Cyprus Legislation | Purchasing Property
5 years July 6, 2018
Cyprus Property Owners to be Notified of Any Significant Change in Property Value
Last week, the Cyprus supreme court passed legislation mandating the obligation to inform all property owners on the island of any significant change in the value of their property as reasonably held by the Cyprus Land Registry.
The legislative proposal was passed by a unanimous vote in Cyprus Parliament and is relevant for the following areas for property ownership, maintenance & general activities:
- Registering new land or property.
- Transferal of title deeds.
- Property retention.
- Valuation legislation.
- Property zoning arrangements
Going forward, the Cyprus Land Registry is required to inform by postal letter anyone whose property value is, or may be, significantly affected by any judgement amendment or new legislation.
With President Nicos Anastasiades previously refusing to sign the bill into national law due to grounds of breaching the constitution for two reasons:
- Claims that it dishonoured the separation of powers.
- Implementing it would incur additional administrative costs.
The matter ended up being referred to the supreme court, he contended that the law does not fall under grounds of being unconstitutional and thereby giving parliament the authority put the law into action.
There have been recent problems faced by the Cyprus Department of Lands & Surveys whereby property owners were not notified on an individual basis of fundamental changes that could affect the value of properties.
Under the new legislation, property owners have 40 days to appeal any such decisions that significantly will devalue land or property and will consequently pave the way for a much more transparent and fair valuation system.
Eltoma Property have legal experts on hand to provide assistance with any property or land matters in Cyprus. Contact us for more information.