Contract of Sale
Preparation and signing of a contract of sale.

It is recommended that such contracts are deposited with the Land Registry Office not later than 2 months after signing to ensure the legal protection of the buyer and for specific performance purposes.

Procedure:

• The contract has to be stamped at the Inland Revenue Office and Stamp Duty to be paid (0,15% of purchase price)
• The stamped contracts have to be deposited at the Land Registry Office (LRO) and a fee of 1,00 CYP per contract to be paid.

In case a law office carries out the stamping and deposit of the contracts, a legal fee of approximately 50,00 CYP is charged plus the above stamp duties and fees.

With the signing of the contracts the buyer / the alien is the legal owner of the property.

In order to become the registered owner of the property he has to apply for the permit to acquire this property in Cyprus by the Council of Ministers under the Immovable Property Acquisition (Aliens) Law. This authorisation is granted to all bonafide buyers for residential purposes.

Permit to Acquire Property:

• The application to acquire immovable property in Cyprus can be made any time after signing of the contracts to the Council of Ministers.
• Legal advise for this application is recommended to ensure that the permit is granted as insufficient information given and non-compliance with the requirements can lead to the rejection of the application.
• Time required: approx. 8-12 months
• Legal fees charged: from CYP 350,00 and up depending on value of property plus out-of-pocket expenses for telephone, mailing expenses, etc, CYP 30,00

When the permit has been granted, the property can be registered in the aliens name at the Land Registry Office.

Registration of Ownership at the Land Registry Office (LRO)

Required documentation:

• Certificate from the Cyprus Central Bank that all funds for the purchase of the property have been brought from abroad.

The registration is usually handled by a notary's office due to the extend of the paper work.

The usual expenses for the registration is estimated at CYP 50,00 and 100,00 for the notary's office including stamp duties and out-of-pocket expenses plus the registration/transfer fee to the Land Registry Office as per table below:

Value of Property Fees in %:

• up to 10.000 CYP 5,0 %
• 10.000 - 20.000 CYP 6,0 %
• 20.000 - 35.000 CYP 6,5 %
• 35.000 - 50.000 CYP 7,0 %
• 50.000 - 75.000 CYP 7,5 %
• 75.000 and more CYP 8,0 %