• All properties in Cyprus are Freehold.
• After signing a contract of sale, non-Cypriots must apply to the Council of ministers for the permission to acquire property on the island. This procedure is just a required formality and can be easily handled by our associated law firm or any other solicitor of your choice.
• The title deeds are transferred to the buyer's name as soon as they are issued by the Land Registry Department and following the settlement of the agreed selling price. Title of Ownership takes place by a simple process of registration at the Land Registry Office and the issuing of a Title Deed after completion and delivery. For registration in case of a non-Cypriot there must be evidence that the property has been paid for with Foreign Exchange. Approval is also needed by the Council of Ministers of the Purchaser’s application to buy property in Cyprus (can be easily handled by our associated law firm or any other solicitor of your choice). However, before the issuing of the title deed of the property, the purchaser should pay the transfer fees which are payable to the Land Registry Office.

The legal system in Cyprus is largely based on the British equivalent and safeguards the purchaser's right in many ways. Above all, for the purchaser's protection, the Land Registry in Cyprus provides a simple and effective legal instrument called the "Specific Performance". Once the contract of sale is signed and a deposit paid, the contract is registered at the land registry office. This procedure protects the purchaser's ownership rights until the title deeds are issued and transferred to his name. The contract in the hands of the Land Registry cannot be withdrawn by anyone, and therefore the property cannot be leased, sold, transferred or mortgaged. The purchaser himself can only alter this status.