On Tuesday, January 16, the Association of Developers and Landowners of Cyprus announced that the Ministry of Interior has decided to speed up the process of issuing title deeds.
Owners will now receive Titles for their properties within three months.
This is expected to help reduce the backlog of documents pending before the competent authorities, as well as to solve the problem of bureaucratic delays, making the procedure more efficient and transparent.
It should be noted that today about 20 thousand owners are waiting for the titles in Cyprus.
Title or Title Deed - is the main document of the ownership of real estate or land in Cyprus, which confirms and secures the right of the owner to a particular object.
The buyer can get such a certificate at the final stage of the sale transaction. To do this, it is necessary to reserve the property in the Land Committee of Cyprus and fully pay its cost. The absence of the Title can promise big problems for the new owner. Without this document, he will not be able to dispose of the property or land in full, i.e. sell, mortgage or inheriting such property is virtually impossible.
Only Title Deed, registered in the name of the owner gives the right to dispose of the real estate or land plot in full.
One must be particularly careful when buying a new home in Cyprus, as a Title Deed cannot be issued for development for several reasons, including unpaid land subdivision fees, no application or payment for a sewer license, roof perimeter walls that are too low, and incomplete landscaping.
In these cases, the developer responsible for the planning breach is absolved of liability, the buyer of the property is left to pay for any necessary repairs and then sue the developer to get their money back.
It must be clearly understood:
- Since a property with a Title that has notes cannot be sold, it has no value in the market.
- Even though the property has no market value, homeowners are required to pay transfer fees based on the Land Registry's assessment of its market value on the date of purchase.
- The buyer is required to pay a builder's (developer's) negligence fee to obtain a "clean" Title Deed allowing the property to be sold.
- To recover the cost of any repairs, the buyer must sue the builder.