Housing

Steps

Renting

1. Search through a registered estate agency (register kept by the Estate Agents Registration Council) or through your employer, who sometimes helps find housing.
2. Read the lease: term, rent, charges (electricity, water and air conditioning are generally extra), conditions for returning the deposit.
3. Pay the rent by transfer, card or other recognised electronic means: it is compulsory since 01/07/2026 for any rent on a property located in Cyprus, and the landlord is not allowed to accept any other method of payment (article 48Α of the Establishment and Collection of Taxes Law). It is also the condition for the tax deduction for rent (up to €2,000 per person, see CY-IMPOTS-TOUS-001).
4. Keep the lease: it serves as proof of address for residence registration (see CY-SEJOUR-TOUS-001).

Buying

1. Have the property checked by an independent lawyer: existence of a title deed (title deed), building permit and certificate of conformity, registered mortgages or charges.
2. If the property does not yet have a title deed (property under construction) or if the transfer is postponed, the land registry recommends signing a sale contract and depositing it at the land registry office of the district where the property is located, within 6 months of signing (€50; form Δ.Ε.314, signed original contract, signed cadastral plan and plans of the home, copy of your ID document). The deposit protects you if the seller does not keep their commitments (law 81(I)/2011 on specific performance, strengthened in 2023), prevents another contract being deposited on the same property and ranks according to its date. If the title deed exists and passes directly into your name, the sale contract is not necessary. Without deposit within 6 months, you will pay transfer fees increased by 10%. Since 12/12/2023, the seller must attach to the contract a certificate of search for charges and prohibitions dated no more than 5 working days earlier. A contract that is neither in Greek nor in English must be translated in Cyprus by a sworn translator.
3. Obtain your financing (see CY-BANQUE-TOUS-001) and your tax number (see CY-NIF-TOUS-001).
4. Transfer the title at the land registry by paying the transfer fees, due by the buyer.

Documents

• Rental: ID document, signed lease, bank details for paying the rent.
• Purchase: ID document, tax number, sale contract, seller's title deed, proof of payment of VAT if it is a new property.

Costs and timelines

• Deposit: generally two months' rent (EURES).
• Indicative rents (EURES): about €6 to €12 per m² per month for a fairly recent unfurnished apartment.
• Stamp duty: the stamp duty laws have been repealed since 01/01/2026 (law 239(Ι)/2025, Tax Department; the land registry only still asks for stamp duty for a document signed, even by one party only, before that date). Contracts signed up to 31/12/2025 remain subject to the old stamp duty.
• Deposit of the sale contract at the land registry: €50 (DLS, 2026).
• Transfer fees (land registry, scale in force in October 2026, unchanged since the 2022 leaflet) on the sale price or market value: 3% up to €85,000, 5% from €85,000 to €170,000, 8% above; these fees are reduced by 50% (except for a property that the seller themselves acquired in a forced sale on foreclosure). No fees if VAT has been paid on the property. The Director of the land registry may use a higher market value than the declared price (challenge possible, valuation within 3 months).
• Indicative prices (EURES): about €1,400 to €2,000 per m² to buy.
• Credit: see CY-BANQUE-TOUS-001.

Common pitfalls

• Buying a property without a title deed. For new builds, the title is only issued once all permits have been obtained, and this can take a long time: your lawyer must check the permits before signing.
• Paying rent in cash or by cheque. It is forbidden since 01/07/2026: you would also lose your tax deduction and your proof of payment.
• Forgetting the charges. Electricity and air conditioning weigh heavily in summer: ask for the bills of the previous months.
• The same lawyer for the seller and you. Take a lawyer who works only for you.
• Mixing up the north and the south of the island. The rules of this sheet concern the areas controlled by the Republic of Cyprus. Properties located in the north raise legal ownership problems: get advice before any project.

What changes by country of origin

• EU citizens: no authorisation to buy; same rules as Cypriots.
• Swiss, British people (including Scottish) and other non-Europeans: you first need authorisation from the administration of the district where the property is located (law on the acquisition of immovable property by foreigners, chapter 109). Application with form COMM 145: free of charge, 2 to 3 weeks of review (Ministry of the Interior). A person or a couple may buy either a plot of at most 4,000 m² on which to build their residence, or at most two properties (two homes, or one home and a shop of at most 100 m² or an office of at most 250 m²). These limits are to be confirmed with the district administration before signing. Documents: plan, title deed, sale contract, plans of the home, proof of resources, passports, Cypriot residence permits.