FOLLOWING today’s meeting of the Cabinet (Council of Ministers), Interior Minister Socrates Hasikos explained some of the key points of the ‘hidden mortgages’ bill designed to enable several thousand people to get the Title Deeds to the property they purchased.
“The bill covers several thousand citizens who have paid the full purchase price for their house or apartment but who cannot get its Title Deed either because the vendor (property developer) had mortgaged the property to the bank, or because the vendor has not paid the monies due to the state such as VAT, income tax, social insurance etc.”
He noted that the bill would guarantee that purchasers affected would be able to obtain the property’s Title Deed and, having done so, they will be able to sell, transfer or mortgage the property.
Asked to clarify, Mr Hasikos made it clear that the law will cover all cases where the buyer paid the full purchase price for the property and those who have paid a sizeable proportion of the purchase price who may pay the remainder into a special account through the Land Registry when they have the money.
The main provisions of the bill
- With the proposed changes, for the purpose of issuing ownership titles to the benefit of the entrapped buyer, authority is granted to the director of the land registry department to exempt, eliminate, transfer, cancel mortgages and or other encumbrances, depending on the case and under conditions.
- Specifically, the sale price must have been paid in full by the buyer. In case of an outstanding amount, the buyer can deposit it in a special temporary account managed by the land registry director.
- The director will have the power to transfer mortgages to other property belonging to the seller. If no such property is available, the director can transfer the encumbrances on individuals who guaranteed the seller’s obligations and, at the time the agreement was signed, had acted as board members, or owned over 10 per cent of the seller’s share capital.
- The bill concerns the seller’s obligations to banks and the state.
- To benefit from these provisions a sales contract for the property or part thereof, must have been submitted to the land registry department by December 31, 2014.
Author: Nigel Howarth, news.cyprus-property-buyers.com