Depositing the contract of sale within six months of signature is the gateway to the protection of specific performance. If the deadline has passed, not everything is lost: the court has power to allow a late deposit, on conditions that are applied strictly.
The Sale of Immovable Property (Specific Performance) Law, N. 81(I)/2011, provides in section 3 that the contract is deposited at the District Lands Office within six months of the date of its signature.
The deposit is one of the conditions on which a buyer can later seek specific performance: that is, an order transferring the property into their name even if the seller refuses. What the deposit protects, and against what, is set out in our article on specific performance. What concerns us here is the time limit, and what happens when it is missed.
The six months do not always start at signature
The Law itself provides for variations that many people are unaware of, and that may mean your own period has not begun to run at all.
In an exchange of land for units, the six months count from the transfer of the property to the owner of the land who provides it. Where the seller is not yet the registered owner, and does not become registered within the six months, the position on when the deposit may be made changes accordingly.
Before concluding that a deadline was missed, it is worth establishing when it actually started. A meaningful number of the cases that arrive as emergencies turn out to be inside the period.
When it really was missed
The Law gives the court power to permit a deposit out of time. The power exists precisely because the consequence of losing it is severe, and it is exercised on conditions that are applied strictly rather than sympathetically.
What matters to the application is the explanation for the delay and what has happened in the meantime, particularly whether any third party has acquired rights over the property while the contract sat undeposited. A buyer who moves the week they discover the problem is in a different position from one who moves after learning of a mortgage.
What you have in the meantime
An undeposited contract is not void. It remains a contract, and the ordinary remedies for breach remain available. What is missing is the protection that the deposit gives against the outside world, which is the protection that matters when the seller has creditors.
What to send us
The contract with its date of signature, proof of whether and when it was deposited, a recent title search showing anything registered against the property, and the date you discovered the problem. If the property is being built or the seller is not the registered owner, say so, because it changes when the period starts.
Questions we are asked
What is the deadline for depositing the contract?
Section 3 of the Sale of Immovable Property (Specific Performance) Law, N. 81(I)/2011, provides for deposit at the District Lands Office within six months of the date of signature of the contract.
Does the period always run from signature?
No. The Law provides for variations, including where land is exchanged for units, in which case the six months count from the transfer of the property to the owner of the land, and where the seller is not yet the registered owner. Before concluding a deadline was missed, establish when it started.
Is a late deposit possible?
The Law gives the court power to permit a deposit out of time, and the power exists because the consequence of losing the protection is severe. The conditions are applied strictly, and what matters is the explanation for the delay and whether any third party acquired rights in the meantime.
Is my contract worthless if it was never deposited?
No. It remains a contract and the ordinary remedies for breach remain available. What is missing is the protection the deposit gives against third parties, which is exactly the protection that matters when the seller has creditors.
Related reading
What the deposited contract actually protects is in specific performance in Cyprus. The order of the whole purchase is in buying property, in order.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws and their application can change, and individual circumstances differ. For advice on your own matter, contact Klitos Platis at klitos@kleanthousplatis.com or telephone +357 22 680 330.
Klitos Platis
Advocate, Partner
Kleanthous & Platis LLC, Nicosia · Published 16 August 2026
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