23.05.2023
Property sales rose by 20 percent between January and mid-May compared to the corresponding period in 2022, according to the head of the Department of Lands and Surveys, Elikkos . Elia .
During this period, 987 additional sale documents were filed with the department, while the number of mortgages fell by 35% to 2,125, Eliya said .
What’s more, regarding the number of real estate transactions that are still pending, Elia stated that the number is 9,500, compared to 20,000 in 2021.
Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), Elia also referred to the recent devastating cyberattack that rocked the department, saying that all domestic operations have been restored and some services remain unavailable to users outside of Cyprus.
“There is no connection between a cyberattack and sales results”
In regards to the numbers recorded by the department, Elia stated that sales through mid-May 2023 were 6,928, compared to 7,390 for the same period in 2022. He also mentioned that sales documents filed with the agency reached 5,694 and 4,707 respectively, indicating an increase in their number in 2023. However, he noted that mortgage rates fell from 6,058 to 3,933.
According to Elia , these observed fluctuations are primarily related to the situation in the real estate market and are not related to the recent cyber attack .
Office work has returned to normal
In addition, Elia explained that after the cyber attack that the department faced on March 8, 2023, “it took a significant amount of time to restore normal operations.” He added that in less than a week, activities related to transfers, mortgages and general encumbrances were restored.
Moreover, on April 10, the Land Cadastre Portal was launched in a new form, and two months after the cyber attack , all internal functions of the agency were fully restored. He pointed out that the interactive features of the Land Registry Portal remain inaccessible to persons outside of Cyprus for security reasons. The INSPIRE geoportal , which provides specialized access to geographic data , also remains closed .
Elia expressed his gratitude to those who played a critical role in the speedy restoration of the department’s activities, in particular, the Deputy Minister and Director General of the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, the Department of IT Services and the Office of Digital Security.
Title Enforcement Registration Update
Meanwhile, Elia explained that the process of issuing title deeds for developments, where developers and real estate entrepreneurs failed to take the necessary steps, began around 2006. By 2009, it was estimated that over 100,000 title deeds were waiting to be issued.
After the introduction of the relevant urban planning legislation in 2011, in 2013, about 65,000 title deeds were still pending.
In 2015, in response to demands from external authorities overseeing the Cyprus Economic Realignment Program, applications were opened for all developments awaiting the issuance of title deeds, resulting in approximately 45,000 pending deeds being issued.
With the initiation of the Recovery and Resiliency Plan in 2021, there were 20,000 title deeds pending that were associated with approximately 1,050 mandatory upgrade applications. “The commitment outlined in the plan is to examine a total of 16,000 title deeds, which represents 80 percent of applications,” Elia said . He also indicated that, according to the plan, 10,500 title deeds were reviewed, of which about 4,700 were issued and about 5,800 were rejected. “Currently, there are approximately 9,500 title deeds corresponding to approximately 500 applications pending review, and the department will need to review an additional 5,500 title deeds,” he said.
During the evaluation of 45,000 applications, it became clear that more than 15% of the total number of developments had significant violations. These include lack of permits, illegal additional units, and unfinished infrastructure projects that make it impossible to issue title deeds. “Most of the cases related to the above issues are still pending under the Recovery and Resiliency Plan, as most of the problem cases have remained unresolved over time,” he said.
Finally, Elias assured that the land registry is making “every possible effort” to complete the work and fulfill its obligations.
