Property Trouble In North Cyprus For Brits

by Lorys Charalambous, Tax-News.com, Cyprus

29 November 2004

A British couple living in the northern (occupied) part of Cyprus in a house which had originally belonged to a Greek Cypriot have found themselves fighting a court ruling that they must demolish the house they constructed in the village of Lapithos and compensate the Greek Cypriot involved.

David and Linda Orams, from Hove in Sussex, moved to the north 2 years ago. They say that when they bought the property it was just a shell and they have spent a lot of time and money fixing it up. They purchased the property from a Turkish Cypriot, owner of a small hardware shop, who transferred the title deeds over to them. However, the 'title deeds' they received are of course recognised only by the Northern Cyprus authorities (the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus - TRNC) and by Turkey; the original title deeds in the name of the Greek Cypriot owner remain valid in the eyes of other countries.

The Orams say they understood the threat against their home only in October when they were served the court papers, in Greek. By the time they found someone to translate the papers for them it was too late and the court had already ruled against them.

If the Orams, who are now refusing to accept service of court papers, do not succeed in over-turning the ruling, it would be open to the Greek Cypriot owner to move against the property they still own in the UK in order to fulfil the court's judgement. If a British court did allow a move to attach the Orams' UK property, this would be the first case of its kind, and could affect many other foreigners who have purchased properties in the north belonging to Greek Cypriots.

Mrs Orams says she believes that when the island became divided in 1974, Greek Cypriots who fled the north were generously compensated in the South, meaning that 30 years on they have no right to their land or properties. The Republic of Cyprus and its courts do not of course accept this argument.

Over the years the British press has warned people about the dangers of buying property in the northern part of Cyprus. There are a number of different types of title deed in the TRNC and it is very important to know what category a potential purchase falls into. The safest type of property would be one that was owned by Turkish Cypriots before the 1974 invasion; but these are not easy to find, and even then the titles are threatened by a recent TRNC announcement that freehold is to be abolished in favour of 999 year leases.

The Greek Cypriot who has the original title deeds of the Orams' house says that his land holds a lot of memories for him, both good and bad, but that one day he hopes to return after the political situation has been resolved. He wants to demonstrate to people that if they think it is easy to buy in the north then they should think again as they could create big problems for themselves.

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