The recent enactment of the Transfer and Mortgage of Immovable Properties (Amendment) Law of 2025 (Law 110(I)/2025) marks a crucial turning point in the longstanding issue of trapped property buyers. Under certain conditions, it is expected to yield positive outcomes for many affected individuals.
An initial interpretive reading of the new amendment law reveals the legislator’s intent to address the unconstitutional distortions of the previous legal regime, as highlighted in numerous first-instance court rulings and confirmed by the Court of Appeal’s decision in Civil Appeal 285/2018. It is worth noting that in its decision dated June 20, 2024, the Court of Appeal ruled that specific articles of the primary law (Law 9/1965), namely Articles 44IT – 44KB, added through Law 139(I)/2015, conflicted with Articles 23 and 26 of the Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus — namely, the right to property and freedom of contract.
As a direct consequence of this decision, the District Land Registries suspended the review of applications submitted by trapped buyers, pending necessary legislative corrections — which are now anticipated to be implemented through the new amendment law.
The new law sets out specific eligibility conditions:
The sales contract must have been filed with the Land Registry by 31/12/2014 or the sales contract must have been signed by 31/12/2014 and filed with the Land Registry following a court order, provided that the related application was submitted by 31/12/2024, in accordance with the provisions of the Sale of Property Law.
Additionally, to activate the transfer process:
A title deed must have been issued for the property and written consent must have been obtained for the removal or cancellation of encumbrances from all holders of such encumbrances prior to the date of the sales contract’s filing (e.g., mortgages, memos from third parties or government departments).
One of the innovations of the amendment law — aimed at resolving the previously identified unconstitutional issues — involves situations where the buyer has fully paid the purchase price, but the holder of the encumbrance unreasonably and unjustifiably refuses to consent to its removal.
In such cases, the buyer is entitled, within 45 days of the negative response, to file a petition with the Court seeking the issuance of a relevant order.
It is also important to note that the filing and pendency of such an application, as well as its notification to the relevant Land Registry, will suspend any process of alienation, auction, or sale of the property until a final decision is issued.
Accordingly, and significantly, the Director of the Land Registry may now, upon confirming that all legal requirements are met, proceed with transferring the title deed to the name of the trapped buyer — free of any encumbrances or restrictions.
The recent amendment of the legal framework through Law 110(I)/2025 represents a substantive attempt to remedy a longstanding social and legal affliction.
While the practical implementation of these new provisions — and the responses from the Courts and the Land Registry — remain to be seen, this institutional step offers promising prospects for the protection of the rights of thousands of citizens.