On Thursday, Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou emphasized "significant improvements" in the property Title Deed examination and issuance process. He claims these improvements will help reduce the average processing time from the previous one to three years down to three months.
Speaking at a conference held by the Pan-Cyprian Association of Land Development and Construction Entrepreneurs, Ioannou emphasized that the government has been committing to creating development-friendly environments since June 2023.
Procedures at the Department of Lands and Surveys and the Department of Town Planning and Housing are being simplified in an attempt to reduce the amount of time it takes to issue Title Deeds to property owners.
Ioannou also emphasized the continued efforts to improve development prospects and expedite citizen service by streamlining urban and spatial planning.
Ioannou acknowledged the past delays in finishing Title Deeds procedures and outlined goals to implement more adaptable and rapid procedures, removing needless hiccups and delays.
He said to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) "We acknowledge that significant delays in many instances regarding the completion of title issuance processes affected people."
The new procedure regarding applications for parcel division to create new property titles is one of the major changes that have been proposed to improve and speed up the issuance of Title Deeds.
The change took effect on January 2, 2024, and prioritizes pre-defined external demarcation and surveying work for developments. This way, all applications are submitted accurately and fully for expedited evaluation, and applicants won't always need to provide additional documentation.
In addition, Ioannou emphasized the need for external demarcation to be completed in advance of parcel division. This is necessary to "avoid interventions in neighboring properties, a common source of contention among property owners," and guarantee that future developments will stay within the actual boundaries of the properties' plots.
Ioannou also mentioned recent actions taken by the Department of Land and Surveys, such as the establishment of a Private Licensed Surveyor Institution as the only choice for carrying out the necessary surveying for parcel division.
According to Ioannou, "This allows people to work directly with the private surveyor of their choice to complete surveying tasks, freeing up departmental personnel to take on other responsibilities and reducing significant delays."
"I am confident that property owners will experience a significant decrease in the total processing time for applications and, eventually, the issuance of Title Deeds," he said in closing.