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HASİPOĞLU LAW OFFICE:
FIRST CHOICE IN RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL PROPERTY: ASKING LEGAL
ADVICE;
info@lawyercyprus.com
Purchasing a land or house or investment with respect to a
property development business is an important decision which has
to require the opinion of a local lawyer.
After the division of the island, in 1974,
North Cyprus has developed its
own rules and different legal system has been constituted by the
Turkish Cypriots. In relation to purchase of a land or house,
first issue which has to be clarified is the kind of the title
deed as there are different kinds of deeds under
North Cyprus legal system. The
property alternatives with different deed types are as follow:
a)British
or other foreign ownership pre- 1974
b)Turkish
Cypriot owned pre- 1974
c)Greek
Cypriot owned pre- 1974: Given to Turkish Cypriots due to their
lands left in
South Cyprus or
awarded to Turkish Cypriots by
Turkish
Republic of Northern
Cyprus
(“TRNC”) government. Based on 1983 TRNC Constitution, all the
deeds rectified and named as TRNC deeds and are freely
transferable to foreigners
d)Leasehold
– owned by the Government who will grant long-term leases of 49
years
LEGAL TIPS PRIOR TO
PURCHASE:
Prior to purchase, ALWAYS:
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Ask a copy of the
title deed
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Check the sheet plan
– plot references and the site plan,
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Look at the site
plan and ascertain from its boundaries its shape and
boundaries,
-
Check the
construction availability (from State Planning Office)
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Make a land search
to understand; if there is a deed, the kind of the title deed
and whether there is any encumbrance on it (from Land
Registry),
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Always make a
contract before making any payment.
ONCE A PROPERTY HAS BEEN DECIDED UPON
After deciding on a property you may wish, a land search should
be made and subsequently a contract should be signed with the
vendor.
It should be noted that according to Property Purchase
(Foreigners) Law and the related regulations, Law No: 109,
Foreigners’ purchase is limited to one donum (donum is a measure
of land equivalent to 1600 square yards, 1,338 sq. meters or
14,400 sq. ft., 0.336 acre) of land (unless you form a
company or constitute a trust with a local
person). A permit to purchase from the Ministry of Interior is
then applied to get the permission to purchase. This may take
between six and eight months. Once this permit has been issued,
remaining balance is then paid to the vendor. After the
issuance of the permit, Purchaser is entitled to register
his/her name to the land registry as registered legal owner.
Purchaser would then need to be in
Cyprus
to sign the relevant papers; the change of ownership. In case
where the Purchaser is not at
Cyprus
at the time of the transfer, a power of attorney may be issued
on behalf of Purchaser’s local counsel and transfer may be
executed in this way.
A
purchase tax is applicable on all freehold property at 6%, in
addition a 1% charge of the 6% is also applicable which is paid
to the municipality where the property is located.
Hasipoğlu law Office has been
giving services to its clients since 1978 and specialized on
residential & commercial property investments. Please do not
hesitate to contact with us should you need further information.
HASİPOĞLU
AND AKBİLEN
Attorney at LAW
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