Compensation for land taken for archeology dig

[Cantonathecat]

Hi
In need of some advice, my mum passed away last year and I've only just got probate.in the uk
After a conversation with the family it has come to light that she had some land 13 thousand square meters in Dhali cyprus that was taken by the government in the 70s as it was of interest to the government as it may contain treasure trove
I think I have found the deeds
My cousin had come across a letter from the government made a offer on the land to his mum in 2007 with intrest from 9% then 4% intrest until a agreement has been met mum never received the offer in uk
So I am looking how to change the deeds from my mums name and to accept the offer from the government
The land was divided to 3 sisters and I owed 1-3
We have been told we can ask for more money but this seams like it can take years to negotiate and my gut reaction is that I don't want to wait years just to get a small increase
since the offer about 100000€ I really could do with it now as I doubt the government will ever agree to fair compensation or that it could go years of negotiations
So what is the procedure to change the deeds ? And then accept the offer from the government? Can this be dune from the uk? What taxes would need to be paid in uk and Cyprus and Costs
Everyone I ask is giving me divided options and need some real advice
Kind regards

[Nigel Howarth]

Hi Cantonathecat and welcome to the forum

Assuming mum didn't make a will in Cyprus, the first thing to do is her UK Will recognised by the Cypriot authorities. Her UK Will needs through a process known as 'resealing' and it will then go through probate in Cyprus.

This is likely to take a year, possibly more.

Once the court has issued a 'grant of probate', mum's assets in Cyprus can be disposed of according to her final wishes. (I.e. her land in Dhali and any assets in Cyprus can be transferred to you and your siblings (assuming they're included in her Will.)

You will need a lawyer to act on your behalf. As the land is in Nicosia District, I suggest you get in touch with Stelios Stylianou who is on the list provided by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. You can find Stelios details at https://stylianou.law/

I don't know how you go about accepting the offer from the Government, but I expect Stelios will be able to advise/help.

Regards,

[Cantonathecat]

Ah it looks like a long road ahead I was hoping that the uk grant of probate would be recognised in Cyprus.

The Original will was given to the solicitor who arranged the grant of probate we have a copy but the official copy is available from the court

I have no siblings so I the only benfishry and also the the executor

The rest of the share holders of the land have got in touch with a solicitor
Who has said that we need to get a valuation on the land and let the valuer negotiate with the land registry , this could take up to 3 years,
he also stated that he wants to deal with this before changing the deeds to my name so I feel I dont want to wait 3 years of negotiations and would prefer to accept the government offer especially now you are telling me this will take over a year

So the best way forward is to speak to stereos
Kind regards and many thanks for the information
And as a last question do you know what documents will be needed for re sealing?

[Nigel Howarth]

do you know what documents will be needed for re sealing?

I don't, but I found information on the web that you may find useful - Grant to be obtained in Cyprus.

Stelios will be able to confirm.

(Unfortunately things take much longer in Cyprus than you would expect.)

Regards,

[Pantheman]

Hello,

In any compulsory acquisitions, the government must have a valid reason for acquiring it. It cannot just 'was taken by the government in the 70s as it was of interest to the government as it may contain treasure trove' s you say.

What reason did they give. The interest was 9% until an amending law in 2014 that changed it to 3%. Any notices issues before the amending law retains the 9% until it changes.

If the land is compulsory acquired, the government have 3 years to carry out their intended objective, otherwise it can be resold back to the original owner at the same amount accepted.

If it was for mining purposes then the compensation is doubled.

If no offer was accepted, it is possible that they still went ahead with it placing the compensation in a special account until claimed, but like I said, what was the reason?

I would suspect that as an executor, once you have probate done in Cyprus you can then transfer it to the Gov without it being on your name.

But, you really do need to get more detailed legal advice as Nigel stated.

Good luck.

[Cantonathecat]

Hi
The reason the the land was taken was that of interest to the department of Antiquities, we where told there is archeology on the land and would be returned when i excavations had been conducted
Years passed and whenever my family questioned we just hit dead ends and accepted that this was the correct process years passes and I forgot about it
When my cousin was dealing with his mums estate in Cyprus he found the letter as his mums house dating a offer from the department of Antiquities in 2006, we never received the offer in uk
So the family were told by the land registry that offer is still live and would not be increased and is relevant
The family were advised to get a land valuation and a solicitor who has told us that he is willing to get a better deal but wants 10% on anything over original offer but this negotiations.could take over 3 years and would not change the deeds until litigation had finished
I felt.that I didn't want to wait that long and the offer from the government would be minimal, he based his case that we could now as the land to be classed as commercial and we would have a good case
Its so difficult to trust anyone is telling us the Complete story

[Cantonathecat]

Just a solicitor who has been dealing with negotiating with the government and have accepted a revised offer from the government which all as a group accepted from the land registry
For my late mothers land

The solicitor has processed full management and we are at the end stage now submitted all the municipal certificates to the tax department so that we can receive the tax exception so that files can be submitted to the land registry

Today I received a email from my solicitors that they need a photo id so that the can complete the tax processed and receive a tax number of my late mother

I explained to my solicitor that mum late had dementia and did not have passport or driving licence
I explained surely this has happened before and are able to process and proceed his response was

I will try my best !!!

I feel frustrated as this response does not fill me with confidence
And would like to reach out here on what is the best way to respond

Cantona the cat

[Cantonathecat]

Update

All certificates and tax exemptions have been approved and met and all forms have been passed to the cadastral officer in Nicosia
We was advised that payment whould be met in December but
We still haven't received payment
Each month we get the.same awnser from our solicitors that payment is due

Is this standard procedure or is there any way to expedite the process as we are feeling disappointed as each month we get the same awnser from our solicitors that the cadastral officer will pay at the end of month December,January and now February and still nothing

Any advise whould be welcome

[Nigel Howarth]

I don't believe there's any way you can expedite payment. If you make a fuss it's likely that your paperwork will be put at the bottom of the pile.

Regards