we had been giving beneficial constructive criticism. We conveyed our thoughts and ideas on how to make the procedure more efficient and quicker.  Our efforts were successful in helping the Minister to understand where the problems had arisen and how to correct them, in order that the Cyprus Property market to be benefited.

The Minister invited us to his office in Nicosia to discuss this further. In attendance along with the Minister, was Mr. Andreas Socratous of the Main Land Registration Office in Nicosia, Mr. Giovannis kouzalis and his Personal Assistant Miss. Christiana Georgiou, and Mr. Freddie Serva, IT technician and specialist. The meeting was of a pleasant atmosphere and continued for 2 hours! It was exceedingly evident that the Minister was making immense efforts regarding the procedure for Cyprus Title Deeds.

Published by A&G Kouzalis 9^th November 2009.  Cyprus Title Deeds

Video interview on the subject of Cyprus title deeds with Mr. Giovannis Kouzalis.

Cyprus Title Deeds 27.07.2009 Part 1 – The Cyprus Title Deeds Video can be viewed here.

TRANSCRIPT By Angela Rees

GIOVANNIS KOUZALIS
It is an honour to be here with you again today.

As we clearly said on the first video our task and objective is to give people guidance and reassurance – and our feelings and our hopes as to how things are going. We have plenty of things to discuss today. The first thing is the letters, coming directly from the Minister Syliotis regarding the issues. Most of the issues we agree with – we would like to get people to know what is going on, as they are hearing different stories. We will continue pushing the Minister, trying to get what is best for our clients. At the same time we will safeguard the market – because our clients want to sell and buy, they want to safeguard the market and make it better. This is our task.

FC
“Ok you said you could PUSH the Minister! how do you PUSH the Minister?

Easily, we send him a letter almost on a weekly basis, stating our feelings, stating what we think is wrong and how he can correct this. We are advising a lot of the relevant bodies of the Republic of Cyprus. At the same time, we are informing the Members of the Parliament, locally. We think that every single client who is buying in Cyprus (as they have responsibilities and rights) should contact their Cyprus MP and push or put forward to that MP their worries, anxieties and issues. And going back to your question, we have been sending letters to Mr. Syliotis, quite a lot of them actually. (LAUGHS). The reason I am laughing is that two weeks ago he called me on my mobile whilst I was having a meeting with some people, we had a chat and he was wondering why I was sending him all those letters. Letters to criticise him, letters to contribute our feelings and ideas, and letters to let him know what people are doing on this matter and what steps they are taking. Because though we agree with everybody we are here to protect the market and support the clients. So if there is a movement which is going to destroy the market then my clients will not be able to sell or buy and we do not want that. We want to help him to correct the market.

FC
Did you make any recommendations to him?

Yes, plenty of them. Actually there was a very big letter we have sent out which we are trying to translate because it is in Greek, it was four pages long, giving him our feelings and our ideas. There is always a response to our letters, stating “yes but it is not that simple”. We think he is starting to understand that there is an office here – yes we criticise him but whenever he does something right we say: “Yes well done Sir, that is the right direction”. I have nothing personal against the Minister, nothing against the government. Every single government that is there or will be there they haven’t done what they are supposed to be doing, this is where we can support then or help them in order to help our clients.

FC
What has been happening regarding the legislation?
This is coming directly from the Minister – when he realised that I had nothing personal against him and that the reason I was sending the letters was to help him as well, he decided that we could have access through his PA to all the letters that are going out in order for us to help him to put the message to the public. I have three pieces of paper here – three press releases, these came out today on the 27th. Actually he is stating about the leglislation.

It is very important for people to understand – the leglislation wil be retrospective as well it will not only be for future cases. What we have here will be published on our website. The legislation will cover every single buyer who has bought a property even three, four or five years ago. This legislation will be there to act and support and assist… I am also happy to see certain other measure which I am sure you have read about Freddie and that you will be happy to comment on those.

FC
This is obviously a step in the right direction, but there is still a long way to go.

