Guide to Purchasing Property in North Cyprus.

Under the laws of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) non-TRNC citizens are entitled to take title to only one property up to a maximum area of 5 donums per household providing that the property only consists of one dwelling (previously this was 1 donum, but this has now been increased by the Immovable Property Acquisition and Long Term Lease (Aliens) Law 52-2008). Building permission will not be granted to build further dwellings after permission to purchase has been granted. For the purposes of this law, husband and wife count as one household. Before the title deeds to the property can be registered in your name, you will need to have permission from the TRNC Council of Ministers. This is explained in more detail below. If you wish to take title to more than 1 property, or a property over 5 donums in area, we can give you advice on using trustees or setting up a TRNC company to hold the title to the property for you .

The conveyance procedure followed by solicitors is designed to ensure that your interests are protected as far as possible throughout the whole transaction. The first step will be an initial meeting with you to obtain information about the property you have chosen and any informal agreements you have made with the vendor regarding price, payment schedule and included items. This stage may also involve taking a power of attorney from you to ensure that we can act on your behalf to sign documents if you are away from Northern Cyprus for long periods of time.

A Contract of Sale will then be prepared to safeguard your interests. The Contract of Sale will include all important terms such as plot number, plot size, price, payment schedule, completion date with penalty clauses for late completion and all floor plans and specifications will be attached to the contract to ensure that the vendor is bound to carry out the construction work in accordance with these. The contract will be sent to both the vendor and the purchaser for review. When both parties are happy the contract will be signed.

New regulations since 2nd January 2008 require all Contracts of Sale for the purchase of immovable property in Northern Cyprus to be registered at the District Lands Office within 21(twenty one) days of being signed and it is now compulsory for the Stamp Duty to be paid at the rate of 0.5% before registration can take place. Once the Contract of sale is registered the purchaser is protected against the land being sold or mortgaged to a third party.

The Land Registry is charging a fee for the registration at the rate of 44.50YTL for one Title Deed and an additional 13.50YTL for each additional Title Deed and 5YTL for each additional plot if there is more than one plot on each title deed. It may be that your site has several Title Deeds. To register the Contracts the Land Registry require the original and a copy of the Contract of Sale,, the site and seating plans and a copy of the Title Deed, a copy of the Stamp Duty receipt and copies of identification for the parties or where the vendor is a company, the company documents together with an application form in duplicate, a Declaration giving details of the property and the appropriate fee.

Further , in December 2007, the Electricity Board introduced a new regulation under which Purchasers can no longer apply for an electricity meter to be connected to their property unless they can prove that the Stamp Duty on their Contract of Sale has been paid.

Your Lawyer will next review the title deeds on your behalf to look for evidence that the vendor is the registered freehold owner of the land and that there are no mortgages or charges or other encumbrances on the property. They will also check that the building permission for the construction has been obtained. An application will then be made to the Council of Ministers for your permission to purchase. Whilst processing your purchase permit application, the Council of Ministers will take searches from the land registry, the military and the immigration authorities and provided these are positive, the permission will be granted. The permission process can take a long time to complete, the current estimation is around two years. However, this will not prevent you from moving into the property or leasing the property or even selling on the property.

Once your purchase permission has been granted, your Lawyer will notify you and then fill out all of the necessary land registry valuation forms for the valuation of the property. It is usually at this point that taxes will be payable. The taxes will be paid and the Title Deeds will be registered in your name.

Please see Guide to Taxes in North Cyprus.

The Partners Abroad team are available to answer any questions that you may have about buying property in North Cyprus . The above is only a guide to buying property and we always recommend that you seek Legal Advice before you enter into any agreements.