We kindly ask our customers who have purchased and/or intend to purchase property in TRNC to check this article that has been introduced to comply with the new regulations.

Summary of Changes:

The New Amendment Law came into force on 21.05.2024, following its publication in the Official Gazette of the TRNC.

Although the new legal regulation imposes restrictions on the acquisition of land or immovable property by foreigners, the main changes include regulations on Sales Contracts, Trust Agreements, applications for Purchase Permits, Transfer of Title Deeds, registration of Sales Contracts and other important changes. Let's consider all the important changes in order.

Important Changes:

• The interpretation of "Foreign National" has changed. In particular, in case of ownership by a foreign national, including any (even 1) "Company" share, this company will also be considered a foreign legal entity. Additionally, seven of a Foreign National ('Trustee') will also be considered as Foreign Nationals.

• "Trust Relationships": If the immovable property itself and/or the "shares" of any company that owns the immovable property are included in any Trust Deed ('Trust Agreement'), the Trust Deed will be invalid. Trust Deeds made before this legal legislation must be registered with the relevant Official Authority. After the date of entry into force of this law, such contractual relationships no longer constitute a crime.

Attention Buyers

The following points are mandatory for all buyers;

• Sales Contracts must be registered with the relevant Land Registry Office;

• To obtain a Purchasing Permit, an application must be made to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and/or an online application must be made through the website: https://tmb.icisleri.gov.ct.tr:8080

Buyer(s) who purchased property(s) before 1.05.2024;

• Buyer/s must register the Sales Contracts with the relevant Land Registry Office and apply to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for purchase permission within 6 months;

• If the Buyer/s have purchased more than one property and/or they are not within the limits set out under the heading “Limitations on Purchase”, they must notify the Ministry of Internal Affairs and, by paying a fee of 1% of the Sale Price, keep the records of their Contract within the Internal Revenue Service. They must register with the Ministry of Affairs;

• This payment gives the Buyer/s the right to register their additional contracts with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and allows them to pay 50% of all duties and/or fees that a seller will be obliged to pay during the transfer of excess properties. This method not only provides assurance to the Sales Contracts of the Buyer(s) who purchase more than the amount to be recorded, but also enables their legal transfer.

• Within 24 months from the expiry date of the 6-month period mentioned above, customers must transfer and/or re-sell the Sales Agreements they have made regarding their excess property in their right to purchase. If the Customers do not make the transfers within this period, the Sales Agreements regarding their excess property will be deemed invalid;

• Customer(s) who have already applied for and received a purchase permit must transfer the property they purchased within 6 months.

• Trust Agreements made before 21.05.2024 must be registered with the relevant Land Registry Office within 75 days; Unregistered Trust Agreements will be deemed invalid.

• All of the above limitations shall apply equally to the properties subject to the Trust Agreement;

• If the buyer/s whose Sales Contract is registered and has purchasing permission do not comply with the specified periods, their purchasing permission and registered contracts will automatically become invalid and/or terminated and/or will be deleted from the relevant Land Registry Office.

• If any Buyer has received a purchase permit before 21.05.2024, he must apply to the relevant Land Registry Office within 6 months to transfer the title deed of the property subject to the said permit to his name. However, if the full price of the property determined in the Sales Contract has not yet been paid, all fees and taxes required for the transfer of Immovable Property must be paid within 60 days from 21.05.2024. In this case, you can register the title deed of the property yourself.

Disclaimer: The views and comments provided above have been prepared by our legal team based on a narrow interpretation of recent legislation. Since there is no court decision regarding the relevant regulation and/or administrative practice has just begun, we must state that we do not accept responsibility in case these opinions are interpreted differently.

The 6-month period determined to transfer it to your name will start from the date on which the payment of the entire fee is completed.

Buyer/s must follow the application processes and complete sales transactions as soon as possible;

• The buyer/s must transfer the title deed of the relevant Immovable Property within 6 months after receiving the purchase permission;

• All price specified in the Sales Contract of the property For those who have not yet been paid, the 6-month application period for the transfer of Immovable Property will start from the date on which the payment of the entire fee is completed.

• In both cases, all fees and taxes required for the transfer of Immovable Property must be paid within 60 days from the date of publication of the purchase permit in the Official Gazette;

• If the above-mentioned conditions and/or procedures are not fulfilled within the relevant time periods, the purchase permission will be automatically canceled following the expiration of the relevant periods.