Author: Andrea Michaelidou, SENIOR ASSOCIATE
As of 4th July 2025, the Transfer and Mortgage of Immovable Property Law of 1965 (Law No. 9/1965) (hereinafter the “Law”) was amended.
The amendment was necessitated by the decision of the Supreme Court in Civil Appeal No. 285/2018, issued on 20 June 2024, which held that the provisions of Articles 44IΘ to 44KB of the Law were unconstitutional, as they were found to contravene Articles 23 and 26 of the Constitution.
The Law, as amended, imposes specific conditions for the application of the provisions of Articles 44IH and 44IΘ to 44KZ, which govern the transfer of immovable property into the name of a purchaser upon submission of an application (hereinafter the “Application”). Such an Application may be initiated either ex officio by the Director of the Department of Cadastre and Surveying (hereinafter the “Director”) or by, inter alia, the following persons:
- the purchaser, pursuant to a sale agreement filed with the competent District Land Registry Office (hereinafter the “District Land Registry Office”);
- the mortgagee, pursuant to a mortgage contract registered in the property’s official records; and
- the lender, pursuant to a loan agreement concluded with the purchaser.
Specifically, the Law, as amended, primarily provides that where an encumbrance predates the submission of the sale and purchase agreement to the Land Registry Office, the written consent of the person(s) in whose favour such encumbrances or prohibitions operate—specifically for their release, discharge, or cancellation—must be obtained in order for the Director to proceed with the examination of the Application. The amended legislation also establishes a prescribed procedure for cases in which the aforementioned consent is unreasonably and unjustifiably withheld, despite the fact that the purchase price has been paid in full. Specifically, it provides for the submission of an application for the issuance of a court order, within a specific timeline prescribed in the amended legislation, confirming that the persons in whose favour the registered charges, encumbrances and/or prohibitions operate are unreasonably and unjustifiably refusing to provide such consent. As of now, the authorities have not issued any additional guidelines or instructions concerning the practical implementation of this procedure.
Moreover, an additional amendment concerning the examination of the Application provides that where the purchase price for the property has not been paid in full the Director shall serve a written notice to the purchaser, requesting that the outstanding balance be deposited within sixty (60) days into the designated temporary account maintained by the Land Registry Office. Failure to comply within this timeframe may result in the Director rejecting the Application. Prior to this recent amendment, a thirty (30) day period was prescribed for this purpose.
Last but not least, notwithstanding the aforementioned amended provisions, the Law as amended permits the examination of Applications submitted prior to the date of entry into force of the amending legislation, provided that the issuance of the title deed for the property subject to the contract filed with the competent District Land Registry Office is feasible, and that the title deed is issued within a period of two (2) years and eight (8) months from the date of entry into force of the amending legislation. In such cases, specific supporting documents, depending on the circumstances of each case, must be submitted within the prescribed timeframe; otherwise, the Director may reject the Application.
