Northern Cyprus Property Buying Costs
As in any country you buy a property in there will always be additional costs to consider. Here we tell you just how much you can expect your North Cyprus property buying costs to be so that you can make sure you budget accordingly.
Freehold North Cyprus Property Purchase Permit & Solicitors Fees
As a non-national you will have to apply for a purchase permit from the North Cyprus government. This is something that your Northern Cyprus solicitor can do for you and the costs will amount to about £750, which will be included in your final transaction fees. Once you add on additional solicitor’s costs for handling the contracts, checking title deeds etc the full solicitor’s fees should be in the region of £1,000.
Leasehold North Cyprus Property Purchase & Solicitors Fees
Buying a leasehold property is cheaper in regards to solicitor’s fees and costs because you don’t have to apply for the purchase permit. Instead, as the leasehold is owned by the government, the seller applies to the Ministry of Tourism to transfer the lease. Once this is done, you, the buyer, applies to the Ministry of Tourism to take up that lease from them (which could require attending an interview). Solicitor’s fees should be in the region of £300.
North Cyprus District Lands Office Purchase Tax
A Purchase Tax is applied by the District Lands Office on all property sales. This is calculated as being 3% of the property’s value, and is assessed by the Lands Office based on the value of the land and building structure as opposed to what you are actually paying for the property. When you take out the value of fixtures and fittings for example, it means that this valuation could be quite a bit less and hence you pay less tax.
North Cyprus Properties Stamp Duty
Stamp Duty is payable on all property transfers to the Registry Office, and this is 0.5% if paid within 14 days of signing the contract. It can be paid later but goes up to 1.5% if it is.
VAT on North Cyprus Properties
In addition to Stamp Duty, you will have to pay 5% KDV (i.e. VAT) on all property purchases.
Other Costs to Consider For your North Cyprus Property Purchase
If you need to be connected to utilities this can cost in the region of £500, so find out about this. Once you own the property, local taxes are very cheap – under £20 a year.