In a significant move, the House Plenum in Cyprus has unanimously passed a new law aimed at helping thousands of so-called ‘Trapped Buyers’ finally obtain the title deeds to properties they’ve fully paid for after waiting for years.
This long-awaited legislation marks a major turning point in a saga that has impacted nearly 10,000 property buyers.
Key highlights of the new Trapped Buyers law
- Relief for 9,497 Buyers: The law will offer a clear legal pathway for some of the nearly 9,500 individuals whose applications for title deeds were frozen due to a June 2024 Supreme Court decision that the Trapped Buyers law was unconstitutional.
- Court-Backed Transfers: If banks or other entities unfairly refuse to release encumbrances (such as mortgages or legal claims), buyers can now apply for a court order to override the refusal. But what happens if the banks etc. object to the court order and appeal?
- 45-Day Window: Trapped Buyers have 45 days to apply to court once a lender blocks a deed transfer. During this process, all other legal or administrative actions involving the property will be paused.
- Encumbrance Removal: Once a written consent is obtained – or forced by a court order – the Department of Lands and Surveys can remove the encumbrance, enabling the property to be legally registered in the buyer’s name.
- Potential Tax Memo Solution: Authorities are also discussing whether tax-related memos on properties can be lifted in coordination with the Tax Commissioner.
Political & legal context
Interior Ministry officials hailed the legislation as a critical correction to the system, describing it as a way to break the legal and financial deadlock that has plagued thousands of people buying property. The law restores protections that were lost following the 2024 Supreme Court ruling, which left many without legal recourse.
Disy MP Fotini Tsiridou celebrated the bill as the culmination of a “long and persistent effort to lift a blatant injustice”, while Akel MP Aristos Damianou acknowledged the law’s imperfections but stressed it could still benefit at least 3,000 people immediately.
However, Damianou cautioned that this is not the end of the road, calling for further legislative refinement and ongoing support for affected property buyers.
How did Trapped Buyers become trapped in the first place?
Many Cypriots and foreigners bought houses and apartments directly from developers who had mortgaged the land on which he was building. Although buyers paid in full, title deeds were never transferred, as developers’ debts gave banks legal claims over the properties.
This created chaos as buyers who had bought, lived in and maintained the property, sometimes for a decade or more, did not legally own the property.
Many of the developers’ mortgages became ‘non-performing’ because developers failed to maintain their mortgage repayments. In efforts to improve their balance sheets, banks sold these none-performing loans to Vulture Funds for typically 10% – 20% of their book value,
These bottom-feeders are sending threatening Trapped Buyers who are completely debt free that their property will be repossessed and sold if they fail to repay a sizeable proportion of the developer’s debt.
It is unclear whether this new law will end this despicable practice.
Challenges still ahead
While widely welcomed, the new law is not a complete fix. During committee discussions, consumer representatives emphasised that planning violations and incomplete property developments and documentation still leave many buyers trapped. As a result, continued coordination between government departments, the courts, lenders, and local authorities is essential.
A step in the right direction
The law offers genuine relief for thousands, restores a sense of justice, and sets a precedent for resolving a deeply entrenched issue in the Cyprus property market. But experts and stakeholders agree: the journey isn’t over.
Lawmakers must work out a cast-iron solution for all Trapped Buyers to get title deeds for the property they purchased – and a solution that is constitutional and cannot be challenged.
Our villa was built in 2005. Our developer modified our villa so that instead of being a 3 bedrooms and 1 bathroom the layout inside was changed to 2 bedrooms each with an ensuite bathroom. The overall effect on the building was a variation of about 1sqM per (2) floors. No other external architectural change was visible, nor place in plot, nor plot size. The developer did not change the planning application and consequently we have been unable to obtain Title Deeds. Approximately 18 months ago the developer submitted new plans for the whole development of 19 villas but, to date, there appears to be no progress. We will try to see the developer again this week but I am not holding my breath. They say all the right things and then another year goes by.
In the meantime, before the developer submitted new plans, we tried to progress towards an Individual Private Title but this was declined by AMX, saying that due to changes in the 2019 (?) Revision of the Topikko Sxedio, the floor area was now 2sqM too much and in excess of the permitted 1sqM variation – we appealed to the Council of Ministers. They declined the appeal with an Advisory that they could accept an Application under Article 90. We did this in 2022 but they appear to have loss the appeal we sent and we currently await the results of the investigation by Ammoxostos District Local Government.
We do have land titles but apart from that we just go round in circles. It sounds as if this new law will not help us either because of the planning problem.
Any help or advice greatly appreciated.
Unfortunately, I’ve heard of several cases where developers sell you one thing and deliver something else. The most well-known case was Conor O’Dwyer who ended up in hospital after being beaten.
There is another law in the works to help those trapped by planning violations that may resolve your problem. We’ll just have to wait and see until after the summer recess.
As you report this new law will do nothing for those buyers trapped by planning and building licence violations. From my researches, it appears that even where buyers are willing to rectify violations (if feasible) at their own cost, there is no mechanism for retrospective approval and once the original approval has expired without a certificate of final approval, then the only way forward is a completely new planning and or building permit application, which practically speaking is virtually impossible to achieve!
Hopefully, when the law addressing these planning violations is agreed, it will resolve the expiry issue.
Hello Nigel. Obviously this is very welcome news to so many but as you know in our 20 year old fight the refusal to issue us with title deeds has nothing to do with mortgages or monies owing. It is to do with the fact that we have no road. There was indeed a building permit plus planning permission for our house to be built so everything was legal and above board.
Last week on our usual trip to the Land Registry we have been told that the property should never have been built! How on earth were all legal stamped documents obtained at the outset and when will this sort of trapped buyers dilemma be sorted please? I am sure we are not the only ones caught in this mire!
Many thanks for your help with this problem. Yes I know we have spoken but I have written this just to reassure others caught this way that they are not alone…..
Hi Deanna
As you have no road, I think your developer failed to comply with his authorised plans and/or building permits.
The government is working on a solution for people trapped by planning violations, but I don’t think it will be available until after the summer recess.