{ "schemaVersion": 1, "generated": "2026-09-16T12:29:03.910Z", "publisher": "North Cyprus Reference", "language": "en", "canonicalLanguage": "en", "publishedLanguages": [ "en", "tr" ], "enabledLanguages": [ "en", "tr", "ru", "uk", "de", "pl", "he", "fa" ], "languages": { "en": { "label": "English", "nativeLabel": "English", "dir": "ltr", "hreflang": "en", "published": true }, "tr": { "label": "Turkish", "nativeLabel": "Türkçe", "dir": "ltr", "hreflang": "tr", "published": true }, "ru": { "label": "Russian", "nativeLabel": "Русский", "dir": "ltr", "hreflang": "ru", "published": false }, "uk": { "label": "Ukrainian", "nativeLabel": "Українська", "dir": "ltr", "hreflang": "uk", "published": false }, "de": { "label": "German", "nativeLabel": "Deutsch", "dir": "ltr", "hreflang": "de", "published": false }, "pl": { "label": "Polish", "nativeLabel": "Polski", "dir": "ltr", "hreflang": "pl", "published": false }, "he": { "label": "Hebrew", "nativeLabel": "עברית", "dir": "rtl", "hreflang": "he", "published": false }, "fa": { "label": "Persian", "nativeLabel": "فارسی", "dir": "rtl", "hreflang": "fa", "published": false } }, "collection": "events", "records": [ { "id": "event-1996-12-18-echr-loizidou", "date": "1996-12-18", "jurisdiction": "echr", "verticals": [ "property" ], "instrumentType": "court-decision", "title": "Loizidou v. Turkey: displaced owner remains the legal owner; continuing breach imputable to Turkey", "headline": "The European Court holds that a displaced owner remains the legal owner", "summary": "The European Court of Human Rights held that the denial of access to Ms Loizidou’s property in northern Cyprus and the loss of control over it were imputable to Turkey and breached Article 1 of Protocol No. 1, and that she must be regarded as having remained the legal owner of the land.", "rulesBefore": [], "rulesAfter": [], "primarySource": "src-echr-loizidou-1996", "secondarySources": [], "verification": "primary-verified", "status": "in-force", "concepts": [ "echr", "property-dispute" ], "lastVerified": "2026-09-14" }, { "id": "event-2001-05-10-echr-cyprus-v-turkey", "date": "2001-05-10", "jurisdiction": "echr", "verticals": [ "property" ], "instrumentType": "court-decision", "title": "Cyprus v. Turkey: continuing violation of displaced Greek Cypriot owners’ property rights", "headline": "The European Court finds a continuing violation of displaced owners’ property rights", "summary": "In the inter-state case the Grand Chamber found a continuing violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 because Greek Cypriot owners of property in northern Cyprus were denied access to, control of and enjoyment of their property without compensation.", "rulesBefore": [], "rulesAfter": [], "primarySource": "src-echr-cyprus-v-turkey-2001", "secondarySources": [], "verification": "primary-verified", "status": "in-force", "concepts": [ "echr", "property-dispute" ], "lastVerified": "2026-09-14" }, { "id": "event-2005-12-22-echr-xenides-arestis", "date": "2005-12-22", "jurisdiction": "echr", "verticals": [ "property" ], "instrumentType": "court-decision", "title": "Xenides-Arestis v. Turkey: Turkey must introduce an effective remedy", "headline": "The European Court requires Turkey to introduce an effective remedy", "summary": "The Court found violations of Article 8 and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 and held that Turkey must introduce, within three months, a remedy securing effective protection of those rights for the applicant and all similar pending applications. Law 67/2005 and the Immovable Property Commission followed.", "rulesBefore": [], "rulesAfter": [], "primarySource": "src-echr-xenides-arestis-2005", "secondarySources": [], "verification": "primary-verified", "status": "in-force", "concepts": [ "echr", "immovable-property-commission" ], "lastVerified": "2026-09-14" }, { "id": "event-2005-law-67-2005-ipc", "date": "2005-12-22", "jurisdiction": "trnc", "verticals": [ "property" ], "instrumentType": "law", "title": "Law 67/2005 establishes the Immovable Property Commission", "headline": "The Immovable Property Commission