Buying Land
| Land and Plots |
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Make sure that the land you are buying is in fact the land that you are being shown. Ask for a copy of the title deed and check the sheet/ plan/ plot references and the plan of the site. Look at the site plan and ascertain from its boundaries its shape and sitting. The location of nearby roads and buildings, major differences in the topography of the ground, rivers and streams are clearly shown on the Lands' Office plans. Ask a property surveyor to assist you. Check whether any town planning zones affects the property you intend to buy. If you intend to build a house in a certain area, you may find that the building density is so low that you will not be able to erect a satisfactory unit. In addition, the zones may exclude the use you have in mind in that locality. There have been cases where a person acquired his spot only to find out afterwards that it was sited within an animal farming zone of the parish in question. Furthermore, it is not sufficient to merely check the zone of the property under consideration but one should also check the zone of the neighbourhood in general. Your plot may be within an agricultural area but near by may be another zone, say industrial or animal farming, which will create nuisance to your property. If an area is not subject to zoning, it is best to consult an expert or even pay a visit to the Planning Office and consult, unofficially, the officers on their views on the possible planning use of the area under consideration. The things you must watch when studying the Planning Zones are: * The building density - The maximum amount of square metres that you can build. * The use - Which nature of use is permitted? * The site coverage - The maximum proportion of the site that can be occupied by a building. * Height and number of storeys allowed. The seashore protection zone is independent of the town planning zones. It is a zone, which extends from the sea and it usually (but not always) has a width of approximately 300 feet. Within this zone no building can be allowed, even a small hut, ice cream shed or a swimming pool. When there are ancient monuments close to your plot, be careful to examine whether the Director of Antiquities has any objections to a building project. If a plot of land is classified as an ancient monument area, the Director's approval must first be sought. Usually, the ancient monument area is marked as AM on the Lands' and Surveys' plans but the non-inclusion of the letters AM does not guarantee that the plot is free from this kind of restrictions. If, therefore, you see on inspection ancient monuments close to the land you intend to buy or if you see your prospective acquisition being marked with AM or that land close to it is so marked, then check the whole matter with the Antiquities Department. Try to check whether there is any road or other scheme that affects your property or the locality in general. It is advisable that you buy a recent Lands' and Surveys' plan (a whole sheet) for the property you intend to buy, since on these plans many proposed public projects such as roads etc are shown. It is best, if you suspect any schemes in the area you wish to invest, to see the District Inspector (at the District Officer's Office) and/or pay a visit to the local Planning Office. As a general rule, electricity can be brought to any place in Cyprus provided one is prepared to pay for it. Be careful, however, with the general belief that if there is an electricity line close to the property the cost of providing electricity will not be much. This is not true at all and it is best to examine the approximate electricity provision cost with the EAC District Officer. Telephone lines are a problem for out of built-up areas. If one is needed at your "spot", examine this possibility with the CYTA District Officer. The most important factor however is access. Do not be fooled by what is on the ground. Check the Lands' and Surveys' plan to see whether the property abuts onto a public access, as well as the nature of its boundaries (shown on the title deed). The fact that the property abuts a public access does not necessarily mean that a building permit can be obtained based on this road access. If your property does not possess an access, the property can acquire a right of way over adjoining property in order to reach a point of public access. The procedure is undertaken by the Lands' Office on application and the right to obtain an access is reserved even if the owners of the property over which the access will pass object to it. Please note that if the right of access is in excess of 1,000 feet (distance from a public road to the property) then a permit to erect a house will, most likely, be refused. For those who want to buy a plot of land and put up a building there, there are certain major points they have to bear in mind. As a rough and general rule, and provided there is a "satisfactory" access, a single house can be erected on a plot of land. If more than one house is required, then water must be provided. The water supply may be either from a public or private source. In the event of private water supply (usually a borehole) its quantity and quality are tested by the Water Development Department. For all the towns and for some villages there are water development zones and it is most difficult to get public water supply to a property sited outside the zone. Do not take, therefore, the word of the estate agent, the owner or the village muchtar, that water supply can be made available. Remember that the appropriate water authority is the Water Development Department only. In these circumstances, promises and the willingness of locals to help may meet the Authority's objections. A more serious consideration however is section 4A of the Streets' and Buildings' Regulations. This amendment of the Law states that, in certain cases, no building permit will be granted to plots of land that are the result of field subdivision. Therefore, the derivation of the site's title must be examined and verified by the District Lands' Office. If there is a building on the plot you are buying, ask for the building permit in order to make sure that the structure is not illegal, as well as to ascertain the terms and conditions of the building. Please note that most of the above problems do not exist in case you buy a building site (as opposed to a plot of land/field). Even if the title deed registers the property as a building site, however, it is recommended that you go through the motions of checking the various prerequisites for development. |
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| Last Updated ( Saturday, 05 April 2008 ) |
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