Borrowers association engaging with political parties over trapped buyers

The Cyprus Borrowers Association (Syprodat) this week said that it has initiated discussions with various political parties, aiming to explore the possibility of proposing a law to address the issue of trapped buyers, should it become necessary.

Trapped buyers are those who, despite strictly adhering to the terms of their agreement and paying the full purchase price of a property, have not been able to obtain full ownership, meaning a title deed.

Essentially, these buyers, while having settled all amounts owed to the land developer, remain without a title deed and are, therefore, unprotected.

In addition, any inability of the respective developer to settle their loan obligations could even lead to the foreclosure of the buyers’ property.

In its statement, Syprodat stressed that the matter of trapped buyers “is extremely serious and must be treated with the appropriate attention by both the government and the political parties”.

This announcement follows statements made by Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou, who indicated that efforts are being made to find a legislative solution as soon as possible.

The goal, the association explained, is to present a relevant bill to parliament, for which the Interior Ministry is awaiting an opinion from the office of the attorney general.

Ioannou provided an interview to state radio earlier this month, in response to a court of appeal decision that deemed certain legislative provisions, which allowed buyers to obtain ownership titles, unconstitutional.

During the interview, Ioannou said that the government is “determined to make every effort to find a solution for trapped property buyers, who are now at risk of losing their properties”.

Under legislation previously approved by parliament, the director of the land registry has the right to transfer properties on behalf of buyers who had filed their contracts with the district land registry office by December 31, 2014, under certain conditions.

However, the court of appeal, when examining an appeal by a bank, regarding a lower court decision involving mortgaged properties after loans were granted to a property developer, ruled that the legislative provisions allowing trapped property buyers to obtain ownership deeds were unconstitutional.

The minister expressed limited optimism during the interview, saying that the latest court decision means that there are low expectations that parliament will be able to legislate again to protect trapped property buyers.

He mentioned that although a significant number of trapped buyers have secured titles through this process, an equally large number of applications remain pending, while it is unknown how many have not yet taken action to secure their property deeds.

Nevertheless, Ioannou said that the ministry is already working on a relevant bill, with the intention of submitting it to parliament by September for further consideration.

In response, Syprodat said that “trapped buyers should take measures to protect their properties and all their rights, and not remain idle”.

“The association is at the disposal of both the trapped buyers and their lawyers to collaborate in order to find the best definitive solution,” Syprodat concluded.