LEGAL ISSUES IN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT IN CYPRUS Andrew Demetriou LL.B (Hons), Barrister at Law, FCI. Arb, Chartered Arbitrator, Partner - Ioannides Demetriou.

Slides:



Advertisements
Similar presentations
SALIENT FEATURES OF ISLAMIC FINANCIAL LEASE
Advertisements

Family Property and Family Debt: A New Approach She got the goldmine, I got the shaft. They split it right down the middle, And then they give her the.
Sale of Goods Act, 1930 A contract of sale of goods is a contract whereby the seller transfers or agrees to transfer the property in goods to the buyer.
Chapter Four: The Sale of Goods 1. The Sale of Goods Act 1979 in Britain: Britain The Sale of Goods Act 1979 regulates contracts in which goods are sold.
1. Parties have contractual capacity 2. Contract has legal purpose 3. Offer 4. Acceptance 5. Consideration 6. Statute of Frauds compliance.
2-105(1) "Goods" means all things (including specially manufactured goods) which are movable at the time of identification to the contract for sale other.
Practical Car Ijarah.
Article XXXVI – Signature, ratification, acceptance, approval or accession 1. – This Protocol shall be open for signature in Berlin on 9 March 2012 by.
Renting Realty Chapter 22.
LEGAL RESPONSIBILITIES RELATING TO EASEMENTS Michael Mammen – Partner, HWL Ebsworth Lawyers.
Title Risk and Insurable Interest Chapter 20. Sale v. Lease Does title pass under a typical lease contract? Legal title vs. equitable title. –What is.
Membership of a company. Corporate Law: Law principles and practice What are shares? Shares are one of the securities that a company can issue. Shares.
STAMP AND REGISTRATION Presented by: K.Vanlalthiana Deputy Director Land Revenue and Settlement.
TRANSFER OF PROPERTY IN GERMANY
PRESENTED BY: ALAN LEVY OF ALAN LEVY ATTORNEYS' THE AMENDED PRESCRIBED MANAGEMENT RULES (PMR)
BAILMENT AND PLEDGE.
University of Calgary Continuing Education Construction Contract Law and Documents Week 12 & 13 Builders Liens Questions & Comments.
CONSIDERATION.
PROSPECTUS AND COMMENCEMENT OF BUSINESS
{ Chapter 12 Property: Real Property, Leases & Mortgages.
Chapter 14 Forms of Business Organization
Patty Bartlett Logan County Treasurer / Public Trustee.
UNITED STATES COPYRIGHT OFFICE Copyright Registration for Musical Compositions.
Breach of Contract and Remedy
INCOME – TAX (CERTIFICATE PROCEEDINGS) RULES,1962 DEFINITIONS: 1)“Act” means the Income-tax Act,1961(43 of 1961); 1A) “authorised bank” shall have the.
Chapter 14 Farm Business Organization and Transfer
Contract Review.  1. The final step in the vendor contracting process should be getting the vendor’s standard written contract and signing the contract.
Contract of Sales of Goods EMBA 2009 Kathmandu University By Team Sunil Shrestha Munish Acharya Ramesh Kumar Shrivastav Agam Mukhia.
Legal Document Preparation Class 2Slide 1 Elements of a Contract to be Considered in Drafting The writing should clearly indicate the presence of an offer.
Chapter 48 Real Property.  Property that is immovable or attached to immovable land or buildings  Types of real property:  Land and buildings  Subsurface.
LOGO The collective agreement. The labour contract.
Contract of Sale of Goods. Sale of Goods Act Definition of Contract of Sale Section 4(1) of the Sale of Goods Act defines a contract of sale of goods.
CHAPTER PowerPoint ® Presentation Prepared By Susan McManus, Mount Royal College CHAPTER PowerPoint ® Presentation Prepared By Susan McManus, Mount Royal.
Real Estate Law The Basic Real Estate Contract Real Estate Law The Basic Real Estate Contract.
Presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Minerals and Energy Minerals and Energy Laws Amendment Bill.
Civil Law. Law that governs private property, contracts and disputes involving individuals and businesses.
CONDITIONSANDWARRANTIES. STIPULATION STIPULATION A stipulation in a contract of sale with reference to goods which are the subject thereof may be a condition.
Collective Bargaining. Legal Framework 1993 Industrial and Labour Relations Act Cap 269 of the Laws of Zambia: as Amended by Act.No.30 of 1997 & as Amended.
Forms of Business and Formation of Partnerships Chapter 37.
QUASI CONTRACT.
Minimum Wages Act 1948.
LAW for Business and Personal Use © 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible.
LEGALITY OF OBJECT AND CONSIDERATION.
REGISTRATION OF DEALER- SECTION 7. Introduction  “Dealer” may be any person, natural or artificial who carries on the business of buying, selling, supplying.
Negotiable Instrument Act. Capacity of the Parties Every person capable of contracting may bind himself and be bound by the making, drawing, acceptance,
Negotiable Instrument Act
Overriding interests Lecture The general rule in registered immovable is that all interests and rights over a piece of land have to be written.
LAND COMPENSATION & RESETTLEMENT ISSUES IN MINING By RICHMOND OSEI-HWERE FACULTY OF LAW, KNUST.
LAW for Business and Personal Use © 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible.
FORMATION OF COMPANY. Steps for formation of a company  Electronic filing of form  Incorporation of company  Certificate of incorporation  Promoter.
Corporate forms in Ghana. Corporate environment is made up of registered companies, statutory corporations, sole proprietorships, incorporated private.
Did YOU Know?!? On some Caribbean islands, the oysters can climb trees. New York’s Central Park is nearly twice the size of the entire country of Monaco.
Turkish private international law on matrimonial property and successions Zeynep Derya TARMAN Koç Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi
Wills and Trusts. Estate Planning  Estate Planning and Probate involves planning for the distribution of property after death and the mechanics of how.
Class Unification of Law - Uniform Law (Rechtsvereinheitlichung) Summer term 2015.
Conditions and warranties. Introduction The law relating to sale and purchase of goods, prior to 1930 were dealt by the Indian Contract Act, In.
The Negotiable Instruments Act Negotiable Instrument According to Section 13(i) “ a negotiable instrument means a promissory note, bill of exchange.
CHARGES PRESENTED BY: ASHOK TYAGI, FCS E-130, GREATER KAILASH–1
LAW OF SALE OF GOODS.
Chapter 19 Title and Risk of Loss
Chapter 48 Real Property.
Chapter 48 Real Property.
Preventive Action U/s 145 CrPC.
The Form of the Contract
BCOM 1ST YEAR - B 2ND SEMESTER MAITRI CHHABRA 2205 ARPITA 2347 CHHAYA 2355 SHUBHANGI.
Lease-Based Product – Ijarah
STRUCTURE OF THE PRESENTATION
Direct Investment in Real Property
Mortgage A mortgage is the transfer of interest in specific immovable property for the purpose of securing the payment of money advanced or to be advanced.
IJARAH.
Presentation transcript:

