Cyprus
Answer ... The Immovable Property (Tenure, Registration and Valuation) Law provides for the following forms of ownership:
- full title ownership (ie, the registered owner of immovable property has the whole interest therein);
- beneficial ownership under trust deed (ie, the beneficial owner has all rights provided in the trust deed, which must be registered at the appropriate land registry);
- beneficial ownership due to life interest reservation (ie, the beneficial owner has the right to possess or exploit the immovable property until his or her death, while the title is in the name of registered owner);
- long-term leases (ie, a minimum 15-year lease which is registered at the appropriate land registry; subject to the provisions of the lease, the tenant may have the right to sell, transfer or mortgage the immovable property); and
- ownership in undivided shares (ie, at least two persons are the registered owners in undivided shares of immovable property and each has the right to possession, together with the others, to the whole of the property without a specific part of the property being allocated to him or her).
Cyprus
Answer ... In Cyprus, a very common vehicle through which people – mainly investors – structure the acquisition of immovable property is the Cyprus private limited liability company with shares. The advantages of this ownership structure include:
- speedy, flexible and straightforward procedures; and
- potential tax efficiencies for the owner.
Cyprus company law imposes no limitations or restrictions on foreign share ownership, provided that the restrictions imposed by the Acquisition of Immovable Property (Aliens) Law mentioned in question 2.3 are met. This ownership structure enables the potential seller and buyer of the immovable property to avoid the transfer process through the land registries.
Alternatively, investors seeking to minimise their risks by becoming the registered owners of real estate in Cyprus may prefer to become the owners of units in a Cyprus real estate alternative investment fund, which will use the money invested by numerous investors to buy several properties under better conditions.
Cyprus
Answer ... Article 23 of Part II: Fundamental Rights and Liberties of the Constitution expressly provides that “every person, alone or jointly with others, has the right to acquire own, possess, enjoy or dispose of any movable or immovable property and has the right to
respect for such right”. The registered owner of immovable property is not restricted from possessing, using or renting the property, or from disposing of its ownership, including through partial or total alienation, charge, change or destruction.
Despite the above general principle, Article 23 of the Constitution further provides that this right is subject to restrictions:
which are absolutely necessary in the interest of the public safety or the public health or the public morals or the town and country planning or the development and utilisation of any property to the promotion of the public benefit or for the protection of the rights of others may be imposed by law on the exercise of such right.
In such case the owner of the property will be entitled to relevant compensation.
The Acquisition of Immovable Property (Aliens) Law (Cap 109), as amended, further imposes specific legal restrictions of ownership of real estate on particular classes of persons. It prohibits the ownership by an alien (ie, “any person not being citizen of the Republic and includes company controlled by alien, foreign company and trust in favour of an alien”) of immovable property without the prior permission of the Council of Ministers. An alien can apply to the Council of Ministers for the acquisition of one property only.
Cyprus
Answer ... No. Once a building has been constructed on land, a new separate title deed must be issued by the appropriate land registry in the name of the (new) registered owner. Therefore, the land and the buildings on it are registered together and are inseparable for title purposes.
Cyprus
Answer ... Mortgages, memos and liens are the available security interests over immovable property.
Under Cyprus law, the principle is that the earlier rights are privileged and defeat later rights. Therefore, any mortgages, memos or liens registered in favour of a bank earlier than others will take precedence over later registered rights.