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News & Articles
British couple lose Cyprus property
case
(Gulf Times Newspaper)
NICOSIA: A British couple living in the breakaway north of divided
Cyprus lost an appeal yesterday against a court decision to demolish
their retirement home as it was illegally built on Greek Cypriot
property.
The decision has wider legal ramifications, with thousands of Britons
and other EU nationals having bought land in Turkish-occupied northern
Cyprus that originally belonged to Greek Cypriots.
Lawyers for Linda and David Orams had argued that the property was
bought in good faith, but this was done without the owner’s consent, a
Greek Cypriot refugee now living in the Cyprus government-controlled
south of the island.
The court upheld a November ruling that the home be demolished and
damages be paid to owner Meletis Apostolides, citing rulings by the
European Court of Human Rights that Greek Cypriot refugees are “the
only true and lawful owners” of their land.
The Orams’ Turkish Cypriot lawyer Gunesh Mentesh said the couple would
not demolish the house, in an area popular with pensioners, but would
appeal to a higher court within 10 days.
Apostolides’s lawyer Constantinos Candounas said he would take up the
fight through the British legal system if need be.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied
the northern third following a Greek Cypriot coup seeking to unite the
island with Greece.
In 1974, some 200,000 Greek Cypriots fled their homes in the north,
making property rights a key element in any move to reunify the
island.
A divided Cyprus joined the European Union in May last year after the
failure of a UN reunification plan.
There are an estimated 4,000 Britons living on a permanent basis in
the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus — recognised only by
Turkey — and they could now face a barrage of lawsuits by Greek
Cypriot owners.
Moreover, the north has witnessed a huge property boom since the
Turkish Cypriots received international praise for backing the peace
plan which the Greek Cypriots rejected last year.
Lured by stunning scenery and rock-bottom prices, thousands of
foreigners have in recent years purchased property in the enclave. –
Agencies
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By Mary Antonescu -
mary@cyprus4properties.com
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