This is a personal view. OK, I have a feeling (it is my hope as well though) that there is a problem with the government when I am talking to the government and the civil servants. We have some exceptionally good civil servants and we have some civil servants which, because of their positioning because they were part of a specific party a long long time ago, there is no-one will come in and say “oh, you can not perform so you will lose your job”. In the private sector if a member of a team does not do well,, we say “ sorry, thank you very much, bye bye”. This is not the case with the government. So this means that he not only has to change the regulations and the legislation but he has to face a team of people who has been there for decades. There is nobody to tell them off and that is a big problem. Not only that but this same government that this Minister is trying to support and to do his job for, does not allow us to go forward. In the planning department of the Famagusta District there was only one administrator for every 160 – 180 applications Now they are taking ONE member OUT of this team so we are going to have even fewer people to deal with all these cases. So instead of supporting this person – the same government does not hep him. So instead of taking more people to Famagusta to help the situation they are making it worse.

FC
So the whole line of command is wrong

Yes, that is certain as well. The whole government must sit on this. We praise the Minister for this. Certain things we disagree on… but yes there are some good movements from the Minister which will produce a break for this industry.

FC
It seems we are moving in the right direction. It is more, I think a management and infrastructure problem, stopping the Minister from implementing his plans.

“In his presentation on 22nd July he clearly says he will publish the names of the sellers who are not co-operating with the authorities – a Black List of the Developers!. Well he could do the same with the Civil Servants! There must be a way to set up those Civil Servants that are doing their job properly “well done, you get a pay rise” – and to those Civil Servants who are not doing their job properly – to let everybody know about it! And if there is punishment, punish them! We do not want to punish people just for having a high work load, goodness me, we want to punish people who have the opportunity, the means, the facilities and who were not doing this. And the same thing must happen to those in the Mains? Office and the District Office. People must be publicly known how many cases they are doing in a monthly basis and if they are doing well and if they are not doing well. And if they are not doing their job properly then somebody should know about it.

FC But there should also be a reward system for performance!

Somebody must praise them and an say well done. There is nothing like that. Somebody who gets a government job gets this for ever, whether they are doing their job or not doing it!

FC
I think you have another letter to write to the Minister! Well thank you for all you are doing. – especially in getting communication with Minister. Making it known you are helping and supporting him. Adding ideas to the problems at hand and supporting him in getting to the situation where we have a solution for everything.

We want our distinguished clients to know that as an office here and as a team we are working very hard. We are putting pressure on the government. It is constructive criticism. We tell them “off” when they are doing something wrong. But we praise them and are happy to see that the the Minister is going to release 20,000 Title Deeds by the end of 2010. Already 1,000 have been issued since this Minister started. He is doing his best. My job here is to help my own clients and at this stage I feel it is the right thing to do to give him my feelings, the feelings of my associates and my colleagues. Push him. Push the members of the parliament because they have an important role to play and I want EVERYBODY to start doing the same. Our job is not to destroy the Cyprus economy. If this happens we will all face that music. We support the Ministers and support the government and help them all to take the right decisions and this is what we are doing as an office.

The Cyprus Title Deeds Video can be viewed here.

Many regular and new clients of Kouzali will know of the high-profile lobbying work of Giovanni Kouzalis with the Cyprus government over the critical issue of Cyprus title deeds. There are over 130,000 properties in the Republic of Cyprus which have not yet been issued with title deeds – a situation which has the potential, if not rectified, to encourage an unnecessary and undeserved downtrend in the Cyprus property market.

In this, the first of a series of new interviews conducted by Freddie Cerva of FC Advance Solutions Ltd, Giovanni makes clear why he is willing to invest the resources of his legal team into working to speed up change by lobbying the government and the civil service to resolve this problem.

The full transcript of the interview is available here – what follows is a summary.

By a relentless process of weekly letter writing to the Minister of the Interior, (Mr. Sylikiotis), as well as lobbying other government bodies and local members of parliament, Giovanni has placed his company in a unique position of offering ongoing advice to the government and helping to disseminate information about new developments to the public. His aim:

“We will keep pushing to get the best for our clients. We want to safeguard the market and make it better”. Giovanni Kouzalis

Here are the key points from his interview:

* Change is possible. The pending legislation has been confirmed by the Minister of the Interior as being retrospective – that is, applicable to all those in the past who have bought properties.
* The Minister has also confirmed he is considering producing a Black List of Property Developers who are not co-operating with the authorities on the title deeds issue.
* 20,000 title deeds will be issued by the end of 2010. Since Mr. Sylikiotis has taken over, more than 1,000 new title deeds have already been issued.

