North Cyprus Buyer's Guide

As you will be aware there are 4 types of Title Deeds:

'Foreign Title', English, German etc, 'Original Foreign' pre 1974, 'Turkish Title', Turkish prior to 1974 and 'TRNC Title', previously Greek owned prior to 1974.

There are also leasehold properties owned by the Ministry of Tourism, who grant
long-term leases of 49 years.

To purchase a Freehold title property, there are a number of checks carried out by the Ministry of Interior. This will inevitably mean the sale will take approximately 4-8 months to be completed.

The process for buying any freehold property is as follows:
1. Secure property and agree price.
2. Contract drawn up by solicitor, setting down the terms of sale, i.e. price, timescale, vendor, purchaser and any special conditions.
3. Vendor and purchaser sign.
4. Purchaser provides 10-20% deposit.
5. Solicitor applies for a Purchase Permit from the Council of Ministers, (takes 4 to 8 months).
6. As soon as purchase permit is received, remaining balance due from purchaser.
7. Purchaser pays balance and vendor signs title deed into name of purchaser.
8. Sale completed.

The costs involved are as follows:
Solicitors cost, including; drawing up of contract, power of attorney, purchase permit application and seeing sale through to completion = £1,000

Process for buying a leasehold property is as follows:
The process to purchase is much the same as freehold purchases, however, instead of an application going to the Ministry of Interior, you must apply either directly or via a solicitor to the Ministry of Tourism, who grant the lease.

At the time of application a deposit of 10-20% must be paid and held on behalf of the vendor. Once application is accepted the sale can proceed to a completion at a convenient time for vendor and purchaser and then the lease is transferred into name of the buyer.

1- Secure property and price.
2- Contract drawn up by solicitor agreeing terms & conditions.
3- Vendor & purchaser sign.
4- Vendor applies to Tourism Office to transfer lease.
5- Purchaser applies to take over lease. (May include personal interview)
6- Once Purchaser application is approved, 10-25% deposit transferred.
7- On completion, remaining balance paid over to vendor and lease transferred.
8- Sale completed…


Freehold Property
The usual procedure for buying a freehold property is first to choose a property and make sure you are happy with it. Once a price has been agreed upon, contracts will then be drawn up, either by our solicitor or any solicitor of your choice. You, the vendor and the solicitor will agree upon the terms of sale; price, timescale, purchaser and vendor details and any other relevant conditions including the payment plan for new-build properties. The contracts are then signed by the vendor and the purchaser. On signing the contract, the purchaser pays the agreed deposit (usually between 10% and 25%) and the purchase permit is applied for from the Council of Ministers. It can take between four and nine months before the application is processed. The stage payments then continue as per contract until the permission is granted by the Council of Ministers, and then the remaining balance is paid to the vendor. The vendor will then sign the title deed into the name of the purchaser and stamp duty will be paid. This is known as transfer of title deeds. The sale is then complete.


Land Purchase/Own Build
For the client who wishes to purchase land and build a house or villa, the laws are outlined below:

a) Outside the Municipal boundaries, there are restrictions on the area that one can build on (20% of the land area), and a height restriction of two storeys.

b) There are good architects and engineers who will plan and design your villa at reasonable rates. Our sister company Osin Construction can help with planning, designing and building. Once the plans have been lodged with the District Office, work may commence.

c) Land in Northern Cyprus is measured in dönüms. 1 dönüm consists of 4 evleks. 1 evlek = 3600 ft², 1 dönüm = 1388 m² or 14400 ft², 3 dönüms = 1 acre. Building costs vary, dependent upon finishing, from £250 per m² upwards. Most buildings are constructed in the reinforced concrete frame system that is familiar in the Mediterranean countries. Buildings tend to be over-specified, but this can only be an advantage to the buyer. Materials are readily available from Turkey, Spain, Italy, Germany and UK. Osin Construction are very highly regarded and quotes are available upon demand.
Approximate Costs

In addition to the purchase price of actual property, other costs you are likely to incur when purchasing a new build are as follows:

• Solicitor's fee: £1000
• Deposit: 10% - 25% of purchase price (in most cases) followed by stage payment - dependent on development.
• Stamp duty: 6%
• VAT: 5% Approximate
• Approximate for electricity and water connection: £200 - £600
• Water charges can vary considerably, depending on size and location of property, and whether usage is general or excessive for pool and irrigation system etc. but a standard charge (i.e. not exceeding allocation) £10 bi-monthly.
Note: Electricity bills, which are payable monthly, average out at between £10-£40 pounds per month depending on usage.


Other Information
A foreigner coming to Northern Cyprus to live and/or work must apply for a temporary visitors permit from Lefkosa, which involves the completion of a form and the supply of three or four passport size photographs. A full permanent resident's permit is not usually issued until the recipient has been in residence in the TRNC for five years. For retired persons, the residents permit is all that is required. Retired persons may bring into the country a full household of furniture. These are virtually tax free - a nominal 2 - 3% tax is levied.