FOR MANY years the authorities have been trying to address the issue of property buyers, who were not issued title deeds. In the past, many thousands of foreign buyers had been left in limbo by developers who could not issue title deeds because the land on which the villas and flats were built was being used as collateral for bank loans.

Cyprus acquired a very bad name abroad for this scandalous practice, which meant that despite having paid the developer in full for a property, the buyer was not issued a title deed because, legally, the property still belonged to the bank. The bank would not consent to the transfer of ownership unless the developer repaid his loans in full, but the reality was that the developer had several projects on the go and therefore was in permanent need of funding from the bank.

Governments, concerned about the negative publicity abroad which depicted Cyprus as a base for dishonest developers, tried to address the issue but had little success, while the situation became worse during the economic meltdown and banking crisis of 2013.

Developers went bust, as under-capitalised banks recalled their loans and any hope of title deeds being issued to trapped buyers evaporated.

Still, the Anastasiades government passed legislation aimed at helping trapped buyers acquire their title deeds, but appeals were filed by the banks, and the law was deemed unconstitutional.

According to information given to the legislature by Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou on Wednesday, there are currently 9,497 trapped buyers, more than half of whom were not issued title deeds because building or town planning permits had not been issued.

Most of the remaining 4,080 cases were eligible to title deeds but were at the mercy of the banks, which refused to give the go-ahead.

The legislature has joined forces with the executive in an effort solve the problem, but by all accounts, it is legally complex. The president of the House legal affairs committee, Nicos Tornaritis has promised to have a law proposal, “that touches the core of the problem” ready for the vote before the summer recess.

Whether this will be fought by the banks remains to be seen. They could be tempted to use the legal resources at their disposal to delay or even prevent the vote, but it would be wrong.

Perhaps it is time the banks took the hit for the mistakes they had made in the past instead of using their legal armory for stopping honest people who had paid for their property in full, from being issued title deeds. It was not the fault of the property buyers that the banks were totally lax in their dealings with developers, so why are they burdened with the cost of bad banking practices?

Trapped buyers must be freed even if this does not suit the banks.

FOR MANY years the authorities have been trying to address the issue of property buyers, who were not issued title deeds. In the past, many thousands of foreign buyers had been left in limbo by developers who could not issue title deeds because the land on which the villas and flats were built was being used as collateral for bank loans.

Cyprus acquired a very bad name abroad for this scandalous practice, which meant that despite having paid the developer in full for a property, the buyer was not issued a title deed because, legally, the property still belonged to the bank. The bank would not consent to the transfer of ownership unless the developer repaid his loans in full, but the reality was that the developer had several projects on the go and therefore was in permanent need of funding from the bank.

Governments, concerned about the negative publicity abroad which depicted Cyprus as a base for dishonest developers, tried to address the issue but had little success, while the situation became worse during the economic meltdown and banking crisis of 2013.

Developers went bust, as under-capitalised banks recalled their loans and any hope of title deeds being issued to trapped buyers evaporated.

Still, the Anastasiades government passed legislation aimed at helping trapped buyers acquire their title deeds, but appeals were filed by the banks, and the law was deemed unconstitutional.

According to information given to the legislature by Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou on Wednesday, there are currently 9,497 trapped buyers, more than half of whom were not issued title deeds because building or town planning permits had not been issued.

Most of the remaining 4,080 cases were eligible to title deeds but were at the mercy of the banks, which refused to give the go-ahead.

The legislature has joined forces with the executive in an effort solve the problem, but by all accounts, it is legally complex. The president of the House legal affairs committee, Nicos Tornaritis has promised to have a law proposal, “that touches the core of the problem” ready for the vote before the summer recess.

Whether this will be fought by the banks remains to be seen. They could be tempted to use the legal resources at their disposal to delay or even prevent the vote, but it would be wrong.

Perhaps it is time the banks took the hit for the mistakes they had made in the past instead of using their legal armory for stopping honest people who had paid for their property in full, from being issued title deeds. It was not the fault of the property buyers that the banks were totally lax in their dealings with developers, so why are they burdened with the cost of bad banking practices?

Trapped buyers must be freed even if this does not suit the banks.