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.