Title Deed Problems in Cyprus and How to Resolve Them

Establish which problem you actually have before deciding what to do

People arrive at this subject having been told the same sentence for years: the title deed is on the way. It is worth knowing that this covers at least five distinct situations, with different causes, different people who have to act, and different remedies. Some are administrative and resolve with pressure and paperwork. One is statutory and ends in court. They are not interchangeable, and the wrong effort spent on the wrong one is the reason these matters run for a decade.

The diagnosis is almost always the same three enquiries. What does the register show against the land, what stands on the land compared with what was permitted, and what does your own contract say and where was it filed. Everything below follows from those.

What to send us

Your contract of sale and any evidence of its deposit at the Department of Lands and Surveys. The title or plot and sheet reference. Any search certificate already obtained, and any correspondence from the developer or the bank. Tell us what has been paid and when.

Problem one

The separate title has simply never issued

Your unit is part of a larger parcel that has not been divided, so there is no separate registration to transfer. This is the ordinary case, and it is frequently nobody's bad faith: division requires the development to be in a state that permits it, with the permits closed off and the certificates issued.

The practical work is to find out precisely where the application has stopped, which usually means establishing whether the final certificates have been obtained at all, whether an application for division has been made, and whether something is registered that blocks it. Until that is known, chasing is undirected.

Where a prohibition is registered against the land, section 34 of Cap. 224 provides that a division is not registered while the prohibition stands unless the person in whose favour it operates consents. That consent then sits on the critical path, and identifying whose consent is needed is the first useful step.

Problem two

The development is mortgaged and the buyer has paid in full

This is the situation the legislation was written for, and there is a statutory route out of it.

Section 7 of Law 9/1965 prohibits the transfer or mortgage of immovable property by anyone other than its owner, and until the separate titles issue the owner on the register is the developer, or whoever has taken the developer's place. Where the land is charged to a bank for the developer's borrowing, the buyer who has paid for a unit has no title and no obvious way to compel one.

Part VIIA of Law 9/1965, sections 44IH to 44KZ, exists for buyers who have performed or substantially performed their obligations and have no title because the development is encumbered.

The conditions

Section 44IH sets them, including that the contract was deposited under the Sale of Immovable Property (Specific Performance) Law by the date the section fixes, and the consent of those in whose favour prior registered charges or prohibitions operate to their release, cancellation or deletion. Where that consent is not obtained and the sale price has been paid in full, the alternative is a court order that the consent is being abusively and unjustifiably refused.

Who applies, and what it stops

Section 44ITH allows the Director to effect the transfer of his own motion or on the application of the buyer, the seller, the mortgagee, the lender or the assignee, and stays pending proceedings under Parts VI and VIA of the Law, under the Bankruptcy Law and under the Companies Law until the application has been determined. That stay is significant: it means the mechanism is not defeated merely because the developer has collapsed.

What the Director examines

Section 44K sets out what is examined, including whether the sale price has been paid in full and whether a registered title exists, and provides that where payment is partial the buyer is called on within sixty days to pay the balance into a special temporary account.

The route runs through the deposit of the contract. A buyer whose contract was never deposited is outside the mechanism built for precisely their predicament.

Problem three

A memo has been registered against the owner

A memo is the registration of a judgment given against the registered owner. Buyers discover them at the worst moment, because a memo is not visible from the property and arises from the owner's affairs rather than from the land.

The point that matters is that it does not stay behind. Section 43 of Law 9/1965 provides that a transfer of the property does not annul the proceedings, extend any period fixed by the Law, or annul, delay or postpone any sale. The memo follows the land.

The remedy is practical rather than statutory. A memo is dealt with by settlement, satisfaction or an order, and the work is establishing what is owed, to whom, and on what basis, then structuring release against payment at the moment of transfer rather than accepting a promise to attend to it. Where the judgment debt exceeds what is available, the sequencing of payments between the parties becomes the whole problem.

Problem four

Unauthorised works, and the difference between a note and a prohibition

Building works require a permit under the Streets and Buildings Regulation Law, Cap. 96. Where what stands on the site departs from what was permitted, the position can end up recorded against the title, and the form it takes decides whether you have an irritant or an obstruction.

A certificate of approval with notes under section 10B of Cap. 96 produces a note of irregularity, which records the finding but does not prevent a voluntary transfer. A certificate of unauthorised works under section 10C produces in addition a prohibition of voluntary transfer and encumbrance, which does stop a dealing.