is established in the north", "summary": "The TRNC law providing for compensation, exchange and restitution of immovable properties within Article 159(1)(b) of the TRNC Constitution, and establishing the Immovable Property Commission to decide claims. The exact gazette date has not been verified; the date shown is the date of the Xenides-Arestis judgment that the Commission’s own materials cite as the trigger.", "rulesBefore": [], "rulesAfter": [], "primarySource": "src-law-67-2005-ipc-english", "secondarySources": [], "verification": "primary-verified", "status": "in-force", "concepts": [ "immovable-property-commission", "law-67-2005" ], "lastVerified": "2026-09-14" }, { "id": "event-2008-11-10-law-52-2008", "date": "2008-11-10", "jurisdiction": "trnc", "verticals": [ "property" ], "instrumentType": "law", "title": "Law 52/2008 on acquisition of immovable property and long-term lease by foreigners adopted", "headline": "The law on property purchases by foreigners is adopted", "summary": "The Assembly adopted the Immovable Property Acquisition and Long-Term Lease (Aliens) Law unanimously on 10 November 2008, repealing the earlier Acquisition of Immovable Property (Aliens) Law. It requires Council of Ministers permission for purchases and long-term leases by foreigners.", "rulesBefore": [], "rulesAfter": [], "primarySource": "src-law-52-2008-consolidated", "secondarySources": [], "verification": "primary-verified", "status": "in-force", "concepts": [ "law-52-2008" ], "lastVerified": "2026-09-14" }, { "id": "event-2009-04-28-cjeu-apostolides-orams", "date": "2009-04-28", "jurisdiction": "cjeu", "verticals": [ "property" ], "instrumentType": "court-decision", "title": "Apostolides v Orams: Republic of Cyprus judgments on northern property must be recognised in other EU states", "headline": "The Court of Justice holds that Republic of Cyprus judgments on northern property must be recognised across the EU", "summary": "The Court of Justice ruled that the suspension of EU law in the areas not controlled by the Republic of Cyprus does not prevent recognition and enforcement, under Regulation 44/2001, of a Cypriot court judgment concerning land in those areas.", "rulesBefore": [], "rulesAfter": [], "primarySource": "src-cjeu-apostolides-orams-2009", "secondarySources": [], "verification": "primary-verified", "status": "in-force", "concepts": [ "orams-case" ], "lastVerified": "2026-09-14" }, { "id": "event-2010-01-19-ewca-apostolides-orams", "date": "2010-01-19", "jurisdiction": "uk", "verticals": [ "property" ], "instrumentType": "court-decision", "title": "Court of Appeal allows enforcement of the Orams judgments in England", "headline": "The English Court of Appeal allows enforcement of the Orams judgments", "summary": "Following the CJEU ruling, the Court of Appeal of England and Wales allowed Mr Apostolides’ appeal and reinstated the orders registering the Cypriot judgments for enforcement in England.", "rulesBefore": [], "rulesAfter": [], "primarySource": "src-ewca-apostolides-orams-2010", "secondarySources": [], "verification": "primary-verified", "status": "in-force", "concepts": [ "orams-case" ], "lastVerified": "2026-09-14" }, { "id": "event-2010-03-01-echr-demopoulos", "date": "2010-03-01", "jurisdiction": "echr", "verticals": [ "property" ], "instrumentType": "court-decision", "title": "Demopoulos: the Immovable Property Commission is a domestic remedy to be used first", "headline": "The European Court treats the Immovable Property Commission as a remedy to be used first", "summary": "The Grand Chamber declared inadmissible eight applications by displaced Greek Cypriot owners for non-exhaustion of domestic remedies, holding that Law 67/2005 provides an accessible and effective framework of redress, while stressing that owners have not lost ownership in any formal sense and are not obliged to use the Commission.", "rulesBefore": [], "rulesAfter": [], "primarySource": "src-echr-demopoulos-2010", "secondarySources": [], "verification": "primary-verified", "status": "in-force", "concepts": [ "immovable-property-commission", "echr", "property-dispute" ], "lastVerified": "2026-09-14" }, { "id": "event-2018-08-29-council-decree-relaxation", "date": "2018-08-29", "jurisdiction": "trnc", "verticals": [ "property" ], "instrumentType": "council-of-ministers-decision", "title": "Council of Ministers decree relaxes limits (three flats)", "headline": "The Council of Ministers relaxes the purchase limit to three flats", "summary": "According to the Cyprus Turkish Building Contractors Association, a Council of Ministers decision of 29 August 2018 relaxed some limitations under Law 52/2008, including allowing up to three flats. We have not read the decision itself.", "rulesBefore": [], "rulesAfter": [], "secondarySources": [ "src-ktimb-conditions-foreigners" ], "verification": "secondary-only", "status": "superseded", "concepts": [ "law-52-2008" ], "lastVerified": "2026-09-14" }, { "id": "event-2024-05-21-law-39-2024", "date": "2024-05-21", "jurisdiction": "trnc", "verticals": [ "property" ], "instrumentType": "amendment-law", "title": "Law 39/2024 rewrites the foreigner property rules", "headline": "The rules for foreign buyers are rewritten by amendment law", "summary": "Adopted on 20 May 2024 and gazetted on 21 May 2024, the amendment redefined \"foreigner\" to include companies with any foreign shareholding and trustees, limited foreigners to one property (three apartments for citizens of recognising states), required unit titles before application, created the online application with a fee of half the gross minimum wage, set six-month transfer and sixty-business-day tax deadlines, capped same-nationality ownership within a parcel, banned trustee agreements used to exceed limits, set a twenty-million-euro investment threshold, and imposed transitional deadlines on existing contracts.", "before": "The 2008 law with the 2018 Council decision in practice: several units per foreigner and trustee arrangements were common.", "after": "One property per foreigner under the statute, mandatory registration and permission with deadlines, and criminal penalties for evasion.", "rulesBefore": [], "rulesAfter": [ "foreigner-definition", "statutory-acquisition-limits", "condominium-title-before-application", "online-application-and-document-list", "application-fee-half-gross-minimum-wage", "criminal-record-and-security-check", "statutory-transfer-deadline-six-months", "statutory-tax-deadline-sixty-business-days", "trustee-agreements-prohibited", "statutory-investment-purchases", "penalties-up-to-500-times-minimum-wage" ], "primarySource": "src-gazette-2024-102", "secondarySources": [ "src-law-52-2008-consolidated", "src-erginel-2024-new-rules" ], "verification": "primary-verified", "status": "in-force", "concepts": [ "law-39-2024", "law-52-2008" ], "lastVerified": "2026-09-14" }, { "id": "event-2024-12-14-decree-57-2024", "date": "2024-12-14", "jurisdiction": "trnc", "verticals": [ "property" ], "instrumentType": "decree-with-force-of-law", "title": "Decree 57/2024 on over-limit existing contracts", "headline": "A decree addresses existing contracts above the limits", "summary": "A decree of 14 December 2024 regulated the position of pre-2024 sales contracts exceeding the acquisition limits. We know it from the recital of the later decree 13/2025; its text has not been read.", "rulesBefore": [], "rulesAfter": [], "primarySource": "src-gazette-2025-069-decree-13-2025", "secondarySources": [], "verification": "primary-verified", "status": "superseded", "concepts": [ "decree-with-force-of-law" ], "lastVerified": "2026-09-14" }, { "id": "event-2025-02-07-decree-8-2025", "date": "2025-02-07", "jurisdiction": "trnc", "verticals": [ "property" ], "instrumentType": "decree-with-force-of-law", "title": "Decree 8/2025 extends the sixty-business-day tax period for existing contracts", "headline": "The tax-payment period for existing contracts is extended by decree", "summary": "Extension of the period in transitional Article 1(4) of Law 39/2024 for paying taxes and fees on properties without final approval or unit titles.", "rulesBefore": [], "rulesAfter": [], "primarySource": "src-gazette-2025-029-decree-8-2025", "secondarySources": [], "verification": "primary-verified", "status": "superseded", "concepts": [ "decree-with-force-of-law" ], "lastVerified": "2026-09-14" }, { "id": "event-2025-02-21-decree-7-2025", "date": "2025-02-21", "jurisdiction": "trnc", "verticals": [ "property" ], "instrumentType": "decree-with-force-of-law", "title": "Decree 7/2025 on existing contracts and extension of periods", "headline": "Existing contracts and extended periods are addressed by decree", "summary": "Further regulation of pre-2024 contracts under transitional Article 1 and extension of the six-month deadlines that would otherwise have expired.", "rulesBefore": [], "rulesAfter": [], "primarySource": "src-gazette-2025-039-decree-7-2025", "secondarySources": [], "verification": "primary-verified", "status": "superseded", "concepts": [ "decree-with-force-of-law" ], "lastVerified": "2026-09-14" }, { "id": "event-2025-02-21-roc-law-18-2025", "date": "2025-02-21", "jurisdiction": "republic-of-cyprus", "verticals": [ "property" ], "instrumentType": "amendment-law", "title": "Republic of Cyprus raises the penalty for unlawful possession or use of land registered to another", "headline": "The Republic of Cyprus raises the penalty for using land registered to another", "summary": "Law 18(I)/2025 amended section 281 of the Criminal Code: the offence of possessing, cultivating, occupying or using land registered to another without the registered owner’s consent became punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment or a fine of up to ten thousand euros, instead of two years or five thousand pounds.", "rulesBefore": [], "rulesAfter": [ "roc-281-unlawful-possession-or-use-of-land-of-another" ], "primarySource": "src-roc-gazette-law-18-2025", "secondarySources": [], "verification": "primary-verified", "status": "in-force", "concepts": [ "usurpation-offence" ], "lastVerified": "2026-09-14" }, { "id": "event-2025-04-03-decree-13-2025", "date": "2025-04-03", "jurisdiction": "trnc", "verticals": [ "property" ], "instrumentType": "decree-with-force-of-law", "title": "Decree 13/2025: seven-year usage certificate and build-and-sell partnerships", "headline": "A decree introduces a seven-year usage certificate and build-and-sell partnerships", "summary": "Introduced a seven-year usage certificate for over-limit pre-2024 contracts for dwellings (ownership remaining with the seller) and allowed build-and-sell partnerships between registered contractors and citizens of recognising states with a foreign share of up to forty-nine per cent.", "rulesBefore": [], "rulesAfter": [], "primarySource": "src-gazette-2025-069-decree-13-2025", "secondarySources": [], "verification": "primary-verified", "status": "superseded", "concepts": [ "usage-certificate", "decree-with-force-of-law" ], "lastVerified": "2026-09-14" }, { "id": "event-2025-05-09-roc-convictions-303a", "date": "2025-05-09", "jurisdiction": "republic-of-cyprus", "verticals": [ "property" ], "instrumentType": "court-decision", "title": "Nicosia Assize Court convicts two EU citizens under section 303A for advertising and promoting property in the north", "headline": "A Republic of Cyprus court convicts two EU citizens for promoting property in the north", "summary": "According to the High Commission of Cyprus in the UK, on 9 May 2025 the Nicosia Assize Court convicted two European citizens under Article 303A of the Criminal Code, one for advertising property sales on a website and one for promoting properties on social media, with sentences of two and a half years and fifteen months.", "rulesBefore": [], "rulesAfter": [], "primarySource": "src-roc-high-commission-conviction-2025", "secondarySources": [ "src-cyprus-mail-usurpation-arrests-2025-05" ], "verification": "primary-verified", "status": "in-force", "concepts": [ "usurpation-offence" ], "lastVerified": "2026-09-14" }, { "id": "event-2025-08-14-decree-30-2025", "date": "2025-08-14", "jurisdiction": "trnc", "verticals": [ "property" ], "instrumentType": "decree-with-force-of-law", "title": "Decree 30/2025 rewrites the foreigner limits by decree: three apartments, eighty