Sıkça Sorulan Sorular

There are 4 different taxes that are paid when buying real estate in TRNC.

• VAT (Value Added Tax): This tax is paid by the buyer at 5% unless otherwise agreed. VAT is not payable on second-hand land and residential property purchases unless the seller is a professional for-profit company.
• Title Deed Transfer Fee: Unless otherwise agreed, 6% is paid by the buyer. However, if the buyer is not for profit, he/she can pay 3% title deed transfer fee with a 50% discount for only 1 time. In subsequent purchases, a 6% tax is paid on the price approved by the land registry office.
• Withholding tax: This tax is paid by the seller. If the seller is a for-profit company, they pay 4% tax, if the seller is a non-profit individual, they pay 2.8% tax. Non-profit sellers are exempt from this tax only once.
• Stamp Stamp: In case of purchasing a house from a project with a future delivery date, the sales contract is registered with the land registry office. In such a case, a stamp fee of 0.5% of the sales price in the contract is paid to the tax office. Thus, the buyer’s right of ownership is legalized.

Different taxes apply to transfers by gift. Grants from parents to children are taxed at 0.2%, grants from spouse to spouse are taxed at 0.4%, grants from grandparents to grandchildren are taxed at 0.4% + withholding tax.

There are important issues that foreign real or legal persons should pay attention to in order to avoid any victimization and the path they should follow within the framework of the law when purchasing land or housing and/or long-term leasing transactions in the TRNC.

Our organization, which is the legal representative of the construction sector, underlines some important issues, which are summarized below, in order to guide those who want to invest in this direction in our country.

Legal Basis

Within the framework of the Law No. 52/2008 “Acquisition of Immovable Property and Long-Term Leasing (Foreigners)” adopted by the TRNC Republican Assembly on November 10, 2008, real or legal persons of foreign nationality have the right to purchase or lease immovable property in our country, subject to the approval of the Council of Ministers, provided that official procedures and legal applications are made.

Foreign persons who will purchase or lease immovable property in the TRNC must apply to the Ministry of Interior and obtain the approval of the Council of Ministers as a result of the investigations to be carried out by the Ministry in order to be able to purchase immovable property and to be legally entitled to that property. The approval process varies depending on the nature of the application and is usually completed in a period of 6 to 12 months.

Legal Restrictions

Foreign real or legal persons may own or lease real estate on a long-term basis, provided that they comply with the legal limits and fulfill the necessary legal procedures (Articles 8 and 9 of the relevant law).

Long-term lease;

• The lease period can be at least 10 (ten) years and at most 99 (ninety-nine) years,
• If there is construction on the immovable property to be acquired through long-term lease, the conditions regarding this must be included in the long-term lease agreement with all the details,
• If the immovable property to be rented is vacant land, the surface area cannot be more than 1 (one) acre (14,400 square feet or 1,338 square meters). If there is 1 (one) residence or 1 (one) apartment in the land to be rented, the surface area of the land cannot be more than 5 (five) acres, and a second residence cannot be built on the land to be rented.

Purchase;

• A foreign national can purchase up to 1 (one) acre (14,400 square feet or 1,338 square meters) of land, provided that the land is vacant.
• If there is a residence in the land to be purchased, they can purchase up to 5 (five) acres of land, provided that there is 1 (one) residence. If the 1 (one) dwelling to be purchased is within a Housing Estate, there is no area limitation for the land in question.
• A foreign national has the right to purchase only 1 (one) house or apartment. Husband and wife with the same surname are treated as 1 (one) person and have only one right to purchase. Children do not have additional rights beyond the rights of their parents.
• A foreign national has only one right to buy a house in a vacant detached land, detached land with a dwelling, or land with a residential complex, and has no right to build or buy another house/apartment.
• A foreigner may transfer, sell to another foreigner or mortgage the property registered in his/her name or lease to persons related to him/her by first and second degree blood or affinity, with the knowledge of the Ministry and with the approval of the Ministry as a result of investigations.

