Buying Property in Cyprus

Buying property in Cyprus is quite easy. As a non-Cypriot you are entitled to purchase FREEHOLD for your personal use:

1. An apartment or a house.
2. A villa on a building site not exceeding 4.000m2.
3. A piece of land not exceeding 4000m2 for the purpose of erecting a house within a reasonable time period.
4. Offshore business units can buy/built unlimited office/work space.
5. A second home may be permitted depending on the type. (ie: a holiday home in addition to a permanent home in the city).
6. Acquisition of leases having a term in excess of 33 years duration, are treated similarly in Real Estate as a freehold in relation to the limitations.
7. Acquisition in shares other than between husband and wife is not permitted.

Properties have title deeds. Title deeds are issued by the land registry department, of the Cyprus Government, a few years after completion of the project. Individual houses follow the same procedure. Upon approval by the Council of Ministers of the application and confirmation by the Central Bank that the purchase was with foreign funds, then the transfer of deeds can take place within a few hours.

All the main banks in Cyprus offer loans for the purchase of property in foreign currency. If you acquire through a Developer he usually has prearranged loan facilities, which can be explained to you when interest is shown for the purchase of property.

Normally a deposit of about 30% can facilitate a loan on the balance.

Interest rates vary but as a guideline you can expect, the base rate libor +2.0%. Repayment period can be up to 15 years or more.

We recommend seeing a solicitor. Buying a property through a reputable developer there are printed ready contracts. Should you wish to use a solicitor to check the contract and examine the property’s date, any impediments etc… an average solicitor fee is Euro 850.00 - 1,750.00. 

Since April 2004, Cyprus is a member of the EU, the procedural restrictions on the property purchased on EU members are lifted. All restrictions on property on EU members will be lifted after April 2009. However as from April 2004 EU citizens do not require either a residential or a working permit.