Once you’ve found your little piece of real estate heaven and agreed upon a price (and having paid the holding deposit in the case of new property), your lawyer will begin drawing up a sale contract and making certain checks on the property you’ve selected. Some of these checks include:

• Making sure the seller can legally sell the property.
• In the case of a new home, making sure the seller has the legal right to construct the property.
• Ensuring you get a title deed by registering your contract at the local Lands Office.

Who Can Buy Property in Cyprus?
In general, all foreigners can buy property in Cyprus, and many countries have agreements with Cyprus so that their nationals don’t have to pay double taxation while living there. However, there are a few formalities that foreigners have to go through (which by 2009 are expected to no longer exist) in order to get approval to purchase property. One of these is the requirement that all non-residents obtain permission from the Council of Ministers to purchase property in Cyprus.

While buying property is not a problem, there are more serious restrictions placed on foreigners when it comes to letting property. Legally, non-residents aren’t allowed to let their property to vacationers on a short-term basis (they can, however, let to Cypriot residents on a long-term basis). Many foreigners let their properties to vacationers anyway, whether knowingly or in ignorance of the law, with no real effect.

A legal way to let your property short-term to vacationers is by applying to the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) to have your property certified for holiday letting (the property must be detached in order to even be considered as possible tourist accommodation).

Certification can be a long process, and once your property is certified you’ll have to pay the CTO 3 percent of the expected income from the property each year (you’ll be charged for this independently of how much money you actually make from letting the property).

If you’re a non-resident in Cyprus and want to buy property to let, it’s extremely important that you get legal advice and inform yourself sufficiently before making any commitments.

Private Contract
Once you’ve found a place you like, performed all the necessary checks, gotten permission from the Council of Ministers to purchase it and made all the required payments, you can move on to the signing of the contract with the seller.

Although it’s legal to transfer property in Cyprus without the signing of a contract, it’s highly recommendable to have one and register it at the Lands Office to make sure you have the exclusive right to buy the property (in order to retain this right you must register your signed contract at the Lands Office two months from the date of signing).

Once signed, the process for registering the sales contract is as follows:

• Registration at the Lands Office particular to the district where the property lies (the original is required and will be returned to you; a copy should also be brought along).
• A form stating the buyer’s and the seller’s name has to be deposited along with the contract (form N34).
• A fee of approximately 2€ must be paid.
• The stamp duty must then be paid at the Internal Revenue’s Department local office.

Remember that if you contract the services of a lawyer, he or she will perform these tasks for you as part of the basic services included in the legal fees.

The Last Step
Once the sale contract is signed and registered at the Lands Office and all relevant fees, taxes and duties are paid, you have the right to claim your keys and move in to your new home! This holds true even if you haven’t yet received your title deeds, which can take months and sometimes years.

The process of obtaining title deeds, while trustworthy, can be complicated in Cyprus. As always, professional legal help is strongly recommended to navigate without problems through the process.