To those who may be critical of his very direct approach with the government he says:

“I have nothing personal against the Minister or the government. Our job is not to destroy the Cyprus economy. If this happens, we will all face the music. We support the Ministers and support the government and help them all to take the right decisions. This is what we are doing as an office. We will continue to push the Minister, trying to get what is best for our clients”.

Giovanni wishes to offer advice, reassurance and information to his clients and to all those involved in the Cyprus property market, in order to lay to rest rumour and speculation and to safeguard the property market. He is keen to stress that whilst there is still a long way to go, there is a lot of good news too! He is a man unafraid of controversy who is willing, in a constructive manner, to criticise both the government and the civil service where necessary, in order to bring about the much needed change.

However, Giovanni points out there is far more that needs to be done than simply approving the correct leglislation. In Cyprus, civil servants, once in place, cannot be removed – hence there is a massive inertia in the system whereby incompetent or unmotivated officials frequently act as a block to change.

Giovanni is calling for a modernisation of the system, bringing the system in line with the standards expected in commercial organisations. This would involve penalties being imposed on those who are not efficient, the “naming and shaming” of those who are incompetent and the rewarding of those who are doing well. In addition, he criticises the service for frequently reducing the number of staff to deal with title deed applications rather than increasing the numbers!

“We want Civil Servants punished who had the opportunity, the means and the facilities to do their job properly but were not doing this”.

The letters being exchanged with the Minister are currently in Greek. A long recent communication is in the process of being translated and will be available on the Kouzali website in the near future.

During the interview, Giovanni laughs as he remembers a telephone call to his mobile ‘phone from the Minister. Sylikiotis was initially puzzled by the volume and unsure of the purpose of the letters but, following reassuring personal telephone exchanges, has now become so convinced of the positive and helpful nature of Giovanni’s company that as a result the ministerial office and correspondence has been opened up totally to Kouzalis in order that the company can have a positive role in helping communicate the Ministerial message to the public.

Giovanni has advice to offer the individual property purchaser. “We think that every single client who is buying in Cyprus – since they have both rights and responsibilities – should contact their Cyprus MP and put forward their worries, anxieties and issues”.

Δημοσιεύτηκε 29 Ιουλίου, 2009

 Έκδοση Τίτλων ιδιοκτησίας για Κύπριους και Αλλοδαπούς αγοραστές και άλλοι

Ο Υπουργός Εσωτερικών κ. Νεοκλής Συλικιώτης σε συνέντευξη Τύπου με θέμα: «Μια ολοκληρωμένη μεταρρύθμιση για την επίλυση των προβλημάτων σε σχέση με την έκδοση τίτλων ιδιοκτησίας για Κύπριους και αλλοδαπούς αγοραστές και άλλους».

 ΔΗΜΟΣΙΟΓΡΑΦΙΚΗ ΔΙΑΣΚΕΨΗ ΤΟΥ ΥΠΟΥΡΓΟΥ ΕΣΩΤΕΡΙΚΩΝ Κ. ΝΕΟΚΛΗ ΣΥΛΙΚΙΩΤΗ ΜΙΑ ΟΛΟΚΛΗΡΩΜΕΝΗ ΜΕΤΑΡΡΥΘΜΙΣΗ ΓΙΑ ΤΗΝ ΕΠΙΛΥΣΗ ΤΩΝ ΠΡΟΒΛΗΜΑΤΩΝ ΕΚΔΟΣΗΣ ΕΚΣΥΓΧΡΟΝΙΣΜΕΝΩΝ ΤΙΤΛΩΝ ΙΔΙΟΚΤΗΣΙΑΣ.

Φίλες – φίλοι Καλή σας Ημέρα,

Σας ευχαριστώ για την εδώ παρουσία σας. Στο Υπουργείο Εσωτερικών συντελείται μια πολύ σημαντική μεταρρύθμιση αυτή την περίοδο. Στόχος μας είναι να δώσουμε λύσεις στο πολύ γνωστό σε όλους μας πρόβλημα έκδοσης τίτλων ιδιοκτησίας. Για να επιτύχουμε σε αυτό το στόχο θα πρέπει να προχωρήσουμε στη ριζική αναμόρφωση του όλου συστήματος αδειοδότησης και έγκρισης οικοδομών, και εγγραφής και έκδοσης τίτλων. Αυτό θα κάνουμε. Σας καλέσαμε λοιπόν σήμερα εδώ για να σας καταστήσουμε κοινωνούς αυτής της σημαντικής προσπάθειας που καταβάλλουμε, και μέσω εσάς να επικοινωνήσουμε αυτό το μήνυμα σε όλους, Κύπριους και αλλοδαπούς αγοραστές ακίνητης περιουσίας στην Κύπρο, πως το νερό έχει μπει στο αυλάκι και πολύ σύντομα θα αρχίσουν να αποκτούν τίτλους ιδιοκτησίας.

