Talks held over cypriot title deeds

The UK minister for Europe, David Lidington, visited Cyprus for two days and discussed the problems with the country’s Foreign Minister Ioannis Kousildes.

Indeed, many British property buyers still do not officially own their homes, despite having paid for them. The problem has been going for several decades, following several builders taking out mortgages on properties which could not be paid back, leaving overseas investors and expats without the title deeds for their homes.

The resulting difficulties have helped to harm Cyprus’ international reputation for real estate investment, at a time when the island is struggling to regain popularity as well as credibility. Indeed, officials recently cautioned the industry on respectable practises amid fears that a new wave of Chinese buyers could be deterred from investing on the island.

“I know that this is not something that has only affected British people, but a very large number of citizens here in Cyprus have been beset by the same legal problems over housing arrangements that in some way have gone wrong,” said Lidington.

He praised the Cypriot government for taking action to resolve the outstanding title deed claims with “constructive work”.

“It’s in both our interests to hope for a way forward for those families that go through a great deal of anguish and uncertainty,” he added.

Kasoulides told the Cyprus Mail that they had a chance to “map out coordination in relation to the sensitive issue of title deeds”.

“This is an important issue for the Cypriot government that we are determined to effectively address,” he commented.