Is It “Risk Free” to Purchase North Cyprus Property? 

“The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) is an emerging market place where many new businesses are flourishing and constant discussions are underway regarding direct flights, embargoes lifted and recognition for the North which is estimated to be in 2006. “There is nothing illegal about buying in the North” The title deeds that we sell are all registered freehold titles and guaranteed by the government of the TRNC.  The lawyers in Northern Cyprus are English-speaking who offer impartial advice.   All clients need to be aware of is to follow simple criteria when purchasing  property and feel comfortable with the representation provided.

The ‘property issue’ in Cyprus — on both sides of the divide — is complex and highly sensitive. It is well understood in the international community that a resolution of the problems for both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots can be achieved only through an overall political settlement, which will inevitably mean compromises for both communities. This was so in the Annan Plan, which the Turkish Cypriot North overwhelmingly voted for and Greek-Cypriot south overwhelmingly rejected in April 2004. It will be so in any future plan, which succeeds in reuniting the island.

But this is not a view held by many Greek-Cypriot political activists who have launched or plan to launch a series of provocative legal claims against owners of properties in the north. The TRNC, they argue, cannot grant lawful titles in respect of properties which before 1974 belonged to Greek Cypriots. Their preferred targets are foreign owners, mainly British and it is estimated there are 7,000 British residents in North Cyprus all with EU rights; they hope thereby to gain maximum propaganda value in the UK press and in so doing to scare off prospective buyers of property in the north, and thus wreak havoc in the north’s hitherto booming property market.  Recently Ken Livingstone banned North Cyprus advertising on London Buses as a result of direct lobbying from the South and this is now going to go the high courts.  Turkish Cypriots are confident of the outcome.

Their advantage in this campaign is, they believe, that the internationally-recognised south — the ‘Republic of Cyprus’ — is now a member of the EU, and that therefore its court orders can be enforced in another member state notwithstanding that they have no validity in the north. This is a particularly simplistic view of the provisions of the EU directive they cite in their support, but it is one which has been accepted at face value by the UK press. However Turkey is entering in discussions with the EU and Turkey combined with the UK is a guarantor of North Cyprus.

Accordingly the campaign has captured headlines, alarmed would-be buyers, and damaged the north’s long-battered economy. Prices remain low as a result and all potential investors are aware that the prices remain low as a result and North Cyprus remains the cheapest place in the Mediterranean. The question you have to ask yourself?  Is it a risk to purchase?  7,000 British people do not think so and international communities are listening and realising the power of propaganda. It is not altogether surprising: the Greek-Cypriot propaganda machine has proved extremely good at selling its own stories, and has been doing that with considerable success for many years. It has also been extremely good at concealing the fact that what it alleges has happened in the north is precisely what has happened in the south with Turkish land. It is hypocrisy on the grand scale. It is also a dangerous game, for at some point the international community is going to wake to the truth. In fact there are there are constant discussions regarding direct flights, recognition, international visits and world awareness, which for all investors will create positive growth, incredible business opportunities, and tourist openings.  But even now, for those who already know the truth, enough is enough. Maybe it is the arrogance of it all, or maybe it is the sense that this is just one propaganda campaign too many — not least for those who remember that the ‘property issue’ is not a consequence of Turkish intervention which is often described by the South as “Turkish Invasion” in 1974 but of the relentless oppression of the Turkish-Cypriots in the eleven years before that, a period which a diplomat once observed ‘the Turkish Cypriots cannot forget, and the Greek Cypriots cannot remember’. What is also forgotten is as a direct result of Turkish support, there were no more bloodshed.