A loophole in Cyprus’ legal framework allows non-EU nationals to acquire real estate, even as individuals, without attracting much attention.
In practice, non-EU nationals purchase property from local owners, file an assignment agreement with the District Land Office, and then enjoy full use of the property (whether a flat or other type of residence) with no real checks in place.
This means there is no need to sign a formal sale contract or secure prior approval from the District Officer (i.e., an acquisition permit). Simply submitting the assignment document to the District Land Office is enough to claim ownership rights.
This situation was highlighted in a recent reply by the Ministry of Interior to a six-part parliamentary question from MP Nikos Georgiou.
Ministry’s response
The Ministry clarified that “Assignment agreements are considered equivalent to sale contracts for the purposes of applying the Immovable Property Acquisition (Aliens) Law, Cap. 109. Therefore, the assignee is regarded as the new purchaser and, if they are a non-EU national, an acquisition permit is required from the District Officer when the transfer is processed in their name. However, this permit is not a prerequisite for lodging the assignment document with the competent District Land Office.”
The Ministry further noted that “All sale and assignment agreements concerning non-EU nationals as buyers or assignees have been filed at District Land Offices without an acquisition permit from the District Administration, as this is not required by law.”
A legal loophole
In simple terms, the restrictions intended to limit non-EU nationals owning property are being bypassed. As one legal expert explained, the current framework allows a non-EU national to acquire more than one property, despite regulations stating otherwise.
Moreover, foreign nationals can indefinitely exploit a property on the basis of an assignment agreement, without ever needing a title deed or an acquisition permit.
This has raised increasing concern in recent years, given the socio-economic consequences of widespread land sales to non-EU nationals.
In January, MP Nikos Georgiou tabled a bill to address these loopholes, reigniting debate over the outdated legislation. Historically, the law imposed limits on non-EU national acquisitions, but these were sidestepped by non-EU nationals using companies as legal vehicles to purchase property, thereby avoiding scrutiny.
In addition, a reply by the Ministry of Interior in July confirmed that, since 1999, the Council of Ministers transferred its powers to approve or reject non-EU national property acquisitions to the District Officers. Yet, as noted earlier, District Officers do not need to authorise non-EU nationals in order for them to file assignment agreements at the District Land Office.
Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou has openly admitted that the law is outdated and “in need of revision.” He also confirmed that discussions have already taken place with the Legal Service, aiming to repeal the current law and replace it with a modernised framework.
A ministry official further clarified to Phileleftheros that work is already under way, with civil servants reviewing the legislation and drafting proposals for reform.
(Translated & summarised from a Greek article in Phileleftheros)
If the Cyprus Government were to actually issue clean title deeds in a timely manner then there would be no need for assignment agreements at all thus removing the issue!