Το θέμα που έχουμε σήμερα μπροστά μας να αντιμετωπίσουμε το κληρονομήσαμε από το παρελθόν. Είναι ένα ιδιαίτερα περίπλοκο και σύνθετο πρόβλημα. Η ραγδαία οικοδομική ανάπτυξη στην Κύπρο, σε συνάρτηση με την αδυναμία του συστήματος να προλάβει τη δημιουργία οικοδομικών παρατυπιών και τις περίπλοκες και χρονοβόρες διαδικασίες διαχείρισης τέτοιων παρατυπιών, είχαν ως αποτέλεσμα περίπου 130.000 μονάδες (κατοικίες, διαμερίσματα, ξενοδοχεία κλπ) να μην έχουν τίτλους ιδιοκτησίας. Για 20.000 περίπου από αυτές τις μονάδες έχουν κατατεθεί στο Κτηματολόγιο αιτήσεις για έκδοση τίτλων και ελπίζουμε πως μέχρι τον Ιούνιο του 2010 αυτοί οι τίτλοι θα εκδοθούν, έστω και αν απαιτηθεί η ενίσχυση των ομάδων που ασχολούνται αποκλειστικά με το θέμα αυτό.

Συνεκτιμώντας όλα τα δεδομένα, το Υπουργείο Εσωτερικών, έχει προχωρήσει σε ενδελεχή αξιολόγηση της κατάστασης και έχει καταλήξει στο συμπέρασμα πως για να υπάρχει η δυνατότητα λυσιτελούς προσέγγισης σε αυτό το πρόβλημα, απαιτούνται τολμηρές και ολοκληρωμένες λύσεις, και όχι αποσπασματικές ρυθμίσεις που θα έχουν την τύχη προηγούμενων προσπαθειών. Στο πλαίσιο αυτό βάλαμε μπροστά μια σειρά από δράσεις.

• Καταρχήν το Υπουργείο, σε στενή συνεργασία με το Τμήμα Κτηματολογίου και Χωρομετρίας εντόπισε όλες τις αιτήσεις που εκκρεμούν στο τμήμα για έκδοση ξεχωριστών τίτλων ή εκσυγχρονισμών τίτλων ιδιοκτησίας.
• Στη συνέχεια δημιούργησε ομάδες σε όλα τα Επαρχιακά Κτηματολογικά Γραφεία που εργάζονται αποκλειστικά για την έκδοση των τίτλων. Από τις εργασίες αυτών των ομάδων ήδη έχουμε τα πρώτα απτά αποτελέσματα. Ενδεικτικά σας αναφέρω πως για τον Ιούνιο έχουν εκδοθεί περίπου 500 τίτλοι ιδιοκτησίας, ενώ κατά τον Ιούλιο αναμένεται ότι το Κτηματολόγιο θα εκδώσει μέχρι 1000 τίτλους ιδιοκτησίας. Ο ρυθμός έκδοσης τίτλων επιταχύνεται με την εξοικείωση των ομάδων που έχουν δημιουργηθεί με το θέμα. 
• Παράλληλα, το Υπουργείο Εσωτερικών έχει επεξεργασθεί, σε στενή συνεργασία με τα Τμήματα Πολεοδομίας και Οικήσεως και Κτηματολογίου και Χωρομετρίας, πέντε ιδιαίτερα σημαντικά και καινοτόμα νομοσχέδια για την τροποποίηση των νομοθεσιών:

·        περί Πολεοδομίας και Χωροταξίας,

·        περί Ρύθμισης Οδών και Οικοδομών,

·        περί Ακίνητης Ιδιοκτησίας (Διακατοχή, Εγγραφή και Εκτίμηση), και

·        περί Πώλησης Γης (Ειδική Εκτέλεση)

·        περί Συμβάσεων. 