LEGAL ISSUES IN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT IN CYPRUS Andrew Demetriou LL.B (Hons), Barrister at Law, FCI. Arb, Chartered Arbitrator, Partner - Ioannides Demetriou Law Offices LLC

Basic Characteristics of Land Law Land law in Cyprus is governed by the Immovable Property Law of Cyprus, Cap. 224, which is a piece of colonial legislation having the title A Law to Consolidate and Amend the Law relating to Tenure, Registration and Valuation and Ownership of Immovable Property and it is dated 1 st September 1946.

Section 2 of the Law defines immovable property as follows: (a)land; (b)buildings and other erections, structures or fixtures affixed to any land or to any building or other erection or structure; (c)trees, vines, and any other thing whatsoever planted or growing upon any land and any produce thereof before severance; (d)springs, wells, water and water rights whether held together with, or independently of, any land; (e)privileges, liberties, easements and any other rights and advantages whatsoever appertaining or reputed to appertain to any land or to any building or other erection or structure; (f)an undivided share in any property hereinbefore set out.

and Section 4 of the Law states that subject to certain exceptions, such as Trusts, which of course confer equitable rights, and Vakfs (Turkish- cypriot property rights) and the provisions of any Law in force for the time being, no estate, interest, rights, privilege, liberty, easement or any other advantage whatsoever in, on or over any immovable property shall subsist or shall be created, acquired or transferred except under the provisions of this Law.

