Cyprus Legislation | Purchasing Property
6 years August 28, 2017
How to Make a Successful Application to Cyprus Courts for Restraining the Sale of Property
Cyprus legislation provides equitable remedies for protecting parties who are involved with a dispute regarding the purchasing of land or immovable property. The remedy is in the form of an injunction that restrains the sale or disposal of the land or property to give time for legal proceedings to take place and the court to intervene.
The injunction remedy acts as a defense not only for immovable property but for a wide range of cases such as damage claims and breach of contract.
To make a successful claim for injunction, the applicant must:
• Present the facts of the case before a court.
• The documents relied on as well as a valuation report for the property he seeks to restrain.
• Disclose all the facts, since otherwise he may be held as having misled the court and any order issued will be cancelled.
• Make a court application as soon as possible to allow for the necessary arbitration.
For the court to agree to issue an injunction restraining the sale or disposal of an immovable property, 3 requirements must be met:
1. The applicant must prove there is an issue to be contested. In the event of a contract of sale, there must be an assertion that the defendant committed a breach and the applicant suffered direct loss and damage as a result of the action. For example, the defendant explicitly refuses to pay the agreed sale price and does not accept the transfer of the property into his name.
2. The probability that the applicant is entitled to relief, such probability to be prima facie having in mind the pleaded case of the applicant.
3. The court must decide whether it will be difficult or impossible to complete justice at a later stage without granting the injunction. Another issue the court examines is whether damages are adequate remedy for the plaintiff if the injunction is refused.
The court, having examined the above three conditions, proceeds further to conclude whether it is just or convenient to grant the injunction. According to Cyprus legislation nothing can be issued unless the court is happy that with the sale of the property to a third person, it is possible for the applicant to be hindered from satisfying the judgment to be issued in his favour.
In this respect, the court examines the value of the property under dispute which needs restraining and to see whether it has the discretionary power to order the restraining of a certain part of the immovable property to ensure the correct execution of the judgment. To ensure a fair ruling, after all documentation has been received by the court, the court then must decide prima facie under the circumstances is the possible effect on the applicant of any burden or alienation of the property with regard to the satisfaction of the judgment which may be issued.