Οι νομοθετικές αυτές ρυθμίσεις, επί της ουσίας θα μας δώσουν εκείνα τα απαραίτητα εργαλεία δουλειάς που θα μας επιτρέψουν να προχωρήσουμε με ταχείς ρυθμούς στην έκδοση τίτλων ιδιοκτησίας. Μια εξέλιξη που παράλληλα θα σημάνει και την οικονομική ενίσχυση των κρατικών ταμείων.

Οι κεντρικοί άξονες της ολοκληρωμένης αυτής προσέγγισης είναι οι ακόλουθοι:

·        Η παροχή μιας λογικής δυνατότητας νομιμοποίησης μεγάλου ποσοστού μη εξουσιοδοτημένων τροποποιήσεων σε υφιστάμενες οικοδομές, που έχουν γίνει με πρωτοβουλία είτε του ιδιοκτήτη είτε αγοραστή τμήματος ενιαίας ανάπτυξης. Η δυνατότητα αυτή θα ασκείται αποκλειστικά σε περιπτώσεις που δεν επηρεάζουν τις ανέσεις ή τα δικαιώματα περιοίκων ή συνιδιοκτητών, και η νομιμοποίηση θα εγκρίνεται αφού ταυτόχρονα καταβληθούν τα αναγκαία αντισταθμιστικά οφέλη, που θα ισούνται με την αξία των όποιων επεκτάσεων εγκρίνονται. Στο σημείο αυτό οφείλω να διευκρινίσω, για να αποφευχθεί οποιαδήποτε παρερμηνεία των προθέσεων μας, πως η νέα προσέγγιση δεν αποσκοπεί στη με οποιονδήποτε τρόπο ενθάρρυνση της επανάληψης της παρανομίας στο μέλλον, αλλά αποκλειστικά στην επίλυση αδιεξόδων που έχουν ήδη δημιουργηθεί διαχρονικά, με ευθύνες διαφόρων προσώπων και για διάφορους λόγους.

·        Ανάλογα με την έκταση της επέκτασης ή τροποποίησης της οικοδομής, η διαδικασία νομιμοποίησης  θα μπορεί να διεκπεραιωθεί είτε από την Πολεοδομική Αρχή, είτε κατευθείαν από την Οικοδομική Αρχή, με την παρεμβολή τριμελών Επιτροπών που θα αποφασίζουν αναφορικά με το θέμα. Ειδικά σε ότι αφορά τις επεκτάσεις που αφορούν πρόσθετα εμβαδά, προκαταρκτικά η Οικοδομική Αρχή θα είναι δυνατό να εγκρίνει επεκτάσεις μέχρι 10% και η Πολεοδομική Αρχή επεκτάσεις από 10 – 30%. Οι Επιτροπές αυτές μπορεί να είναι περισσότερες της μιας, για παράδειγμα μία σε κάθε Επαρχία, ώστε να αποφευχθεί το ενδεχόμενο συσσώρευσης πολλών τέτοιων περιπτώσεων σε ένα μοναδικό όργανο.

·        Οι Επιτροπές αυτές θα μπορούν να εγκρίνουν και καθορισμένης κλίμακας και σημασίας αποκλίσεις από τα ισχύοντα πολεοδομικά δεδομένα σε κάθε επιμέρους περιοχή. Για παράδειγμα, μικρές υπερβάσεις στον ισχύοντα συντελεστή δόμησης ή στο ποσοστό κάλυψης ή μικρότερες από τις καθοριζόμενες αποστάσεις από τα όρια τεμαχίου ή οικοπέδου θα μπορούν να εγκριθούν, νοουμένου ότι δεν επηρεάζονται αρνητικά οι ανέσεις και τα δικαιώματα τρίτων.

·        Στα νομοσχέδια που ετοιμάσθηκαν δεν καθορίζονται προθεσμίες μέσα στις οποίες  πρέπει να υποβληθεί αίτηση για τη νομιμοποίηση των επεκτάσεων ή τροποποιήσεων. Να τονίσω όμως εμφαντικά εδώ πως η νέα δυνατότητα θα παρέχεται για υφιστάμενες μόνο οικοδομές και δεν θα καλύπτει παρανομίες που θα γίνουν στο μέλλον.

