THERE ARE more than twice as many Cypriots without title deeds – 70,000 – as there are foreigners. At a very conservative estimate of only two people per household, this involves a minimum of around 150,000 people.
Traditionally, it wasn’t considered something to get upset about: a piece of paper wasn’t really thought necessary to prove ownership. But it appears Cypriot home buyers have finally decided to make themselves heard, according to George Strovolides, president of the Cyprus Land and Property Owners’ Association (KSIA).
A basically publicity-shy organisation since its inception in 1964, KSIA has seen its responsibilities increase in line with the dramatic growth in property ownership by Cypriots over the past 30 years.
“This meant that property issues became more important for a larger number of people,” Strovolides said. “In many respects we are a pressure group for a lot of issues, not only title deeds.”
Until now, KSIA has given the government more or less a free pass on the title deeds issue other than occasional appearances at parliamentary committees to highlight the problem.
Likely the title deeds issue was something that crept up slowly on people over the past 20-25 years. Prior to that most Cypriots built their own homes, and there was little mass development.
“The issue of title deeds became more pronounced over the past ten to 15 years, as soon as new developments became widespread in some areas,” Strovolides said.
He said in Nicosia title deeds were usually issued within three to five years but the average islandwide was more like 10-15 years.
Speaking from experience, he said he bought a house in Protaras in 1994 and didn’t receive his deeds until 2006. When he tried to sell the house in the interim, the lack of title deeds put off potential buyers.
“The title deed is extremely important to a home buyer,” Strovolides said. “It’s a 100 per cent guarantee that you are the rightful owner of your property. Something has to be done about the period between when you move in until you get the title deed.”
KSIA have now gone from being generally concerned over the ongoing title deeds saga to being as worried as their foreign counterparts.
“The current climate increases the possibility that some developers may go under,” he said. “I can’t imagine the repercussions. Owners do feel unprotected even though until now, cases of developers going bust have been very rare.”
But Strovolides said the future was now uncertain and the dangers large.
He, like CPAG, criticised the banks for giving out second mortgages on already-sold developments.
He also said the banker’s claim that the “contract of sale” lodged with the Lands Registry was as good as a title deed was rubbish. All it did was guarantee that the developer would not sell the house to anyone else, he said.
“Bankers are part of this problem,” he said. “Developers should not be allowed to finance other projects the way they are allowed now.”
Commenting on the confrontational approach taken by the British buyers, and their puzzlement at how Cypriots put up with the situation, Strovolides said: “People who have lived under various conquerors through the ages have learned to put up with a lot that others might not find acceptable.”
He said keeping quiet about the situation was no longer an option. “We no longer have the luxury of time,” Strovolides said. “There are those who say the future of the Cyprus economy should not be aired in public so not to shake confidence, but I believe if the government took specific measures or worked out a contingency plan in case this gets worse, it would prove they were serious and committed to supporting people in hard times.”
PART 3
LAST TUESDAY two questions were tabled at the House of Lords regarding the British buyers and title deeds, following a letter sent by CPAG members to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Lord Jones of Cheltenham tabled the two questions in the House of Lords. Replies to both questions are due by Thursday.
Question 1 states: “To ask Her Majesty’s Government what advice they are offering to United Kingdom citizens who have bought property in Cyprus but have not received their title deeds.”
Question 2 states: “To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will make representations to the government of Cyprus over the practice of allowing developers to use title deeds of completed houses as collateral for future loans, with reference to Article 23 of the Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus.”
In their letters to Gordon Brown, CPAG members said that up to 60,000 UK citizens “could be in this precarious position”.
“In short, developers have been allowed to sell properties whilst retaining the Title Deeds for up to 10, 15 or even 30 or more years and been allowed to borrow money on the back of these already paid for properties,” said the letter.
“In the event that a developer goes bankrupt the lending institution has first claim on the properties and the buyers could lose their homes,” it added.
It also told the British Prime Minister that the Cyprus government had been less than helpful in addressing the main high risk problem of retained title deeds.
“In addition, due to the current global economic crisis the Cyprus developers will be under even greater financial pressure and it is evident that there will be bankruptcies – and this has already started,” the letter said, asking Brown to pressure the Cyprus government into addressing ‘this unholy situation’ where they have failed to protect buyers` property rights under the Cyprus constitution, and EU and UN charters.
