Cyprus: Conveyancing

Co-ownership can become difficult when one owner wants to sell and the others do not. Cyprus law provides several ways of dealing with that situation, but they are not interchangeable. There is an important difference between selling the whole property, selling an undivided share, dividing the property and, where division is not possible, seeking a compulsory sale.

Cyprus property law now intersects with cryptocurrency regulation as international buyers increasingly seek to use Bitcoin, Ethereum, and stablecoins for real estate acquisitions. While crypto-funded property purchases are legally possible in Cyprus, they require careful structuring to satisfy contract law, Land Registry requirements, anti-money laundering obligations, and the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).

A recent Cyprus Court of Appeal decision clarifies whether unpaid common expenses, maintenance charges, and property-related debts can legally prevent the transfer of title deeds to buyers who have fulfilled their purchase obligations. The judgment examines the critical distinction between genuine statutory conditions for transfer and separate monetary claims that must be pursued through civil proceedings.