·        Εισαγωγή της υποχρέωσης έκδοσης άδειας διαχωρισμού, μαζί με την άδεια οικοδομής, σε περιπτώσεις οικοδομών με περισσότερες της μιας αυτοτελείς μονάδες, με εκ των προτέρων καθορισμό των κοινόχρηστων χώρων με αποκλειστικά δικαιώματα χρήσης για κάθε μονάδα.

·        Εισαγωγή εξουσίας που ασκείται από την αρμόδια Οικοδομική Αρχή ώστε να χειρίζεται και ορισμένα θέματα που δεν είναι σύμφωνα με το Σχέδιο Ανάπτυξης, αλλά καλύπτονται από Γενικό ή Ειδικό Διάταγμα Ανάπτυξης, υπό προϋποθέσεις, χωρίς να είναι αναγκαία η επαναφορά των αιτήσεων στην Πολεοδομική Αρχή.

·        Με βάση τα νομοσχέδια, αποδίδεται για πρώτη φορά στις αρμόδιες αρχές η εξουσία να αναλάβουν αυτεπάγγελτα την πρωτοβουλία για την έκδοση αδειών. Για παράδειγμα, σε περίπτωση που ο επιχειρηματίας ανάπτυξης δεν υποβάλλει τις αναγκαίες αιτήσεις για έγκριση ορισμένων παρατυπιών ή επικαλείται παρατυπίες αγοραστών ως άλλοθι για να μην προχωρήσει με την έκδοση πιστοποιητικού έγκρισης ή τίτλου ιδιοκτησίας, η αρμόδια αρχή θα μπορεί, ενδεχομένως μετά από παραστάσεις αγοραστών, να προχωρεί αυτεπάγγελτα στην εξέταση της οικοδομής και στην έκδοση διαφόρων αδειών ή εγκρίσεων, με ή χωρίς ειδικές σημειώσεις.

·        Μια νέα πολύ σημαντική καινοτομία αφορά την εισαγωγή τριών τύπων τίτλων ιδιοκτησίας, αντί του ενός που υπήρχε μέχρι σήμερα. Ο πλήρης τίτλος θα έχει την υπόσταση που είναι γνωστή ως σήμερα, ο ατελής τίτλος θα εκδίδεται με σημειώσεις αναφορικά με μη εξουσιοδοτημένες επεκτάσεις ή τροποποιήσεις σε σχέση με εκδομένη άδεια, οι οποίες είναι επουσιώδεις ή σε περιπτώσεις που δεν είναι δυνατό να καθορισθούν τα τμήματα ιδιοκτησίας για τα οποία έχει αποκλειστικά δικαιώματα μονάδα της ενιαίας ανάπτυξης, και ο περιορισμένος τίτλος θα έχει σημειώσεις αναφορικά με μη εξουσιοδοτημένες ουσιώδεις τροποποιήσεις ή επεκτάσεις. Για τον τελευταίο τύπο τίτλου θα υπάρχουν περιορισμοί στις δυνατότητες πραγματοποίησης δικαιοπραξιών. Παράλληλα, η ιεραρχία τίτλων ιδιοκτησίας θα είναι δυναμική, και τίτλοι θα μπορούν να αναβαθμίζονται ή υποβαθμίζονται, ανάλογα με τις εξελίξεις στις οικοδομές, διαχρονικά.

Για παράδειγμα, σε περίπτωση που σε μια πολυκατοικία δεν είναι γνωστά στο Τμήμα Κτηματολογίου και Χωρομετρίας ποια αποθήκη ή ποιος χώρος στάθμευσης θα εγγραφεί σε συγκεκριμένο διαμέρισμα, σύμφωνα με το αγοραπωλητήριο έγγραφο, θα μπορεί να εκδοθεί ατελής τίτλος για το ίδιο το διαμέρισμα, με εκκρεμούντα θέματα την τιτλοποίηση της συγκεκριμένης αποθήκης ή του συγκεκριμένου χώρου στάθμευσης. Το πλεονέκτημα αυτής της προσέγγισης έγκειται στο ότι ο αγοραστής θα αποκτήσει τίτλο ιδιοκτησίας για το ίδιο το διαμέρισμα, το οποίο θα μπορεί να αξιοποιεί όπως ο ίδιος κρίνει, μέχρι να ρυθμισθεί και το θέμα τις αποθήκης ή του χώρου στάθμευσης.

