Cyprus property glossary
The terms a buyer, seller or owner meets in a Cyprus property transaction, grouped by where they arise: the Land Registry, the contract, tax and fees, planning and the professional registers, each defined in plain English.
Reviewed Next review 10 September 20278 min read
On this page 9 sections
This page explains the general rules as published by the Cyprus authorities on the date shown. Rates, thresholds and procedures change, and your position depends on facts we do not know. Before you act, confirm the figures with the Tax Department or the Department of Lands and Surveys and take advice from a lawyer registered with the Cyprus Bar Association or a licensed accountant.
How to use this glossary#
Terms are grouped by where you meet them rather than alphabetically, because that is how they arrive. No rates, thresholds or fee amounts appear here. Amounts belong on the costs of buying property in Cyprus page, where each is tied to the official source it came from, and the order of the steps is on the how to buy property in Cyprus page. Where a definition depends on a rule rather than on usage, the rule is attributed to the authority that publishes it.
Land Registry and ownership terms#
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Ktimatologio | The Land Registry, run by the Department of Lands and Surveys within the Ministry of Interior. It keeps the register of ownership and carries out transfers at its district offices. |
| Immovable Property Law, Cap. 224 | The statute governing tenure, registration and valuation of immovable property, in Greek "Ο περί Ακίνητης Ιδιοκτησίας (Διακατοχή, Εγγραφή και Εκτίμηση) Νόμος - ΚΕΦ.224".1 It also contains the rules for commonly owned buildings. |
| Title deed | Everyday name for the certificate of registration, the Land Registry document naming the registered owner of a defined property. It states the register as at the day it was issued. |
| Registration number | The Land Registry's identifier for a property, used with district, parish, sheet, plan and block to locate it precisely. |
| Undivided share | A fraction of a property owned in common with others rather than a physically separate part. Common where a plot has not yet been divided into units. |
| Commonly owned building | A building divided into separately owned units with shared common areas, governed by Cap. 224 and managed by a committee of the owners.1 |
| Common areas | The parts of a development owned by all the unit owners together, such as entrances, stairs, roofs, lifts and grounds. |
| Encumbrance | Anything registered against a property that binds whoever owns it, such as a mortgage, a memo, a court order, a right of way or a deposited sale contract. The Department of Lands and Surveys describes a deposited contract as "an encumbrance (charge in rem) on the property".2 |
| Charge in rem | A charge attached to the property itself rather than to a person, so it survives a change of owner. |
| Memo | An entry registered against a property by a creditor to secure a debt owed by the owner. |
| Mortgage | A registered security over a property in favour of a lender. On a development, the developer's mortgage may cover the whole plot rather than your unit. |
| Search certificate | A statement of what the register holds for a property on the day it is issued. The Department of Lands and Surveys requires the seller to produce one "not more than five (5) working days from the date of conclusion of the Contract".4 |
| Division | The Land Registry process by which a plot or building is split so that separate title deeds can be issued for each unit. |
| Value ratio | The ratio of a unit's value to the value of the whole development, which the seller must determine and file after securing a planning permit, so that, in the Department's words, "the purchaser is in advance aware of the ratio of the value of the unit he/she is purchasing".2 |
Contract, deposit and completion terms#
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Reservation agreement | A private contract taking a property off the market for a fixed period while the legal checks are done. It is not the sale contract and transfers nothing. |
| Sale contract | The contract of sale of immovable property, abbreviated by the Land Registry to SLC. On a property with no deed, it is the buyer's main protection. |
| Stamping | Formerly, paying stamp duty on the contract before it could be lodged. The Tax Department states that Law 239(I)/2025 repealed the Stamp Duty Laws 1963 to 2025 from 1 January 2026, so a contract signed from that date is not stamped.7 The Land Registry asks for stamping only where at least one party signed the contract before 1 January 2026.3 |
| Deposit of the contract | Lodging the signed sale contract at the district Land Registry office. The Department states that this "πρέπει να γίνει εντός έξι (6) μηνών από την ημερομηνία της υπογραφής της", within six months of signing, unless a court order allows a late deposit.3 Deposit within that period is a condition of Specific Performance protection. |
| Specific Performance law | The Sale of Immovable Property (Specific Performance) Law, N. 81(I)/2011, which applies once the contract is deposited and is aimed at protecting the buyer where the seller fails to perform.2 It was amended by Law N. 132(I)/2023, in force from 12 December 2023.4 |
| Specific performance | A court order requiring the seller to perform the contract, typically by registering the property in the buyer's name, rather than paying damages instead. |
