The Plenary of the Cypriot parliament approved on Thursday a bill aiming at resolving the problem of exposed property buyers, who were unable to obtain title deeds due to debts incurred by developers who had sold them the properties.
The bill as well as the regulations were unanimously approved. The plenary also approved amendments tabled by the ruling Democratic Rally party (DISI) and by Democratic Party (DIKO).
Under this bill property buyers who have repaid their loans will be issued with title deeds even if the property had been mortgaged by the developer.
The bill was among the prior actions set by Cyprus` lenders (EC, ECB and the IMF) for the next disbursement, amounting to €500 million.
The bill grants the head of the land registry department the authority to exempt, transfer and cancel mortgages and or other encumbrances, depending on the case and under certain conditions.
The plenary also approved an amendment, tabled by ruling DISY, stipulating that a property will not be transferred to the buyer’s name if the latter owes immovable property tax (IPT) to the government or the municipality, or has outstanding sewerage fees.
An amendment tabled by DIKΟ allows the buyer to pay transfer fees in twelve monthly installments,