·        Η εισαγωγή της δυνατότητας επιβολής προστίμων σε περίπτωση ιδιοκτητών που είναι απρόθυμοι να υλοποιήσουν τις υποχρεώσεις τους, ώστε να καταστεί δυνατή η έκδοση τίτλων ιδιοκτησίας στο όνομα αγοραστών που έχουν εκπληρώσει τις δικές τους υποχρεώσεις, και δημοσιοποίησης των εταιρειών που κατ’ επανάληψη επιδεικνύουν τέτοια συμπεριφορά, ώστε κάθε μελλοντικός αγοραστής να γνωρίζει την αξιοπιστία και τις πραγματικές δυνατότητες των διαφόρων εταιριών που δραστηριοποιούνται στην ανάπτυξη της γης.

·        Καθίσταται υποχρεωτική η κατάθεση έγγραφης σύμβασης πώλησης στο Κτηματολόγιο, με τον καθορισμό των συγκεκριμένων τμημάτων της οικοδομής που αφορούν στη σύμβαση.

Τα εν λόγω νομοσχέδια τώρα βρίσκονται στη Νομική Υπηρεσία για νομοτεχνικό έλεγχο, και παράλληλα έχουν καταχωρηθεί στην ιστοσελίδα του Υπουργείου Εσωτερικών (www.moi.gov.cy) για να μπορεί οποιοσδήποτε  να έχει πρόσβαση σε αυτά. Έτσι δίνουμε την ευκαιρία σε πολυάριθμες Αρχές και οργανωμένα σύνολα επαγγελματιών στο χώρο της ανάπτυξης να τα μελετήσουν και μέχρι το τέλος Αυγούστου να μας δώσουν τις εισηγήσεις τους. Στόχος μας είναι τα νομοσχέδια να κατατεθούν στη Βουλή με την έναρξη των εργασιών της στο τέλος Σεπτεμβρίου και μέχρι το τέλος του χρόνου να εγκριθούν από το Σώμα.

Προγραμματίζω να συναντηθώ με όλα τα Κοινοβουλευτικά Κόμματα, ώστε να εξηγήσω τις εισηγήσεις της Κυβέρνησης και να δώσω διευκρινίσεις όπου χρειάζεται με την ελπίδα πως με τον τρόπο αυτό θα επιταχυνθεί η συζήτηση στη Βουλή των Αντιπροσώπων και η ψήφιση τους.

Κλείνοντας, επιτρέψετε μου να επισημάνω δύο πολύ σημαντικά ζητήματα.

• Είναι γνωστό ότι εδώ και καιρό, και όχι τυχαία θα έλεγα, ξένα κυρίως μέσα ενημέρωσης έχουν ξεκινήσει μια προσπάθεια δυσφήμισης της Κύπρου ως χώρο για επενδύσεις στην οικοδομική βιομηχανία. Προς αντιμετώπιση αυτής της κατάστασης, έχουμε αναλάβει μια εκστρατεία ενημέρωσης των ξένων για το τι πραγματικά κάνουμε για επίλυση του προβλήματος αυτού.
• Θα πρέπει να γίνει σαφές πως ανεξάρτητα αν κάποιος διαθέτει τίτλο ιδιοκτησίας ή όχι, το ιδιοκτησιακό του καθεστώς δεν μπορεί να αμφισβητηθεί από κανένα και ποτέ, εφόσον ο αγοραστής ακινήτου έχει καταθέσει στο Κτηματολόγιο το αγοραπωλητήριο έγγραφο.

Σας ευχαριστώ. Είμαι στη διάθεση σας για ερωτήσεις.

Νεοκλής Συλικιώτης

Υπουργός Εσωτερικών

REPLY BY MINISTER OF THE INTERIOR MR NEOKLIS SYLIKIOTIS – 17.06.2009

It is obvious from the content of the question as well as from other recent reports in the Press and on the Internet that the statement by the Minister of Interior has been misinterpreted as regards the measures the Government is willing to take for resolving the problems that many buyers of holiday homes or other buildings in Cyprus are facing.

The Minister of Interior had stated that with the modifications that are in the process of elaboration, the content of immovable properties sale contracts that have already been signed between sellers and buyers cannot be altered. This fact should be self-evident and not surprising.