per cent cap, ten-million-euro investment", "headline": "The limits for foreign buyers are rewritten by decree: three apartments and a cap per development", "summary": "The first comprehensive decree regulating foreigners’ acquisition rules: acquisition limits widened (three apartments, six for recognising-state citizens, villas in estates), one-year transfer and seventy-five-business-day fee deadlines, eighty per cent cap per project, ten-million-euro investment threshold, two-year window for applications with a construction permit or planning approval, thirty-six months for completed delivered dwellings, share transfers with the Land Registry Director’s approval, and transfer of investment property.", "before": "The statutory rules of Law 39/2024 (one property, six-month transfer deadline, twenty-million-euro threshold).", "after": "The decree limits and deadlines now carried by decree 89/2026.", "rulesBefore": [], "rulesAfter": [], "primarySource": "src-gazette-2025-165-decree-30-2025", "secondarySources": [ "src-ktto-decree-2025-08" ], "verification": "primary-verified", "status": "superseded", "concepts": [ "decree-with-force-of-law" ], "lastVerified": "2026-09-14" }, { "id": "event-2025-09-11-ep-resolution", "date": "2025-09-11", "jurisdiction": "eu", "verticals": [ "property" ], "instrumentType": "international-resolution", "title": "European Parliament resolution on the detention of EU citizens in the north", "headline": "The European Parliament adopts a resolution on the detention of EU citizens in the north", "summary": "The European Parliament adopted, by 597 votes to 0 with 5 abstentions, a resolution condemning the detention on 19 July 2025 of five Greek Cypriot EU citizens who were visiting property in the north, and calling for their release.", "rulesBefore": [], "rulesAfter": [], "primarySource": "src-ep-resolution-2025-09-11", "secondarySources": [], "verification": "primary-verified", "status": "in-force", "concepts": [ "property-dispute" ], "lastVerified": "2026-09-14" }, { "id": "event-2025-11-14-decree-42-2025", "date": "2025-11-14", "jurisdiction": "trnc", "verticals": [ "property" ], "instrumentType": "decree-with-force-of-law", "title": "Decree 42/2025 re-issues the foreigner rules", "headline": "The rules for foreign buyers are re-issued by decree", "summary": "Re-issue of the August 2025 decree on expiry of its ninety-day validity.", "rulesBefore": [], "rulesAfter": [], "primarySource": "src-gazette-2025-225-decree-42-2025", "secondarySources": [], "verification": "primary-verified", "status": "superseded", "concepts": [ "decree-with-force-of-law" ], "lastVerified": "2026-09-14" }, { "id": "event-2026-02-12-decree-11-2026", "date": "2026-02-12", "jurisdiction": "trnc", "verticals": [ "property" ], "instrumentType": "decree-with-force-of-law", "title": "Decree 11/2026 re-issues the foreigner rules and sets a ten-year usage certificate", "headline": "The rules for foreign buyers are re-issued with a ten-year usage certificate", "summary": "Re-issue of the decree, now providing a ten-year usage certificate (indefinite under the holiday-homes regime) for over-limit pre-2024 contracts.", "rulesBefore": [], "rulesAfter": [], "primarySource": "src-gazette-2026-028-decree-11-2026", "secondarySources": [], "verification": "primary-verified", "status": "superseded", "concepts": [ "usage-certificate", "decree-with-force-of-law" ], "lastVerified": "2026-09-14" }, { "id": "event-2026-05-11-decree-63-2026", "date": "2026-05-11", "jurisdiction": "trnc", "verticals": [ "property" ], "instrumentType": "decree-with-force-of-law", "title": "Decree 63/2026 re-issues the foreigner rules and adds the licensed intermediary investor", "headline": "The rules for foreign buyers are re-issued and a licensed intermediary investor is added", "summary": "Re-issue of the decree, adding the licensed intermediary investor category (new Articles 8A and 8B). Reported in the press as taking effect on 11 May 2026.", "rulesBefore": [], "rulesAfter": [], "primarySource": "src-gazette-2026-087-decree-63-2026", "secondarySources": [ "src-gundem-kibris-decree-2026-05-11" ], "verification": "primary-verified", "status": "superseded", "concepts": [ "licensed-intermediary-investor", "decree-with-force-of-law" ], "lastVerified": "2026-09-14" }, { "id": "event-2026-06-25-law-44-2026-immigration-fees", "date": "2026-06-25", "jurisdiction": "trnc", "verticals": [ "live" ], "instrumentType": "amendment-law", "title": "Law 44/2026 changes residence-permit fees under the Aliens and Immigration Law", "headline": "Residence-permit fees change under the immigration law", "summary": "Adopted by the Assembly on 22 June 2026, the amendment replaced the residence-permit fee schedule and allowed the Council of Ministers to raise those fees by regulation, in line with annual inflation, by up to fifteen times. Recorded for the LIVE vertical; no residence rules have yet been encoded on this site.", "rulesBefore": [], "rulesAfter": [], "primarySource": "src-gazette-2026-119-law-44-2026", "secondarySources": [], "verification": "primary-verified", "status": "in-force", "concepts": [], "lastVerified": "2026-09-14" }, { "id": "event-2026-08-07-decree-89-2026", "date": "2026-08-07", "jurisdiction": "trnc", "verticals": [ "property" ], "instrumentType": "decree-with-force-of-law", "title": "Decree 89/2026: the rules currently in force for foreign buyers", "headline": "The rules currently in force for foreign buyers are re-issued by decree", "summary": "Gazetted on 7 August 2026 after the ninety-day validity of decree 63/2026 ended, this decree carries the current limits (three apartments or six for recognising-state citizens; land up to 1,338 m²; house on up to 3,300 m²; two villas in an estate), the one-month contract registration rule, the one-year transfer and seventy-five-business-day fee deadlines, the eighty per cent project cap, the ten-million-euro investment threshold, the licensed intermediary investor, transfers to close relatives, and the transitional rules for pre-2024 contracts including the ten-year usage certificate. Its explanatory note records that a bill amending Law 52/2008 is before the Assembly’s committee.", "before": "Decree 63/2026 of 11 May 2026 (same rules).", "after": "These rules apply for ninety days from 7 August 2026 unless renewed or enacted.", "rulesBefore": [ "statutory-acquisition-limits", "statutory-transfer-deadline-six-months", "statutory-tax-deadline-sixty-business-days", "statutory-same-parcel-cap", "statutory-investment-purchases" ], "rulesAfter": [ "decree-acquisition-limits", "decree-register-contract-within-one-month", "decree-transfer-deadline-one-year", "decree-tax-deadline-75-business-days-and-utilities", "decree-same-parcel-cap-eighty-percent", "decree-investment-threshold-ten-million", "decree-licensed-intermediary-investor", "decree-transfer-to-relatives", "decree-usage-certificate-ten-years", "decree-application-with-construction-permit-two-years", "decree-completed-dwellings-transfer-36-months" ], "primarySource": "src-gazette-2026-147-decree-89-2026", "secondarySources": [], "verification": "primary-verified", "status": "in-force", "concepts": [ "decree-with-force-of-law", "law-52-2008" ], "lastVerified": "2026-09-14" }, { "id": "event-2026-amendment-bill-before-assembly", "date": "2026-08-07", "jurisdiction": "trnc", "verticals": [ "property" ], "instrumentType": "amendment-law", "title": "A bill to amend Law 52/2008 is before the Assembly", "headline": "A bill to amend the foreigner property law is before the Assembly", "summary": "The explanatory note of decree 89/2026 records that amendments to Law 52/2008 are on the agenda of the Assembly’s Committee on Legal, Political, Foreign Affairs and Defence and were not enacted before the recess. A bill (Y.T. No. 399/5/2026) appeared in the Official Gazette bills supplement in May 2026. If enacted, it would replace the decree cycle with statutory rules.", "rulesBefore": [], "rulesAfter": [], "primarySource": "src-gazette-2026-147-decree-89-2026", "secondarySources": [], "verification": "primary-verified", "status": "pending-parliament", "concepts": [ "law-52-2008", "decree-with-force-of-law" ], "lastVerified": "2026-09-14" } ] }