Trapped buyer
A buyer who paid in full but cannot get the title deed, usually because the developer's mortgage is still on the land. Law 110(I)/2025 offers a route for older contracts.
Updated 12 Oct 2026How it works
Trapped buyers (εγκλωβισμένοι αγοραστές) paid a developer for a home but never received the title deed, usually because the developer had mortgaged the land to a bank before selling. The bank's earlier mortgage ranks ahead of the buyer's deposited contract.
Law 139(I)/2015 let the Land Registry transfer such properties without the bank's consent. On 20 June 2024 the Court of Appeal found its key provisions unconstitutional, and 9,497 pending applications froze (Cyprus Mail).
Law 110(I)/2025, published on 4 July 2025, amends the Immovable Property (Transfer and Mortgage) Law of 1965 and restores the procedure with new conditions:
- the contract was deposited by 31 December 2014, or later under a court order applied for by 31 December 2024;
- the creditor must agree in writing; if it refuses and the buyer has paid in full, the buyer can apply to court within 45 days to have the refusal declared abusive and unjustified, and the order replaces the consent;
- any unpaid balance goes into a special account within 60 days of the Land Registry's notice;
- where no title deed exists yet, technical documents must be filed within 8 months, and the deed must be issued within 2 years and 8 months of the law, around March 2028.
Why it matters when you buy
The law deals with older contracts only and will not protect anyone buying today. Before you sign, get a recent search certificate, check whether the property has its own title deed and, if it is mortgaged, use Form A, under which the bank must release the property once you pay.