Buying a Home in Cyprus
Anne Hall
Buying a Home in Cyprus is required reading for anyone planning to buy property in Cyprus. It contains an abundance of essential information and insider tips to guide you through the Cypriot property maze, and save you time, trouble and money. Irrespective of whether you’re buying a family, holiday or retirement home, or a property purely as an investment, this guide will help ensure a smooth, problem-free transaction. Whether you’re seeking an apartment in Limassol, a townhouse in Paphos or a detached house in the Troodos Mountains, Buying a Home in Cyprus will help make your dreams come true. Don’t leave home without it!
Download the first 25 pages FREE now (including the Table of Contents), and see for yourself the wealth of priceless information this book contains! It's packed with comprehensive, up-to-date, accurate information, facts and figures, and 'insider’ tips, all written and presented in the ‘easy to read and understand’ style for which Survival Books are famous. Our books will save you weeks or months of research, answer hundreds of questions – including many you hadn’t even thought of – and help you avoid problems and save money!
Click 'BUY' (left) to get up to 42% off and free UK delivery at Amazon.co.uk
Extracts from the book…
Why Cyprus?
Cyprus, famous as the legendary birthplace of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, has many attractions, not least its reliable sunshine, blue skies and excellent sandy beaches. It’s an island of great beauty with a wide variety of contrasting landscapes, including mountains with vine-clad foothills, citrus and olive groves, and pine and cedar forests. The island has a rich cultural heritage and a wealth of fascinating archaeological sites. Timeless villages are a short drive from modern, cosmopolitan towns. Cyprus is a botanist’s dream with an abundance of wild flowers. Almost 2,000 species of plant flourish there, over 100 of which are found nowhere else.
Cyprus (pop. 802,500) is Europe’s southernmost point and the Mediterranean’s third-largest island after Sardinia and Sicily, being also the most easterly of the Mediterranean islands. It covers 9,251km2 (5,781mi2) and stretches 240km (150mi) from west to east and 96km (60mi) from north to south. The island, although politically part of Europe, is geographically nearer the Middle East, with Turkey to the north (a mere 69km/43mi away) and Israel, Lebanon and Syria to the east. Because of its geographical position, the island has been of huge strategic importance to invaders from Europe and Asia throughout its history. Cyprus has been home to Assyrians, Egyptians, Persians, Romans, Byzantines, Crusaders, Lusignans, Venetians, Ottoman Turks and the British – it has been termed the meeting point of the continents of Europe, Asia and Africa – and as a result has developed a unique character and traditions. Its wealth of fascinating remains include Greek and Roman temples and monuments, Byzantine churches and medieval castles, all of which co-exist happily with cosmopolitan hotels, bustling shopping centres and modern housing developments. Watersports, particularly snorkelling and diving, are popular on the coast, and the central area, the Mesaoria plain, is the island’s market garden.
Today, Cyprus has a distinctly Hellenic feel, having much more in common with Greece than simply its language. Cyprus benefited hugely from the legacy of its last rulers, the British, who were largely responsible for the island’s excellent communications, its legal system and public services, good health system and schools, low crime rate, road system (where traffic drives on the left) and, not least, the English language, which is spoken by some 90 per cent of the population. For Britons, all this gives the island a comforting air of familiarity alongside all the benefits of a Mediterranean location.
Around 60 per cent of foreign homebuyers in Cyprus are British and the island is also popular with Russian and German citizens, although in far smaller numbers. British buyers are usually looking for a holiday home or considering Cyprus as a retirement location. It’s extremely popular with British retirees, although since 2001 property agents have noticed a rise in interest from younger people with families who are considering living and working in Cyprus. Most foreigners, especially the British, are concentrated around Paphos and the west of the island, with smaller numbers preferring Limassol (Lemesos), which combines a cosmopolitan town with proximity to the beach.
Letting - The Law
Cypriot law is clear on the subject of property letting: non-residents aren’t permitted to let property on a short-term basis to holidaymakers, although they can let long-term to Cypriot residents.
The restriction is connected to the fact that, non-resident foreigners (even EU citizens) must obtain permission to buy property in Cyprus. (Since the country’s accession to the EU in May 2004, Cypriot law has distinguished between residents and non-residents, as opposed to Cypriots and foreigners.) Unless you’re a Cypriot or an EU citizen resident in Cyprus, you must apply to the Council of Ministers for permission to buy a property. Although this is almost always a formality, permission is granted on condition that the property won’t be used for commercial purposes or will be let only on a long-term basis to residents of Cyprus.
Letting a property on a short-term basis to holidaymakers is illegal unless you apply to the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) to have the property certified for holiday letting. This is permitted only on detached properties, and certification can be a long and complicated procedure. There are many estate agents and developers who can help with this, but make sure you get independent legal advice before you commit yourself financially. The CTO will then inspect your property in the same way that it inspects any tourist accommodation and will charge you 3 per cent of the expected income from the property annually. You must pay this charge even if you don’t receive the estimated projected income (or any income at all!).
If you’re planning to let property on a community development, you must also check whether there are any community rules that prohibit or restrict letting, aside from the legal restrictions. You may also be required to notify your insurance company.
If you aren’t a resident of Cyprus and you’re planning to buy property to let, you must take professional legal advice before commiting yourself.
If you let a property in Cyprus, you’re required by law to pay tax on your rental income in Cyprus even if the income is received in another country.
Many people illegally let their properties privately to families and friends on a short-term basis and many agents and developers offer a buy-to-let service to this purpose. Although the law is clear, it isn’t policied vigorously, as the Cypriot government realises that the increased investment in the island and increased tourist revenue resulting from such lets are boosting the economy; they don’t want to discourage property buyers or potential investors, who will be paying taxes, nor tourists, who will be spending money in Cyprus.
Since joining the EU in May 2004, Cyprus is going through a period of change and adaptation, and legal experts agree that the letting laws may change in the near future. Nevertheless, if you plan to buy to let, you must obtain advice on your legal position from a qualified professional.
No reviews yet. Be the first…
Free PDF Sample
PRICE: £11.95
PUBLICATION: June 2005
EDITION: 3rd
PAGES: 308
BINDING: paperback
SIZE: A5 (210mm x 148mm)
COLOUR PHOTOS: 20
