In Cyprus, a proposal has been made to expand the options for registering lease agreements for housing built by refugees on state-owned or Turkish Cypriot land following the 1974 Turkish invasion.
The Parliamentary Committee on Refugees, Enclave Residents, Missing Persons, and Victims has introduced the relevant legislative initiative. The bill provides for amendments to the Real Property (Ownership, Registration, and Valuation) Law.
The main goal of the changes is to address a gap in current legislation, which does not adequately account for the situation of refugees who have built individual homes outside of state-run residential settlements.
Which homes will be subject to the new rules?
It is proposed to expand the scope of Article 65B of the Real Property Act. This article governs the registration of certain types of lease agreements related to housing for displaced persons.
The bill provides for four categories of housing and agreements to which the special rules may apply:
Housing in government-run settlements. This refers to lease agreements for government-owned real estate entered into with the government, as well as Turkish Cypriot real estate transferred to the custody of the Turkish Cypriot Property Custodian. This category also includes individual agreements with displaced persons who were alive on or after April 7, 2006.
Housing in self-build settlements. These are homes built as part of self-build housing programs. Special provisions are also in place for agreements involving displaced persons who died after July 20, 1974.
Detached houses built before 1980. This category covers existing private homes that refugees built on state or Turkish Cypriot land during the state of emergency that followed the Turkish invasion and up until 1980.
Homes built with the authorities’ permission. These are single-family residential buildings that displaced persons constructed on state or Turkish Cypriot land with the approval or permission of the competent authorities of the Republic of Cyprus.
Lease agreements may be registered even for terms of up to 15 years
One of the key proposals concerns the lease term. Typically, requirements related to a lease term exceeding 15 years apply for the registration of a real estate lease agreement. However, an exception is proposed for the categories of housing listed in the bill.
Agreements may be registered even if the specified lease term does not exceed 15 years. At the same time, the agreement must stipulate that the lease remains in effect for the entire duration of the state of emergency caused by the Turkish invasion and until the tenant returns:
to the settlement from which they were forced to leave;
to their place of origin, if the person was born after the Turkish invasion.
Thus, the lease term will be tied not only to a specific number of years but also to the continuation of the situation that caused the forced displacement.
Will Refugees Gain Ownership of Land?
It is important to understand that the bill does not provide for the automatic transfer of land or homes to the tenants’ ownership. The proposed changes specifically concern the possibility of registering lease agreements. At the same time, the distinction between state-owned and Turkish Cypriot real estate remains.
In the case of state-owned land, the lessor is the Government of Cyprus. When it comes to Turkish Cypriot property, the agreement is concluded by the custodian of Turkish Cypriot property.
The initiative aims to close the existing legal loophole and extend coverage to refugees whose homes are located outside state-run residential settlements, including those built with official permission from the authorities.