Filenews 27 June 2025 - by Eleftheria Paizanou
A constitutional formula for the release of thousands of trapped property owners who fell victim to land development entrepreneurs was approved yesterday by the Plenary Session of the Parliament with the blessings of the government.
Unanimously, Parliament gave a breather to many affected people, who were hostage to legal and constitutional obstacles and could not secure title to property.
Today there are 9,497 cases of trapped buyers, of which 4,080 have been issued a title deed, while for 5,417 a title deed has not yet been issued. The new legislation concerns the cases of immovable property with previous encumbrances, for which the written consent of the persons or organization that is the holder of the encumbrance is required.
If the written consent is obtained, the Director of the Land Registry Department will have the opportunity to proceed with the cancellation of these encumbrances, so that the property is transferred in the name of the buyer, regardless of other encumbrances that follow.
At the same time, the buyer has the right, in the event that the persons for whose benefit the registered encumbrances and/or prohibitions are effecting abusively and unjustifiably refuse to provide the above-mentioned written consent and provided that the sale price has been paid in full, to submit an application to the Court for a Court order that these persons abusively and unjustifiably refuse to provide the said consent Consent.
The right of bona fide buyers is also strengthened, so that within 45 days of refusing to give the specific consent to submit such an application to the court.
The Supreme Court may issue a Rules of Procedure to better implement the proposed arrangements, including setting the time limit for adjudicating the envisaged proceedings. The application for the transfer of title to applications in which there are either no encumbrances in rem or these are later than the purchase and sale document continues.
At the same time, in cases where a separate title deed has not been issued, the law sets a time limit of eight months for the presentation of the relevant certificates in cases where a separate title deed has not been issued. Upon submission of the necessary evidence, the time period for the issuance of the title deed, as a necessary prerequisite for the examination of the application, is limited to two years. The new legislative regulation does not cover all trapped real estate buyers, which is why a new legislative regulation will be submitted that will shield those who cannot secure a title deed due to urban planning irregularities by land development entrepreneurs.
