BUYERS GUIDE FOR LAND & PROPERTIES

New: Payment of stamp duty to the tax office is compulsory.

1. UNDERSTANDING LAND TITLES

The most crucial factor in buying property in Northern Cyprus, whether land or buildings, is to use a qualified lawyer for all contracts and Government applications. As part of our service we can recommend several reputable firms of independent solicitors, who specialise in this area and can offer a comprehensive service.

1.1  Restrictions on Foreigners

Foreigners are limited to owning one dönüm (approx 1/3 acre) per person (husband and wife count as one person). There are a number of checks carried out by the Council of Ministers following an application to purchase, which can take approx 12-18 months to complete.
The Land Registry maintains records of all land transfers in the same way as in the UK. The TRNC government issues the titles in the form of Title Deeds ("Kocan" in Turkish) as either Freehold or Leasehold and draws no distinction between the freehold titles of properties. However, buyers should be aware of the history of the title they are buying.
Types of title are as follows: -

1.2  Foreign and Turkish pre'74 Titles

• TURKISH FREEHOLD TITLE pre'74
  Land owned by a Turkish Cypriot prior to 1974 with undisputed title.

FOREIGN FREEHOLD TITLE
Land owned by non-citizens (e.g. British) and purchased prior to 1974.

1.3 Exchange or Esdeger Titles

This is land previously owned by a Greek Cypriot prior to 1974 and abandoned when the owner relocated and normally now owned by a Turkish Cypriot who fled from the south, who has lodged the title deed to his own land with the Land Registry in exchange and waived his/her ownership rights on the South.  The land in the south is generally now far greater in value because of the rise in prices.

1.4 TMD or Tahsis

Kesin Tasarruf Belgesi - Absolute Possession Document)
This is property previously owned by a Greek Cypriot prior to 1974 and abandoned by its owner. The land was re-possessed by the TRNC government and has been granted to Turks or Turkish Cypriots normally in recognition for services and on a points basis. Current TRNC Constitution does not make any difference with respect to their pre – 1974 Greek Cypriot title deeds and most of them were expropriated  by TRNC government and granted to Turkish Cypriots.

The TRNC Government owns this property. Long-term leases can be granted for 49 years with an option for a second 49-year term. These kind of title deeds are mainly for tourism investments. Leases can be transferred directly or via a solicitor upon application to the Ministry of Interior. For example, all the houses in the picturesque village of Karmi are leased to foreigners.

 1.6 Without TRNC Deeds

There is also Land or Property, which belonged to a Greek Cypriot prior to 1974 for which no title deeds have been issued. These are sometimes offered for relatively nominal "goodwill" sums. It is our opinion that agreements should not be entered into for any property that does not have a recognised and authenticated title deed issued by the relevant authority.

1.7  Buying Procedures

All our properties are sold freehold with clear title, which depends on the original title of the development. Each development, when complete, is divided into individual title deeds for each plot and is then transferred to the buyer automatically by us.
The actual procedures are as follows:

• Buyers are strongly recommended to take professional and independent legal advice as the validity of a title deed should be checked by a solicitor who will visit the Land Registry personally.
• Contracts of sale are drawn up and executed, around 10% deposit is payable, and a completion date is set. In many cases, the purchaser can return home leaving a power of attorney with their solicitor, who can then complete the purchase.
• An application to purchase must be made to the Council of Ministers, which can take 12-18 months. In the case of completion of the house at an earlier date, upon payment of the whole sale price, the possession of the property can be given to the Purchaser even if the permission not granted. 
• The Land Registry will value the property for Purchase Tax.
• Subsequent payments will depend on the terms of the contract. For a new build, this will normally be by stage payments based on the building work.
• Purchase Tax and Vat are payable on the transfer of the title of property.

On completion of the entire development (or sometimes at the commencement of the project), the title will be split into individual titles, which are then transferred to the purchaser and the Land Registry will issue an updated title deed.

1.8 Tax Rates

Please note that tax rates may differ from the examples given above and are subject to change. Taxes will be applied at the rate ruling at the time.

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