Hasikos: I spoke too soon about cut in transfer fees

International lenders seem to disagree with the government’s intention to cut property transfer fees by half as that would affect state revenues, Interior Minister Socratis Hasikos said on Monday.

Hasikos had said recently that the government intended to cut the fees but he conceded he may have spoken too soon.

Hasikos said “it is not certain” that transfer fees would be cut by half. “I have no problem saying mea culpa,” he told a morning radio show.

He conceded he had said the that the government’s intention was to cut fees by half, adding that the intention was still there “but on the other hand we are weighing all economic parameters.”

“We will have news soon,” he said, as he urged people to go ahead and transfer the title deeds and if there was a cut the extra would be returned.

The ministry’s intention to reduce fees was based on Land Registry stats, which showed that of 62,672 title deeds issued from mid-2009 to mid-2014, only 37 per cent were transferred, meaning fees have been paid for only 23,182 title transfers, with 39,490 pending.

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