| Vesting contract | The contract by which a buyer assigns rights and obligations under a sale contract to a third party. The Department requires it to be deposited within six months of its signing, with a capital gains tax clearance certificate for the transferor.2 |
| Power of attorney | A certified authority allowing a lawyer or other representative to sign or attend the transfer for you when you are not in Cyprus. |
| Transfer | The Land Registry act that moves registered ownership to the buyer, done at the district office for the area where the property lies. |
| Delivery | Handing over possession of a new build, which on an undivided development happens long before the transfer. |
| Snagging | The inspection of a new build against the specification around delivery, and the list of defects it produces. |
Tax and fee terms#
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Transfer fees | The fees the Department of Lands and Surveys charges the buyer when the deed is registered in their name. Charged in bands, subject to a reduction, and, in the Department's words, "No fee is charged or collected pursuant to Chapter 17 of the Schedule, where Value Added Tax is charged".5 Monthly figures are published on Cyprus property transfers: monthly DLS data. |
| Chapter 17 | The schedule of the Land Registry fees legislation under which transfer fees are charged and to which the reduction applies. |
| Transfer fee reduction | The halving of the transfer fee that the Department applies where fees are charged under Chapter 17. It is not granted where the seller acquired the property through a sale procedure under Parts VI and VIA of the Transfer and Mortgage Law No. 9/1965.5 |
| Stamp duty | Duty that was charged on the sale contract under the Stamp Duty Laws 1963 to 2025, administered by the Tax Department. Abolished by Law 239(I)/2025 from 1 January 2026; still payable on the old scale only where at least one party signed the contract before that date.7 |
| VAT on property | Value added tax on the supply of a new building by a person acting in business. A reduced rate applies to a dwelling used as the buyer's main and permanent residence, subject to conditions on buildable area and value that are set out, with their sources, on the costs page. |
| Capital gains tax clearance certificate | The certificate a transferor obtains from the tax authorities showing that capital gains tax on the disposal has been settled. The Department requires one when a vesting contract is deposited. |
| Immovable property tax | The former state tax on owning immovable property. The Tax Department states that it "εφαρμόστηκε την 01/01/1980 και καταργήθηκε από 01/01/2017", applied from 1 January 1980 and abolished from 1 January 2017.8 No state ownership tax is charged for later years; the annual charges that remain are the municipal or community charge and the sewerage board charge. |
| Sewerage board charge | An annual charge levied by the district sewerage board on the owner of a property connected to, or within, its area. |
| Communal charges | The service charge paid by unit owners in a commonly owned building for maintaining the common areas, set by the owners' committee. |
Planning, permit and building terms#
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Planning permit | Permission for the development itself, granted before construction and before the value ratios in a development can be filed. |
| Building permit | Permission to construct the building as designed, issued by the local authority. |
| Certificate of final approval | Confirmation that the building as constructed matches what was permitted. Without it, the division that produces separate title deeds can stall. |
| Building coefficient | The ratio of permitted floor area to plot area in a planning zone, which determines how much may be built. |
| Covered area | The floor area of the building itself, as distinct from the plot area and from any uncovered verandas or parking. |
| Zone | The planning designation of a plot, which sets what may be built on it and at what density. |
| Regularisation | The process of obtaining approval, after the event, for work that departs from the permits. Often a precondition of issuing deeds. |
Professionals, licences and registers#
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Registered estate agent | A person registered with the Real Estate Agents Registration Council and holding a current licence under the Real Estate Agents Law, N. 71(I)/2010.6 Only a registered agent may advertise, promote, propose or negotiate property transactions for others in the course of business, and section 23 of the law requires every document or advertisement a licensed agent uses to carry the words αδειούχος κτηματομεσίτης (licensed estate agent) followed by the registration number and the licence number.6 |
| Advocate | A lawyer registered with the Cyprus Bar Association. Instruct one who acts for you alone rather than for the seller or the developer. |
| ETEK | The Cyprus Scientific and Technical Chamber, which maintains the registers of architects, engineers and surveyors. |
| Valuer | A professional who assesses the market value of a property, usually instructed by a lender before it will release a loan. |
| Developer | The company that builds and sells a development. Where a development is named editorially, the developer's company registration or the agent's licence number should be named with it. |
Terms relating to title are covered in more detail on the Cyprus title deeds explained page.
