THE Cyprus Association of Property Owners (KSIA) has added its voice to those calling on Government to resolve the Title Deed problems.
Speaking yesterday at the Annual General Meeting of KSIA its president, George Strovolides, said that the problem is serious with more than 100,000 people without Title Deeds. “This unresolved issue is dangerous and more regulation on the market will benefit all sides,” he said.
Mr Strovolides has brought the problem to the attention of Interior Minister Neoclis Sylikiotis and has also been in touch with the Cyprus Land & Building Developers Association and the Cyprus Bar Association about the issue.
There are more than twice the number of Cypriots than non-Cypriots without Title Deeds – and they are also becoming increasingly worried about how they will be protected if the credit crunch hits the property sector. Developers have often mortgaged and re-mortgaged the land on which their homes have been built and in the event of developers becoming bankrupt, banks have the right to claim these homes to settle the debt – even though buyers may have paid for them in full.
Editors note
As the law currently stands, property developers are allowed to offload their unpaid mortgage risk onto unsuspecting property buyers; in the event of bankruptcy they have nothing to lose. As they have already received payment for the property, the only people to lose out are the unfortunate buyers!
