Compensation for Paralimni lake property owners upped to €380,000

A total of €380,000 was awarded by Famagusta district court to property owners of Paralimni Lake on Friday as compensation for the seizure of their property instead of the €1,900 initially given.

“This was the first case to be heard in the Cypriot courts and concerned only the determination of the amount of compensation for the seizure of real estate,” lawyer representing them Michalis Deilinos said, adding that “the Attorney General has appealed the decision of the District Court.”

On May 27, 2011 the Official Gazette published notification of expropriation for the fulfilment of its international obligations and in particular the preservation and restoration of the habitat of Paralimni Lake. On May 25, 2012, the relevant decree was published, based on which 22 properties were expropriated with an area of approximately 1,900,000m².

The owners appealed to the Famagusta district court to determine fair compensation for the seizure of their properties. Until then, the Republic had not offered any amount of compensation to owners.

According to the lawyer’s statement, “after the case was registered in court, the Famagusta Land Registry estimated the rental value of the properties and offered the owners €1 per 1,000 m².”

After a hearing the president of the Famagusta district court awarded the owners the total amount of €380,000 as fair compensation for the seizure.

Deilinos added that the department of Lands and Surveys “should begin to treat property owners whose real estate is affected more fairly.”

He said when a deed order is published, an offer should be sent to the property owners whose property is affected, something that the Land Registry Department does not do.