Licensed estate agents in Cyprus: how to check the register

Listing in this directory is not a recommendation. Licence numbers are checked against the public register on the date shown; confirm them yourself before instructing anyone.

What registration under Law 71(I)/2010 means#

In Cyprus, estate agency is a regulated profession under the Real Estate Agents Law of 2010, Ο περί Κτηματομεσιτών Νόμος (the Estate Agents Law), Law 71(I)/2010 as amended.¹ The law sets up the Real Estate Agents Registration Council, Συμβούλιο Εγγραφής Κτηματομεσιτών, which keeps the Register of Estate Agents, issues licences and disciplines registered agents.¹

Two separate things have to be in place before someone may act as your agent:

• Registration: the person or company is entered in the Register of Estate Agents.
• Annual licence: a registered agent also needs a licence to practise, which expires on 31 December of the year it was issued and has to be renewed.¹

An agreement that appoints an unregistered person, or a registered agent without a valid annual licence, to act as an estate agent is void under the law.¹ Acting as an agent without registration and a licence is a criminal offence, punishable by up to 12 months' imprisonment, a fine of up to €3,500, or both.¹ The same offence covers advertising, promoting or proposing a property that is not registered in the person's own name, in the name of a relative up to the second degree, in the name of someone whose property they manage under a general power of attorney, or in the name of a company of which they are a director or employee.¹

How to check a licence number yourself#

The Council's Register of Estate Agents is the only proof that an agent is registered. A business card, a website or a membership badge is not proof. To check an agent:

1. Ask for the registration number and the licence number. The law requires a licensed agent to print the words "licensed estate agent" followed by both numbers on every document and advertisement used in the business.¹
2. Search the Council's public register for the name and the registration number, and check that the name on the register matches the name of the business you are dealing with.
3. Ask to see the licence for the current year. The licence and the registration certificate must be displayed in the agent's office.¹
4. If the register cannot be reached online, contact the Council directly and ask it to confirm the registration and the licence status.

What a licensed agent owes you#

The law places specific duties on a registered agent. Whether the agent acts for the seller or for the buyer, they must tell the buyer about the physical condition of the property, any rights registered against it and any restrictions imposed on it by law, a court or a public authority.¹ Their professional indemnity insurance of €200,000 exists for exactly this duty: it covers compensation to a buyer if the agent breaches it.¹

A registered agent must keep an office that shows their name, the words "licensed estate agent" and their registration number on the front.¹ Each office needs one licensed agent responsible for complying with the law there.¹

These rules sit alongside the checks you or your lawyer run on the property itself. Our guide to property due diligence checks covers searches at the Land Registry, and how to buy property in Cyprus sets out where the agent fits in the process.

Registered agencies by district#

Agencies appear in this directory grouped by district (Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca, Paphos and Famagusta), each with its name, its registration and licence numbers, the districts it covers and the date we last read the register.

No agency profile has passed our register check yet, so this section lists none. We do not publish a profile from the agency's own website, advertisements or marketing material, and we do not publish one on the basis of a number supplied by the agency. Until profiles appear, the Council's register is the place to check an agent you have already found.

What we check, and the date we checked it#

For each agency, we read the following from the Council's Register of Estate Agents:

• the registered name, and the trading name if one has been declared to the Council;
• the registration number;
• whether an annual licence is in force for the current year;
• the date we read the register.

A profile is published only when the name and the numbers match the register exactly. Because every licence expires on 31 December, each profile is checked again after that date.¹ If an agency's registration is removed or its licence lapses, its profile comes down. The description of each agency is written by us in neutral terms: type, districts, languages and specialisms. It is never copied from the agency.

What a listing here is not#

This page is published by an independent information publisher. We are not an estate agent and hold no licence under Law 71(I)/2010.¹ We do not advertise, propose or negotiate any property, and no property or asking price appears on this page or on any agency profile.

A listing here is not a recommendation, a ranking or a guarantee of an agency's service. An agency on a paid directory tier carries a "Sponsored" or "Partner" label on its profile, and paying for a profile does not change how it is checked. If you are buying from outside the EU, the rules on who may buy are covered in can foreigners buy property in Cyprus.