90 per cent of property sale contracts do not declare real price

THE HOUSE Legal Affairs Committee yesterday authorised the Legal Services and Land Registry Office to prepare a bill that would improve procedures for land purchases.

According to Committee Chairman Ionas Nicolaou of DISY, there are currently loopholes in the legislation regarding the preparation of contracts, their validity and especially the prices that are presented on the contracts.

“We have been told that a very significant number of contracts, maybe as many as 90 per cent, do not have the real sale price of the property, which has various repercussions at the expense of the public; for example, the price written on the contract is determinant for the compensation that will be decided in the event that the land needs to be expropriated,” Nicolaou explained.

Furthermore, the state’s income in taxes is affected, as are transfer costs. “But the most affected by this situation is the land owner, whose best interests are harmed in the event that the state decides to move ahead with expropriation,” said Nicolaou.

Another significant issue raised during yesterday’s meeting was that some have spotted the weaknesses in legislation and are selling the same land twice.

As the DISY deputy explained, there have been cases where someone sold his land at a certain price, then realised the value of land had gone up and so proceeded to sell the same property on for more, while compensating the first buyer.

“These types of actions have also been spotted by the Land Registry Office and are considered a deception at the expense of the buyer. It is essential that measures are taken in order to avert further such incidents,” Nicolaou warned.

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