A damning report by the Audit Office has laid bare long-standing failures within the Department of Lands and Surveys, revealing chronic weaknesses in state land management, revenue collection and the processing of citizens’ applications.
The Special Report, focusing primarily on 2021–2023 but extending to earlier years, highlights decades-old backlogs, mounting unpaid debts and serious administrative delays across the core functions of the land registry.
Uncollected revenues
As of 31 December 2024, unpaid revenues at the Department stood at €18.5 million, up from €15.5 million in 2023; an increase of approximately €3 million, or 20%, in just one year.
Of the total amount, €13.6 million (74%) relates to rents from state land leases. The remainder largely concerns sums owed to the State in connection with urban planning projects undertaken by municipalities and communities.
Annual collection rates remain at just 67%. Against expected annual lease income of approximately €4.2 million, actual receipts averaged around €2.8 million over the past two years. Uncollected sums now equate to more than three years’ anticipated revenue.
The Auditor General warns that delays in initiating legal action and enforcing contractual terms are contributing to debt accumulation and increasing the risk of permanent revenue loss.
Debts concentrated in Nicosia
Particular concern arises from the concentration of 70% of unpaid rents (around €2.6 million) among just ten tenants in the Nicosia District Lands Office. One tenant alone reportedly owes approximately €600,000.
Among the debtors is the former semi-governmental Cyprus Tourism Organisation, which, prior to its integration into the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, owed €272,868 to the Land Registry. Efforts are reportedly under way to write off this debt.
In another case, a private individual requested termination of a lease agreement in 2017, yet the contract remains active, with arrears continuing to accumulate and inflate receivables.
Additionally, outstanding contributions from Local Authorities towards compulsory acquisitions for urban planning projects totalled €4.6 million as of year-end 2024.
Pending applications for state land leases
By April 2025, 7,769 applications for leasing state land were pending — some dating back to 1980.
The average examination period exceeds eight years. In Nicosia, the mean completion time stands at 98.4 months (approximately eight years), significantly exceeding the 12 – 18 month timeframe stipulated in the Citizens’ Charter.
As of December 2025, there were 2,764 active lease agreements covering 24,100 donums of land. However, the Department has yet to fully record all state land available for lease, limiting strategic planning capacity and transparency.
Meanwhile, 1,127 cases of illegal interventions on state land were pending as of 31 December 2024, with some delays exceeding 15 years. The recording process has not been completed across all free areas of Cyprus, suggesting the true figure may be higher.
Forced sale cases pending for half a century
Pending applications for Forced Sales and Sales of Undistributed Property totalled 9,146 at the end of 2024, with some cases remaining open since 1973.
In a sample of 12 files reviewed, time spent within the Valuations Division ranged from eight to 91 months. The period from application submission to auction ranged between 18 and 140 months — more than 11.5 years in extreme cases.
In 11 compulsory acquisition cases examined between 2022 and 2024, the average time a file remained with the Valuations Division for assessment reached 97 months (over eight years), with extreme cases of 206 and 208 months – exceeding 17 years.
Surveying applications & boundary disputes
Outstanding surveying applications stood at 24,968 as of 31 October 2023. Approximately 15,000 applications are submitted annually, while around 13,000 are processed.
The average completion time is 17 months, although extreme cases reached 195 months — over 16 years. The use of private licensed surveyors without a clear timeframe framework has resulted in files remaining in their possession for more than 16 years in certain instances.
In boundary dispute cases, the average duration from submission to written notification of the decision is 125 months — approximately ten years. In several instances, on-site inspections were conducted six to ten years after application, with final decisions communicated up to 15 years after completion of the surveying work.
Structural Land Registry failures
The overall picture painted by the Report is one of entrenched structural inefficiencies rather than isolated administrative lapses. Decades-old backlogs, escalating unpaid revenues, weak monitoring mechanisms and prolonged procedural delays collectively undermine public finances and erode citizens’ rights.
For a country whose property market remains a cornerstone of economic activity, the findings raise serious questions about governance, transparency and institutional capacity within Cyprus’ land administration framework.
