Since its launch in December last year, nearly 2,000 people have signed an on-line petition on the UK Number 10 website calling on Prime Minister Gordon Brown to put pressure on the Cyprus Government to protect their property rights.
In an interview with the Sunday Mail, British businessman Leslie Glassock who submitted the petition said that he was furious that he’s still waiting for the Title Deeds to a property he bought in Limassol in 2003.
The petition will remain on-line until Thursday 4th June.
The petition reads: “We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to exert pressure on the Government of Cyprus to protect property rights in Cyprus in compliance with Article 17 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.”
Editors Comment
Recent months have seen the pressure on Cyprus to resolve the Title Deeds-cum-fraud mess mounting.
Buyers are worried that the global credit crunch will affect developers in Cyprus. Many property developers hold onto title deeds of buyers’ homes using the land on which they are building as collateral to raise mortgages. If a developer collapses, the banks have legal right of foreclosure.
There are around 100,000 properties waiting for their Title Deeds, some 30,000 have been bought by non-Cypriots. Many buyers in this situation face the very real threat of losing their homes if their developer collapses.