Cabinet approves hidden mortgages bill

According to Cyprus Property News, following today’s meeting of the Cabinet (Council of Ministers), Interior Minister Socrates Hasikos explained some of the key points of the ‘hidden mortgages’ bill designed to enable several thousand people to get the Title Deeds to the property they purchased. “The bill covers several thousand citizens who have paid the full purchase price for their house or apartment but who cannot get its Title Deed either because the vendor (property developer) had mortgaged the property to the bank, or because the vendor has not paid the monies due to the state such as VAT, income tax, social insurance etc.” He noted that the bill would guarantee that purchasers affected would be able to obtain the property’s Title Deed and, having done so, they will be able to sell, transfer or mortgage the property. Asked to clarify, Mr Hasikos made it clear that the law will cover all cases where the buyer paid the full purchase price for the property and those who have paid a sizeable proportion of the purchase price who may pay the remainder into a special account through the Land Registry when they have the money.