A property CAN be transferred through sale to another individual even if a Title deed has not yet been issued, as this phenomenon is rather common in Cyprus.
When it comes to owning a property in Cyprus, it is surprisingly true, that it is not necessary to have a Title deed to prove your ownership. While in the UK this is abnormal, in Cyprus it is standard practice due to the extensive time needed by the Land Registry to issue a Title deed for every new property completed.
To start with, a Title deed is a document which is issued from the Land Registry. It provides evidence of property ownership and indicates
information which is associated with the property, like location, registry number and value.
Due to the historical delays in issuing Title deeds, the Cyprus Government has legalized three extra procedures for selling properties without Title deeds.
The first procedure relates to the purchase of new properties from the developing companies. The purchase will be completed through the Contract of Sale. The Law provides for a procedure where the buyer of the property is eligible to submit the Contract of Sale with the developing company to the Land Registry for purposes of specific performance of the contract, which then will record it as a burden on the property. So, in effect the property is “locked” for the buyer and no other person can dispute the arrangement.
The second (most common way is re-sales) is by assigning the rights of the seller, under the already existing Contract of Sale between the seller and the developer, to the new buyer. In that way, through the assignment of the rights of the first buyer (the seller) to the second buyer, the second buyer will purchase the property and when the Title deed is ready, the Land Registry (through which the procedure is recorded) will issue the Title deed to the second buyer directly.
The third way (available for re-sales) is by cancelling the original Contract of Sale between the seller and the developing company and creating a new one, between the developing company and the new buyer.
If the worst comes to the worst, and the Land Registry will not issue the Title deed due to financial issues that relate to the developing company, the procedures mentioned above will be used as the tools for the buyer (commonly referred to as “trapped buyers”) to take over the Title issuing procedures and through legal help complete the Title issuing procedure and obtain a Title deed to his/her name.
All in all, the abnormal Cypriot phenomenon of property transactions being completed without the existence of Title deeds is not an obstacle for interested parties to proceed with the sale or purchase of a property in Cyprus as the Cypriot Government has created the necessary legal framework to bypass that difficulty and enable the property transactions to be completed safely.
If you are considering selling or buying property in Cyprus and you are troubled with the matter of the Title deeds, please feel free to either call us for an initial free consultation on 01438 840258 or via email to admin@judicaregroup.com
We can also arrange a free no obligation teleconference via Zoom/ TEAMS.
Getting in touch will allow us to understand your individual circumstances and discuss with you your concerns and objectives. Working with you we can then decide upon the correct strategy to approach and find the solution which is right for you.