North Cyprus Property Law

Summary: Changes to the legal landscape in Northern Cyprus have positively affected the property market and made it safer to buy

A great deal has changed on the legal landscape in Northern Cyprus since 2005 and to consider North Cyprus property law and the legality of buying various types of title deed on the island without taking into account recent legal events would be unwise.

This is a review of the most significant events that have occurred affecting North Cyprus property deals in recent years - it should help to alleviate concerns that prospective purchasers have and balance out some of the extremely negative press that the property issue receives in certain media circles.

Greek Cypriots were the first to attempt to use international law in relation to reclaiming lost property in Northern Cyprus – they never considered that in so doing they would open the door to allow Turkish Cypriots to do the same in relation to their lost land in Southern Cyprus.

The first Greek Cypriot claim came about in 1989 when Ms. Titina Loizidou travelled with around 8,000 other Greek Cypriot women to North Cyprus to attempt to reclaim her lost property in Kyrenia.  The Turkish army arrested Ms. Loizidou before handing her over to the UN.  So incensed was she that she took her claim directly to the European Court of Human Rights.  The case was finally ruled upon in 1996 when the European Court of Human Rights awarded her 1.2 million Euros for the loss of her property.

The Turkish government paid the compensation. 
Her property was not returned to her.
The new owners of the property were not asked to pay the compensation.

This seemed to set a precedent that claims relating to lost property could be brought before the European Court of Human Rights and so around 1,500 similar cases were brought but all are still pending…read on to find out why.

North Cyprus and Turkey’s reaction to the case was to establish The Immovable Property Commission in North Cyprus to instead hear claims actually in TRNC rather than at the European Court of Human Rights – it was hoped The Immovable Property Commission would fulfil all the terms of the proposed Annan Plan which wanted an internationally recognised body formed in North Cyprus to deal with the property claims. 

However the European Court of Human Rights did not accept The Immovable Property Commission because a number of leading members of the Commission were residing in homes that formerly belonged to Greek Cypriots and the Commission’s guidelines did not allow for any restitution of land in the event of a claim being successful.  So an amendment was made to the North Cyprus property law dealing with the Commission so that it is now theoretically possible for land restitution – but under the current terms of the Commission’s guidelines as it stands to this day, esdeger or ‘exchange’ land will be immune from restitution – i.e., it cannot be ‘given back’. What’s more, it is considered unlikely that this amendment will affect much land in general but in the case where a piece of land holds noteworthy significance (e.g., for religious reasons) it could be applied. 

This amendment satisfied all parties concerned – the UN, the European Court of Human Rights, the terms of the Annan Plan, Turkey and the TRNC – and so the 1,500 pending claims at the European Court of Human Rights were moved to The Immovable Property Commission and the case that was previously ruled upon by the European Court of Human Rights involving Ms. Titina Loizidou will now have to be reviewed and the compensation paid to her by Turkey may have to be repaid to Turkey.

So, to summarise the significance of recent events especially for those considering buying property in North Cyprus where the title deeds are esdeger or exchange land : -

The fact that the European Court of Human Rights recognises The Immovable Property Committee and has referred all outstanding Greek Cypriot claims to it means that there is a normalising of relations between TRNC and the European Union. 

Greek Cypriots can no longer go to the European Court of Human Rights about their property claims. 

The European Court of Human Rights has upheld proposals in the Annan Plan for a Cyprus-based legal agency to resolve property matters – and what’s more, the TRNC Immovable Property Commission has no Greek Cypriot control or membership.

Under the current system, any compensation will be limited and capped, esdeger or ‘exchange’ land is immune from restitution (i.e., it cannot be given back), and the ‘one third’ rule for restitution that was proposed by the Annan Plan will not now be implemented – furthermore, any compensation awarded will be paid by The Immovable Property Commission with funding from Turkey.

This means it is now safer than ever to buy property in North Cyprus…

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