The Interior Minister has not stated that the measures that are being studied will not concern those who have already bought houses or other buildings. On the contrary, the measures that are being worked out by the competent Services of the Interior Ministry and concern the amendment of four legislations are aimed primarily at abolishing the full dependency of issuing separate title deeds for each housing unit at housing blocks or buildings from the initiatives of the original owner and seller. Measures will be introduced which will allow the competent authorities to intervene independently in cases where the original owner-seller is indifferent or refuses to implement his obligations regarding the issuing of separate title deeds and additionally, various counter-motives will be provided in order to avert such behaviours.

Moreover, the measures, for which the study is almost complete, entail new regulations allowing the legalisation of some irregularities made to buildings during their construction by imposing appropriate countermeasures, issuing title deeds of various types – depending on the type of problems each building is facing – and other additional powers to the competent Authorities in order to facilitate buyers to evade the various difficulties they might come across in trying to acquire a title deed for the housing unit they bought.

Lastly it is noted that despite the complaints expressed by various buyers, unfortunately there are very few cases where a buyer has sought recourse to the courts against a seller who is not fulfilling their contractual obligations as these are outlined in immovable properties sale contracts. Consequently, the protest of a buyer is not always fully justified, especially when that buyer has signed contracts, without particular study and vigilance, without having secured legal advice for protecting his own rights and without having sought recourse to the courts against the seller, when the latter does not fulfil his own obligations.

The Ministry of Interior will oversee the amelioration of the legislation. However, the buyer must always act with vigilance and secure his own legal advice so that he protects his rights and interests.

17.6.09

TITLE DEEDS

In Cyprus, Title Deeds, which are also, know as “Certificates of Registration of Immovable Property”, are formal documents that serve as evidence of property ownership.  Each piece of immovable property has an associated Title Deed which contains information such as its registered owner, its size, its location and the Land’s Office reference.

As the legal ownership of immovable property is denoted by its Title Deeds, your contract of sale must provide for the transfer of ownership and registration of the property in your name and the contract deposited for “Specific Performance” at the branch of the Land Registry – the District Lands’ Office in which the property is located.

CYPRUS TITLE DEEDS

Transfer of the ownership is a process involving the Cypriot Land Registry Office, who issues all the property title deeds.

When the title deeds are issued, they are in the name of the buyer and filed in confidential government archives and are never mane public or ever published.

In Cyprus the title deeds can be issued within 1 year and/or up to 6 years, according to the district area.

In order to transfer ownership of a property into your name, the applicable Real Estate transfer tax needs to be paid.

ARTICLE – CYPRUS TITLE DEEDS

The title deeds to your house mean that the house is registered in your names. A lot of people do not think it is necessary to obtain the title deeds when they are ready; however it is vital that once your title deeds are ready you go and pay the transfer tax and register the property in you name. Be aware that you will receive a separate title deed and not a title deed that you share ownership of the whole project.

From the moment you sign your contract of sale, the process in obtaining the title deeds begins, your contract is land registered for specific performance rights to protect you until the title deeds for your property are ready in your name.  The developers must ensure they have the planning permission, and final building permission and then a series of checks is performed by the district office.

All of this can take between 2 – 7 years because of a lack of interest from all parties involved. Some developers can take longer, some purposely prolong this process, and some have issues with property owners making alterations to the properties causing problems with the district office as these alterations are not on the original plans submitted to the district office. We know that getting title deeds on your name can be a long, frustrating and arduous journey however with the assistance of your Cypriot lawyer, if enough pressure is put on the developers and the government we hope that the issuance of title deeds can be hastened up.

We as a law office in Paralimni are actively working to get Developers to issue title deeds to their properties quicker!! We have been sending letters to the ministry with our ideas, thoughts and experience to give the minister alternative solutions.

We urge you to send letters to the minister and your local MP regarding this.

If you have any further questions or queries related to Cyprus Title Deed issues please contact:

A&G KOUZALI LAW OFFICE

169, 1^st April Avenue, P.O.BOX 34328, 5402 Paralimni, Cyprus.

Tel:  00357 23811788-00357 23811787

Fax: 00357 23811789

Main email: lawfirm@cytanet.com.cy

Website:     www.lawcyprus.org (Watch the video about Cyprus Title Deeds

Article about Title Deeds in Cyprus

If you have not received your title deeds yet, please feel free to discuss the issue here by leaving comments.  Our staff will endeavor to give you advice.