Therefore, in Cyprus Law one can only own property as described above.

Land Registration Cyprus Land Registry System is unique in that all title to land is traced back to the date of the General Survey, that is to say from

Any right vesting in land or any right or right of way or easement vesting in land belonging to another is only recognised if it is: Derived from the owner and registered at the lands registry; Except in the case of land belonging to the Republic, if it is a right peacefully enjoyed, unchallenged for a continuous period of 30 years; Where it is derived by way of a court judgment, e.g. under the rules of specific performance; If it is derived by an edict or valid document prior to ; If it is an acquired right of way to an enclosed property under Section 11A of the Law; Where it is compulsorily acquired in accordance with the Compulsory Acquisition Law 1962 for a public benefit purpose; Where it is subject to a provision retained by the owner upon transfer (e.g. for rights for life to collect rents from a property, or to reside in a property).

Acquisition of Title Cyprus is one of the few places on earth where one can acquire registered legal title in land one day without the need for a written contract.

Contracts relating to land can be specifically enforced in accordance with the Sale of Immovable Property (Specific Performance) Law, Cap. 232.

Additionally, Section 76 of the Contract Law, Cap. 149, also provides as follows without prejudice to the specific rights conferred by Cap. 232.: (1)A contract shall be capable of being specifically enforced by the Court if- it is not a void contract under this or any other Law; and is expressed in writing; and the Court considers, having regard to all the circumstances, that the enforcement of specific performance of the contract would not be unreasonable or otherwise inequitable or impracticable. (2)Nothing herein contained shall affect the specific performance of contracts for the sale of immovable property under the provisions of the Sale of Land (Specific Performance) Law, or any amendment thereof.

Requirements for Specific Enforcement under Cap. 232 Section 2: (a)There must be a written contract. (b)It (or a copy of it) must be deposited at the District Lands Office in which the land is situated within two months of the date of the contract. (c)There must be a demand from the purchaser to the vendor to appear at the District Lands Office to sell the land. (d)The action must be filed within six months from the date either when the contract is concluded or the date when consideration under the contract passes from the purchaser to the vendor, whichever is the latter.

Further, Section 77 of the Contracts Law provides as follows with respect to contracts relating to leases of land: (1)Contracts relating to leases of immovable property for any term exceeding one year shall not be valid and enforceable unless- (a)expressed in writing; and (b)signed at the end thereof, in the presence of at least two witnesses themselves competent to contract who have subscribed their named as witnesses, by each part to be charged therewith or by a person who is himself competent to contract and who has been duly authorised to sign on behalf of such Party.

However There is case law in Cyprus that shows that a verbal contract for the sale of land can be enforced if it is proved, although it may not be specifically enforced.

Consequences of Breach of Contract Section 74 of the Contracts Law, Cap. 149, provides as follows: (1)When a contract has been broken, if a sum is named in the contract as the amount to be paid in case of such breach, or if the contract contains any other stipulation by way of penalty, the Party complaining of the breach is entitled, whether or not actual damage or loss is proved to have been caused thereby, to receive from the Party who has broken the contract reasonable compensation not exceeding the amount so names or, as the case may be, the penalty stipulated for. A stipulation for increased interest from the date of default may be a stipulation by way of penalty.

(2)When ay person enters into any bailbond, recognizance or other instrument of the same nature, or, under the provisions of any Law, or under the orders of the Government of Cyprus, gives any bond for the performance of any public duty or act in which the public are interested, he shall be liable, upon breach of the condition of any such instrument, to pay the whole sum mentioned therein. Provided that a person who enters into a contract with Government does not necessarily thereby undertake any public duty, or promise to do an act in which the public are interested.

Vendor / Developer Issues Methods of Acquisition Either a straight sale or by way of postponed consideration (αντιπαροχή). The deposition of the Sale Agreement by the developer. The necessity for interim / co-ownership. The acquisition of planning approval. The acquisition of a building permit. The acquisition of a final building permit.

Conclusions Secure title for the purchaser Enforceable rights for the purchaser A vendor who parts with title may be left exposed Possibility of sub-division and issue of separate titles