Foreigners who will buy or lease immovable property in the TRNC must apply to the Ministry of Interior and obtain the approval of the Council of Ministers as a result of the investigations to be carried out by the Ministry in order to be able to purchase immovable property and to be legally entitled to that property.

It is obligatory to apply and register the contracts made with foreigners who purchase or lease immovable property in the TRNC within 30 days at the latest in order to be registered in the Registry at the Land Registry and Cadastre Office of the district where the immovable property is located.

TRNC law does not allow foreigners to purchase or lease immovable property in certain areas (e.g. military zones) for security reasons. The legal distance to obtain this right is 300 (three hundred) meters, provided that other legal requirements are also complied with. It is therefore recommended that interested persons investigate the location of the immovable property before making any commitment and/or signing a contract.

Under our laws, the Council of Ministers has the authority to limit the acquisition of immovable property by foreigners in special cases.

Again, in accordance with our laws, the above-mentioned conditions regarding the acquisition or long-term lease of immovable property in our country by foreign nationals do not apply in the case of a partnership with a company owner whose 51% shares are TRNC citizens, but they are exempt from these restrictions and practices.

Important Points to Consider

Foreign nationals are advised to be careful about the following issues in order to avoid any victimization;

• The ownership status of the property to be purchased should be learned and it should be known in advance whether the immovable property is a detached or joint/shared property.
• Issues such as whether there are any restrictions such as mortgages, liens, etc. on the immovable property to be purchased or whether there is any personal declaration or situation preventing the sale of the immovable property should be checked from the relevant Land Registry and Cadastre Office.
• It is not recommended to work with persons or companies that are not reliable, specialized and registered in the sector and/or registered with the relevant authorities. It is recommended to prefer buildings constructed by contractors registered with CTBCA and the Construction Council.
• In order to protect the legal rights regarding the matters included in the contract between the owner and the buyer, it is recommended that the contract be certified by a registered Notary office and, if applicable, a legal opinion should be obtained from a lawyer’s office before signing the contract.
• First of all, it is recommended to learn all the technical specifications and details of the project related to the immovable property to be purchased and then sign the contract. It should not be forgotten that the project is binding for both parties after the contract is signed.
• If the immovable property to be purchased is still under construction, it is recommended to find out whether the contractor company has obtained the Construction License permits related to the project.
• If the immovable property to be purchased is in the nature of ‘completed land’, it should be learned whether it is a shared or detached property and the transfer conditions. If the immovable property is in the nature of an ongoing ‘parcelization project’, it should be ensured that the contractor company has obtained the Construction License permits related to the project.
• In the event of a dispute between the parties regarding the immovable property, it should be kept in mind that it is only possible to transfer the situation to the judicial authorities under legal and healthy conditions and to prevent any victimization of the buyer only with a correct, comprehensive and legal contract.
• It should be thoroughly understood what is included in the total sales price of the immovable property to be purchased, and all applications and figures should be clearly stated in the contract to be made between the parties. Everything promised to the buyer must be included in the contract and all fees related to the contract must be paid and an official application must be made to the Land Registry and Cadastre Office within 30 days.  Reference: Cyprus Turkish Building Contractors Association

• Turkish Title Deeds: Pre-1974 immovable property titles belonging to Turkish Cypriots, British and other nationalities
• Equivalent: After 1974, Turkish Cypriots left their immovable properties in Southern Cyprus and migrated to the North. Later, the TRNC State issued title deeds to some immovable properties in the North, which previously belonged to Greek Cypriots, in exchange for the property left in the South. This type of immovable property is colloquially called Equivalent Kocanese.
• Allocation After 1974, the TRNC State gave and/or allocated real estate to war veterans, their families, people invited from the Republic of Turkey to settle in the North, people who came to the North from the South and did not own any property.

When buying and selling land in the TRNC, you will often come across acre, acre square and square foot (ft2) units of measurement. You can easily make calculations with our square meter to acre to square foot converter below.

• 1 Acre = 4 Houses = 14.400 square feet = 1.338 m²
• 1 Sehlek = 3600 ay² = 334,5 m²
• 1 m² = 10,76 ay²