So the first question on any note against a title is which of the two it is. The second is whether the works can be regularised, and at what cost, because the cost falls on whoever owns the property when the question is finally asked. That is also why it is a question for a buyer to settle before a reservation payment rather than after. The way these arise is set out under unauthorised works and notes on Cyprus titles.

Problem five

The contract was never deposited, or was deposited late

Depositing the contract of sale with the Department of Lands and Surveys under the Sale of Immovable Property (Specific Performance) Law of 2011, Law 81(I)/2011 gives the buyer the remedy of specific performance. Section 3(1)(c) of that Law, read with section 77A of Cap. 149, required deposit within six months of signature.

Where that was not done, the buyer's position is materially weaker, and it is weaker in two directions at once. The remedy that compels transfer may not be available on the same terms, and the statutory route under Part VIIA, which is conditioned on deposit, may be closed. What remains is a contractual claim against the counterparty, which is worth what the counterparty is worth.

This is not always fatal and it is always worth establishing precisely, because what people believe about their own deposit is frequently wrong in both directions. Buyers who were told it was filed sometimes find it was not, and buyers who assume they are unprotected sometimes find their advocate filed it without comment years ago. Establish the fact before building a strategy on it.

How this is run

Diagnosis, then leverage, then the formal route

We start with the searches and the file, because the answer to what can be done is almost entirely determined by what is registered and what was filed. That produces a written position: which of the problems above you have, who has to act, and what the realistic routes are.

Most of these matters are then resolved without proceedings, by identifying the person whose consent or performance is actually required and applying pressure in the right place, in writing, with a deadline. Proceedings are the route when consent is refused and the statutory conditions are met, and they are worth beginning promptly in that case rather than after several more years of assurances.

Where you are considering buying into a development that has any of these features, the checks are set out under Property Due Diligence, and for a unit still under construction under buying off plan. Where you are trying to sell a property in this position, see selling without a title deed.

Frequently asked questions about Cyprus title deed problems

I have paid in full but the developer's bank has a mortgage over the land. Is there anything I can do?

Yes. Part VIIA of Law 9/1965, sections 44IH to 44KZ, exists for buyers who have performed or substantially performed their obligations and have no title because the development is encumbered. Section 44IH sets the conditions, including that the contract was deposited under the Sale of Immovable Property (Specific Performance) Law by the date it fixes, and either the consent of the holders of prior charges and prohibitions or, where the price has been paid in full and consent is refused, a court order that the refusal is abusive and unjustified.

Does the developer going into liquidation stop the process?

Not by itself. Section 44ITH stays pending proceedings under Parts VI and VIA of the Law, under the Bankruptcy Law and under the Companies Law until the application has been determined.

What happens if I have paid only part of the price?

Section 44K sets out what the Director examines, including whether the sale price has been paid in full and whether a registered title exists, and provides that where payment is partial the buyer is called on within sixty days to pay the balance into a special temporary account.

There is a note on the title about the building. Does that stop a transfer?

It depends which note. A certificate of approval with notes under section 10B of Cap. 96 produces a note of irregularity, which records the finding but does not prevent a voluntary transfer. A certificate of unauthorised works under section 10C produces in addition a prohibition of voluntary transfer and encumbrance, which does stop a dealing.

A judgment was registered against the seller. Does it disappear when I buy?

No. Section 43 of Law 9/1965 provides that a transfer of the property does not annul the proceedings, extend any period fixed by the Law, or annul, delay or postpone any sale. The memo follows the land, so it has to be released as part of the transaction rather than left.

My contract was never deposited. Is my position hopeless?

No, but it is weaker, and in two directions. The remedy of specific performance may not be available on the same terms, and the statutory route under Part VIIA is conditioned on deposit. Establish the fact first, because what people believe about their own deposit is often wrong in both directions.

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

Unauthorised Works and Notes on Cyprus Titles

Property

What the Register Records and How a Transfer Is Completed

Property

All our writing is on the writing index. Related: Property and Litigation & Debt Recovery.

Send us your contract of sale, any evidence of its deposit, the title or plot reference and any correspondence from the developer or the bank, with a note of what has been paid and when. Kleanthous & Platis LLC, Nicosia. Telephone +357 22 680 330, office@kleanthousplatis.com or klitos@kleanthousplatis.com.

This page 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.

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