On a resale the building exists and the title is usually issued, so the enquiry is what has been done to the property since it was built and what is registered against it. The cost of regularising work carried out without the permit Cap. 96 requires falls on whoever owns the property when the question is asked. Months can pass between signature and transfer, and depositing the contract under Law 81(I)/2011 is what closes that gap.
The house exists, which changes what you are checking
Most published advice on buying in Cyprus is written for off plan purchases: the developer's solvency, the unit that does not yet exist, the title deed that has not yet been issued. A resale buyer has a different set of questions, and a shorter set. The building is there and can be looked at. The title is usually already issued and can be searched. What matters is what has been done to the property since it was built, and what has been registered against it in the meantime.
That is a narrower enquiry, and it is a more concrete one. It is also the enquiry people most often skip, because a finished house with a title deed feels safe in a way that a hole in the ground does not.
What to send us
Start with this: the names of everyone involved, so we can run a conflict check, a short description of what happened and when, and any deadline you already know about.
Once we confirm we can act: the title number, or the plot and sheet or plan reference. The estate agent's particulars. Any draft contract or reservation agreement already put in front of you, before it is signed rather than after. Tell us who the seller is and whether any payment has already been made.
The register
What is registered against the property
The Land Registry search shows the registered owner, the description and extent of the property, and what is charged against it. On a resale the encumbrances are the first thing to establish, because they are the seller's problem until the day of transfer and the buyer's afterwards.
A mortgage in favour of a bank is the familiar one. A memo registered following a judgment against the owner is capable of obstructing a transfer, and it does not announce itself to a buyer who has only seen the house. There may also be registered leases, easements, rights of way or prohibitions on transfer.
Each of these needs an answer before signature, and the answer is a written undertaking or a mechanism in the contract for release against payment at the moment of transfer. An assurance that it will be sorted out nearer the time is not an answer. The full sequence is set out under Property Due Diligence.
The building
What was built, and what was permitted
On a house that has stood for twenty years, this is the check that most often produces something.
The permits the building was actually built under
Building works require a permit under the Streets and Buildings Regulation Law, Cap. 96. What a buyer is looking for is the set of permissions the building was in fact built under and the drawings approved with them: the planning permission, the building permit, the approved drawings, and whether what stands on the site corresponds to them.
What was added afterwards
Comparing the approved drawings against the building is one of the few checks that can be done with your own eyes, and on a resale it is the one that matters. A covered veranda, an enclosed basement, a pool, a store, a room in the roof: work of that kind is frequently carried out after completion and frequently not covered by the original permits.
Why it becomes yours
Where work has been carried out without permission, or in departure from the permission given, the position can end up recorded against the title. A note of that kind is capable of affecting dealings with the property and the issue of a separate title deed. The cost of regularising unauthorised works, where they can be regularised at all, falls on whoever owns the property when the question is finally asked. That is a question to answer before a reservation payment is made, not after. Our guide to unauthorised works and notes on Cyprus titles sets out how they arise and what can be done.
For help with your property, briefly tell us what you need at office@kleanthousplatis.com, or the enquiry form. We reply within one business day.
The gap before transfer
Signature and transfer are not the same day
Between signature and the transfer of the title, months can pass, and in that gap the seller can change their mind, take on new debts or go under. Depositing the contract of sale at the Department of Lands and Surveys is what closes that gap, and it carries deadlines.
Under the Sale of Immovable Property (Specific Performance) Law of 2011, Law 81(I)/2011, a deposited contract makes the buyer's remedy transfer of the property rather than damages, and it takes priority over charges and prohibitions registered after the deposit. It is the single most useful thing a buyer does, and the most frequently left late. Our guide, Specific Performance in Cyprus, sets out how it works.
Where the buyer is a national of a country outside the EU, the purchase also requires a permit from the Council of Ministers, which we obtain as part of the same instruction. Where the buyer cannot travel, the purchase can be completed by power of attorney.
Whose side we are on
One client to a transaction
A resale usually arrives with a chain already formed around it: the seller, the agent who introduced the property, and sometimes a developer still holding the title. We act for one party in that chain and are paid by that party alone. No commission or referral fee reaches us from anybody else in it. If the searches turn up something that means the sensible answer is to walk away, that is the answer you will be given.
Where an advocate has been put forward by the agent or the seller, ask who that advocate acts for, and get the answer before anything is signed or paid. Our fee for a standard purchase is fixed and quoted before the work starts.
Frequently asked questions about resale purchases in Cyprus
The house already has a title deed. Is due diligence still necessary?
An issued title deed answers the question of whether the property is separately registered. It does not tell you what is charged against it, whether a memo has been registered following a judgment against the owner, or whether what stands on the plot matches the permits it was built under. Those are separate searches and separate answers.
What is the most common problem on a resale house?
Work carried out after the building was completed and not covered by the original permits. A covered veranda, an enclosed basement, a pool or a room in the roof. Where the position is recorded against the title it can affect dealings with the property, and the cost of regularising it, where that is possible at all, falls on whoever owns the property when the question is asked.
The seller has a mortgage over the house. Does that stop the sale?
Not by itself. It has to be dealt with, and the way it is dealt with is a written undertaking or a mechanism in the contract for release against payment at the moment of transfer, rather than an assurance that it will be arranged nearer the time. Getting the release and the payment to happen together is a drafting question.
Do I pay stamp duty on a resale purchase?
No, for a contract signed from 1 January 2026 onward. The Stamp Duty Laws were repealed with effect from that date by the Stamp Duty (Repeal) Law of 2025, Law 239(I)/2025, and stamping is not a condition of depositing the contract at the Land Registry. Contracts signed on or before 31 December 2025 remain under the old regime: the repealing Law carries no saving provision, and section 10(2) of the Interpretation Law, Cap. 1, preserves duty that had already arisen.
How are transfer fees calculated on a resale?
Transfer fees are charged by the Department of Lands and Surveys on its own assessment of market value, tiered at 3% on the first 85,000 euro, 5% from 85,001 to 170,000 euro and 8% above that. On a resale, where no VAT was charged on the purchase, a 50% reduction applies, giving effective rates of 1.5%, 2.5% and 4%.
The estate agent has recommended a lawyer. Should I use them?
Ask who that advocate acts for, and get the answer before anything is signed or paid. Where the same firm is put forward to both sides of a sale, the interests that give way when something awkward is found are not usually those of the person introduced last.
Who leads this work
Between them the partners bring more than 40 years of practice in Cyprus. Every matter is run by one of them.
Andreas Kleanthous
Partner
Litigation, personal injury and insurance claims, debt recovery, administrative law, real estate, wills and probate.
Klitos Platis
Partner
Litigation, corporate and commercial matters, property and construction, including pleadings, interim applications and trial preparation.
Written on this subject
To see the transfer fees and VAT on a given price before you commit to it, use our transfer fees and VAT calculator.
All our writing is on the writing index. The whole journey, in order, is buying from abroad. Related: Litigation & Arbitration and Trusts, Wills & Succession.
Before instructing, tell us who is involved, what has happened and any deadline you are working to. Once the conflict check is clear we will ask for the draft contract, the title reference and any search certificate already obtained, the plans and permits, and any reservation agreement signed, with a note of who the seller is and of any payment already made.