Questions readers ask
What is the difference between a title deed and a sale contractWhat does Ktimatologio meanWhy are there no fee amounts in this glossaryWhat does specific performance mean in a Cyprus purchaseIs stamp duty still part of a Cyprus purchase
- What is the difference between a title deed and a sale contract?#
- The sale contract is an agreement between two parties. The title deed is the Land Registry's record of who owns the property. Until the deed is transferred, the contract, once deposited, is what protects the buyer.
- What does Ktimatologio mean?#
- It is the Greek word for the Land Registry, run by the Department of Lands and Surveys. It keeps the register of ownership and carries out transfers at its district offices.
- Why are there no fee amounts in this glossary?#
- Because amounts change and each one needs its own dated official source. Every figure we publish, including the transfer fee bands, the VAT thresholds and the date stamp duty ended, sits on the costs page next to the Department of Lands and Surveys, Tax Department or CyLaw document it was read from.
- What does specific performance mean in a Cyprus purchase?#
- It is a court order requiring the seller to perform the contract, usually by registering the property in the buyer's name. It becomes available once the contract has been deposited at the Land Registry within six months of signing.
- Is stamp duty still part of a Cyprus purchase?#
- No. Law 239(I)/2025 repealed the Stamp Duty Laws 1963 to 2025 from 1 January 2026. Only a contract that at least one party signed before that date is still stamped, on the old scale.
Sources for this page
8 sources from 3 publishers. Every figure on this page is traceable to one of them.
Ο περί Ακίνητης Ιδιοκτησίας (Διακατοχή, Εγγραφή και Εκτίμηση) Νόμος - ΚΕΦ.224
Ο περί Ακίνητης Ιδιοκτησίας (Διακατοχή, Εγγραφή και Εκτίμηση) Νόμος - ΚΕΦ.224
Contract of sale, consideration, exchange: deposit of the contract
Official statisticsCited ↩ 1↩ 2
Η χαρτοσήμανση είναι απαραίτητη μόνο εάν το έγγραφο έχει υπογραφεί έστω και από έναν συμβαλλόμενο πριν από την 1/1/2026 … εντός έξι (6) μηνών … εκτός και αν εξασφαλιστεί διάταγμα δικαστηρίου … €50.00
Amendment to the Sale of Property (Specific Performance) Law
Official statisticsCited ↩ 1↩ 2
Law N. 132(I)/2023 ... came into force on 12/12/2023 ... a Search Certificate of the immovable property ... not more than five (5) working days from the date of conclusion of the Contract
Sale/Exchange: application, rights and fees
Official statisticsCited ↩ 1↩ 2
3% from €0.01 to €85,000.00; 5% from €85,001.00 to €170,000.00; 8% from €170,001.00 and above. No fee … where Value Added Tax is charged. 4) … without granting the fifty percent (50%) discount
Ο Περί Κτηματομεσιτών Νόμος του 2010 - 71(I)/2010
23. Κάθε αδειούχος κτηματομεσίτης οφείλει σε κάθε έγγραφο ή διαφήμιση … να αναγράφει … τη φράση “αδειούχος κτηματομεσίτης”, ακολουθούμενη από τον αριθμό εγγραφής και τον αριθμό άδειας
με βάση το νόμο Ν.239(Ι)/2025 καταργούνται από 01/01/2026 οι περί Χαρτοσήμων Νόμοι του 1963 έως 2025 … €0 για ποσά έως €5 000; €1,50 για κάθε €1.000 … €5.001 έως €170.000; €2,00 … μέγιστο €20.000
Φόρος Ακίνητης Ιδιοκτησίας (Immovable property tax)
RegisterCited ↩
Ο φόρος ακίνητης ιδιοκτησίας εφαρμόστηκε την 01/01/1980 και καταργήθηκε από 01/01/2017.