Cyprus Property-Luxury Villas for sale in Paphos Cyprus-Coralo Group-Cyprus Developers

The property buying process in Cyprus is simple and straightforward. Since the Republic of Cyprus joined the EU in 2004 this process has become even simpler for EU based real estate investors.

Cypriot Nationals and Citizens of member states of the EU who reside permanently in Cyprus have the right to acquire immovable property in Cyprus, without any restrictions. The permanent resident permit is acquired when a person resides in Cyprus for a total period of at least 183 days per year.
Citizens of member states of the EU that are not permanent residents of Cyprus are entitled to ownership of a villa or an apartment. Even though it is possible to purchase multiple properties, transfer of the title deeds in their name solely, can be done only for one apartment or villa or plot, or any other property. There are no restrictions on the number or size of the plots of land bought.
Restrictions that apply for the citizens of member states of the EU that do not reside permanently in Cyprus, will be lifted after 2009, and all EU citizens will enjoy equivalent rights as the Cypriot National citizens, independently of their residence status.
Citizens of Non European Countries are entitled to ownership of a villa, an apartment or a plot of land, with maximum allowed extend of 4014 square meters (four thousand and fourteen square meters).
Foreign companies can acquire property for business purposes or holiday home for their directors.

Through the following mechanism which is described in the "Sale of Land (Specific Performance) Law", transfer of ownership from the Vendor to the Purchaser is secured as soon as the Contract of Sale is deposited to the Land Registry. Specifically, the purchaser of immovable property can secure the transfer of the acquired property to his/her name by depositing a duly signed and stamped copy of the contract of sale in the Land Registry within a period of two (2) months after signing the agreement. By depositing the aforementioned Contract of Sale in the Land Registry, the purchaser prevents the Vendor from transferring the immovable property to the name(s) of a third party. No obligation, responsibility or legal right can influence the right of "Specific Performance" after depositing the Contract of Sale in the Land Registry.
With this action, the purchaser acquires the right to seek "Specific Performance" of the terms and conditions of the Contract of Sale and thus impose the transfer of title of the immovable property to the name of the Purchaser, even when the Vendor does not wish to be involved in such processes.

The purchaser is liable for the payment of stamp duty on the purchase price of the property as follows:

Maximum stamp duty: EUR 17,086.
Even in the absence of stamps, the Contract of Sale is not necessarily rendered invalid, however, the stamp duty should be paid before depositing the Contract of Sale in the Land Registry for the purpose of Specific Performance. In order to avoid paying penalty the duly stamped Contract of Sale should be deposited to the Land Registry within 30 days from signing.

Transfer fees are paid when the title of ownership of the immovable property is transferred to the name of purchaser, at the Land Registry Office in Cyprus.

The Purchaser is obliged to pay the following transfer fees, calculated according to the purchase value of the property as it appears in the Contract of Sale.

The annual immovable property tax is calculated based on the market value of the real estate. It is imposed on the registered owner of the property either natural or legal person.

This tax is calculated based to the location and size of property and is paid for garbage collection, street lighting, sewerage, etc. It usually costs between EUR 85-171 per year. Standard utilities such as electricity, water and telephone are paid independently according to individual consumption calculated on meter readings.

VAT taxation on properties was introduced on 1/05/2004. Disposals of newly-constructed properties for which a proper application for planning permit has been submitted to the relevant authorities after 1/05/2004 are subject to VAT at the standard 15% rate.
Under certain conditions, a grant is given to entitled persons to the purchase of newly-constructed properties that are used as their main permanent residence.
The application for the grant is submitted to the Ministry of Finance by any physical person citizen of the Republic of Cyprus or of any other EU member state who resides permanently in the Republic of Cyprus. The grant is for properties whose total covered area does not exceed 250 m2 and is restricted to 130 m2. For more details you are advised to contact a local accountant.

Capital gains tax is charged at the rate of 20% on gains arising from the disposal of immovable property in Cyprus or the disposal of shares of companies which own immovable property in Cyprus. The immovable property tax is paid on 30th September every year. The taxable gain is the difference between the proceeds of sale and the original cost of the property plus the cost of improvements cost, adjusted for inflation from the date of acquisition.

The above deductions are granted once in the lifetime of the individual, until fully exhausted and if an individual claims a combination of them, the maximum deduction granted cannot exceed EUR 85,430.

* The purpose of the above is meant solely for customer information and is to the best of our knowledge. Coralo Group of Companies does not have any responsibility for the above legal information.