Cyprus Property Forum for Buyers, Sellers & Investors

I have just discovered that the Cypriot owners in our block of flats have been paying less maintanence fee to the developer than the non Cypriot owners. Also one Cypriot owner's charge for his tittle deeds is less than what the developer is charging all other non Cypriot owners. Is this the norm?

Hi vinnie and welcome to the forum,

Maintenance/communal charges are based on the relative sizes of the apartments - so someone with a 100sqm apartment would pay twice as much as someone with a 50sqm apartment.

Regarding the charge for Title Deeds, I assume you're referring to the Property Transfer Fees? If so these are payable to the Land Registry and based on the market value of the property at its date of purchase.

Regards,

Hi Nigel, thank you for your reply, all the properties concerned are the same size three bedroom apartments. The money payable to the developer is for IPT according to them they paid prior to the deeds being issued, plus admin fees and late penaty charges for all non cypriot's only.
I sent two letters to the developer regarding this matter but I never received a reply, therefore, I spoke to the developer regarding these additional charges but got nowhere it's either pay or don't have your deeds.

Hi Vinnie,

If all the apartments are the same size, everyone should be paying the same. Admin fees? Admin fees for what? The developer is responsible for progressing the issuing of separate Title Deeds and to transfer the property to purchasers at their expense.

As for the Immovable Property Tax - you will be liable to pay this. BUT you should only pay the developer what he has paid to the Inland Revenue for your property. As for the penalty payments, you are NOT liable for these - they are most probably penalties imposed by the Inland Revenue on the developer because he failed to pay this tax on time.

How much is he trying to charge you for Immovable Property Tax - I can probably tell you if I think it's excessive. You'll find more information on this at http://www.cyprus-property-buyers.com/law/tax.htm . Basically yo should not pay a developer any Immovable Property Tax unless the developer:

Supplies you with written evidence of the amount of Immovable Property Tax he has paid to the Inland Revenue for the land on which your development has been constructed.

• Provides you a written statement identifying your share of that land (see above).
  
  Supplies you with a written invoice on the company's letterhead for the agreed amount to be paid.
  
  Provides a written company receipt for the amount paid.

Please refer to this letter from the Interior Ministry and print a copy and give it to your developer if he attempts to overcharge.

Speak with your lawyer if this b*st*rd continues to try and extort money from you.

Regards,

Hi Nigel,
The bill I received from the developer states:-
IPT (28,500 x 4%) x 3 years = 342.00
Land Tax (28,500 x 1.5%) x 3 years = 128.25
Sewage (28,500 x 5%)x 2yr+5.70% x1yr = 447.45
------------
Sub Total 917.70
Interest 175.30
Admin fees 1200.00
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Total 2293.00 Although, I feel the 917.70 is excessive, I would pay this to be able to obtain my deeds. The developer wants the full amount, I have give him the letter from Ministry of Interior but he just threw it back at me and said " this is the way it has always been done in Cyprus." So I think it will have to be a Solicitor, more money either way.

Hi Vinnie,

The charges based on €28,500 (the assessed 1980 value of the property) appear correct, although the decimal point is in the wrong place. They should be 0.4%, 0.15% and 0.5%.

The problems here are (i) the interest charge of €175.30 and (ii) the admin fees of €1,200.

I published an article yesterday on these issues yesterday - see Cypriot developers find new ways to extort money.

And also the some time ago the Cyprus Property Action Group obtained legal opinion on Immovable Property Tax - see Immovable property tax & fraudulent practices.

Providing that the developer supplies you with the information I listed earlier, you can submit an application to the Inland Revenue Department to reclaim any valid overpayment of Immovable Property Tax. The maximum you can expect to receive will be €342.

Regards,

Hello Nigel,
Thank you for your time and help regarding this matter.