Cyprus Mail 29 July 2019 - article by Staff Reporter
MPs rejected President Nicos Anastasiades' veto on a bill that would freeze until October repossessions on primary residences that are potentially eligible for the Estia debt relief scheme.
Parliament on Monday rejected one of two presidential vetoes relating to foreclosures legislation, while postponing voting on the other veto.
In an extraordinary session the House plenum voted by 35-17 to reject President Nicos Anastasiades’ veto on a bill that would freeze until October repossessions on primary residences that are potentially eligible for the Estia debt relief scheme.
At the same time, parliament decided to hold off voting on the second presidential veto that relates to changes recently made to the foreclosures legislation.
MPs decided to take more time to discuss this specific issue. The House will be reconvening this coming Friday to vote on the second veto.
In favour of postponing a vote on the second veto were ruling party Disy, as well as opposition Diko, Edek, the Citizens Alliance and the Greens.
Should parliament vote to reject the second presidential veto on Friday, the matter would be referred to the supreme court.
The two bills in question had been passed by opposition parties on July 12. The parties said they wanted to introduce additional safeguards for homeowners with mortgages they are unable to service, and to restore the negotiating balance between lenders and borrowers.
A week later President Anastasiades refused to sign off on the two items, saying they render foreclosures legislation ineffective, raising the risk of downgrades for the island’s banks and the economy.
The amendments to the main foreclosures law passed by opposition parties would allow the defaulted borrower to obtain a court decision that stalls a foreclosure process if it is proved that a bank has not taken all necessary actions required by the central bank directive to restructure a nonperforming loan.
At the same time, the amendments clearly state the reasons a defaulted borrower can cite to challenge the auction of the property.
Amendments also included, among others, extending to 45 days from 30 days the payment due date following a notice and the auction of a property following a notice; and preventing the sale of a property at below 80 per cent of its market value for six months, from three months previously, while maintaining a floor of 50 per cent of the market value for any potential sale.
