Tag: protest

Paphos title deeds demo targets law firm

ANGRY demonstrators converged on the offices of Pittadjis Law Firm in Paphos yesterday, protesting the lack of proper legislation concerning developers and title deeds.

Denis O’Hare of the Cyprus Property Action Group (CPAG) told the Cyprus Mail, “We’re here because we were asked by the victims of this lawyer – it’s not organised by us. We would usually contact the press in the UK, and give a month’s notice. But we’re here today to lend our support.”

“This law firm has given out bad information in many property purchase cases, and these people here today are just the tip of the iceberg. The system here is wrong,” he added.

“There are thousands of people without title deeds to their properties, and lawyers fail to inform purchasers’ about the situation in Cyprus. Many wouldn’t have brought here if they’d known,” he said.

“You would have to be slightly crazy to buy from a developer now. Cyprus is still a wonderful country, with a great climate and people, but unfortunately, developers and the legal fraternity have ruined it for everyone.”

O’Hare stressed, “It isn’t just expats and foreigners being affected with the property situation, in fact, most of the people suffering are the Cypriots. These people are working two or three jobs just to make ends meet. We have to all work together to try and fix this.”

CPAG say the Pittadjis law firm was involved in the re-selling of Conor O’Dwyer’s property to a second buyer after his sales contract had been lodged with the Land Registry.

Conor O’Dwyer, is currently engaged in a high-profile dispute with the developers of a house in Frenaros. He has been ordered by the judge hearing his case not to take part in any demonstrations and was not in Paphos.

Many other protesters, unhappy with practices of the law firm and developers in Cyprus, took part.

Janice Crossley was at the demonstration.

“This law firm withdrew my contract of sale for a property in Ayia Thekla from the land registry,” she said.

“[The act was] contrary to my instruction and they abused their power of attorney. The property has now been re- sold and I’m €188,000 down. I’ve now revoked my power of attorney and will be taking the matter further. At present I’m living in England.’

Chris Wood is 38 and lives in Liverpool. He said, “These guys were supposed to be my lawyers. I was buying a property on a large development, and they exposed me to my developer’s debt.”

“They didn’t carry out searches to see if there were any charges on the land. My developer tried to silence me by getting me to sign a confidentiality agreement.

“It goes so much deeper than this. What about the people who actually sign these [contracts]? You never hear about them, apparently it’s quite common. I didn’t sign.”

He added, “The developers got my money and I want it back. The projects are big, so he must have taken money off a lot of people.

“Even if the property was delivered on time, I still wouldn’t have been happy. Basically, I would like justice, and for him to return my money in full.”

“It’s too late for me, but I would like to raise awareness for others. This law firm, I believe, is representing around eighty per cent of the development. I think they were recommended.”

Wood attended a property roadshow in Liverpool and said a lawyer from Pittadjis was flown over, along with representatives from Alpha bank. Sales contracts were drawn up, ready to sign.

“They’re inducing people to sign and [do] not offering any protection,” Wood charged. “The property was supposed to be a home for my family, but now it’s turned into a nightmare.

“There are people I know who have said they won’t set foot in Cyprus again, the level of corruption is just too high.”

Wood says Fotos Pittadjis assured him in June 2007, that his money would be returned. He says the developer has been making empty promises since then.

“I’m owed CY£35,000,” he said “This man is a British developer, and is abusing the system here.”

Bejay Browne – January 27, 2009

Is buying property in Cyprus as safe as houses?

WHEN you buy a property in Cyprus, your right to ownership is guaranteed under the law. Depositing your contract of sale at the Land Registry allegedly prevents the vendor from selling it to someone else; or does it?

According to the Cyprus Interior Ministry:

“The deposit of a contract of sale at the Department of Lands & Surveys creates an encumbrance of a great practical importance on the encumbered property. The subsistence of such encumbrance prevents the vendor from selling or charging any such property whereas the purchaser may obtain a judgment from the Court directing the registration of the property in his name, if the vendor refuses or fails to transfer the property within the time agreed as per contract of sale.“

This is supported by section 303A of the Cyprus Penal code which states:

“(1) Any person who, with intent to defraud, deals in immovable property belonging to another is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for seven years.

(2) For the purposes of the present section a person shall be deemed to be dealing in immovable property where-

(a) [that person] Sells to another, or rents to another, or mortgages to another or encumbers in any way, or makes available for use by another immovable property, or (b) advertises or otherwise promotes the sale or renting out or mortgaging or charging in any way to another of immovable property or the use thereof by another, or

(c) concludes an agreement for the sale to another, or the renting out to another, or the mortgaging to another, or the charging in any way to the benefit of another, or the use by another of immovable property, or

(d) accepts the immovable property which is the object of the dealing as this is defined in the present subsection.

(3) For the purposes of the present section, a person acts with intent to defraud if, when committing any of the acts set out in subsection (2), that person knows or, under the circumstances, should reasonably have known, that he does not have the consent of the registered owner of the immovable property, or of any other person who has the lawful authority to grant such consent.”

What this means is that if you buy a property in Cyprus and deposit your contract of sale at the Land Registry, the person who sold it to you cannot sell it to anyone else or rent it, mortgage it, etc. If they do, they face the prospect of spending seven years in jail.

Indeed, Cypriot courts have used the law to prosecute people involved in the sale or purchase of property in the areas of the island under Turkish occupation. But for some reason the Cypriot authorities appear ‘reluctant’ to use this law in other situations.

Consider the case of Conor and Michaela O’Dwyer:

The O’Dwyer case

In 2005 Mr O’Dwyer and his wife Michaela bought a property in the village of Frenaros from a Paralimni-based developer. Their lawyer, quite correctly, deposited their contract of sale at the Land Registry where it remains deposited to this day – the Lands Registry reference is ΠΩΕ 1064/2005.

During a dispute between the developer and Mr O’Dwyer, the developer re-sold the property to Michelle McDonald. This, according to the law, was illegal.

If you click on the small picture on the right you can read a letter from Ms McDonald’s lawyer confirming the sale of Mr & Mrs O’Dwyer’s home.

(As well as acting on behalf of Ms McDonald the firm was apparently representing the developer with whom Mr O’Dwyer was in dispute. It is therefore surprising that that the lawyer did not advise Ms McDonald of the fact that the property she was buying had actually been sold to someone else and for her to buy it would be illegal.)

Police investigation

On 24th August 2007, the Cyprus Mail reported that the (former) Interior Minister, Christos Patsalides, had ordered an investigation into the matter.

Last month, the police concluded their investigation. Subsequently the following letter was sent to Mr O’Dwyer’s lawyer by the Counsel for the Republic; it has been translated from the original Greek:

REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS
LEGAL SERVICE OF THE REPUBLIC

File No. G.E. 93/1984/128
26 November 2008

Messrs.
Georgiades & Mylonas
Advocates – Legal Consultants
c/o Mr Yiannos Georgiades
P.O. Box 24144
1701 Nicosia

RE: Breach of article 303A, Cap. 154 – Cornelius Desmond O’Dwyer

Further to our letter, file no. 93/1984/128 and dated 22/10/2008, we hereby wish to inform you that the Police have completed their inquiry, the file has been studied and it has been ascertained that no criminal offence has been committed.

[signed]
Paulina Evthyvoulou – Evthymiou
Counsel for the Republic
For the Attorney General of the Republic

New precedent?

It would appear that a precedent has been set. Although Mr O’Dwyers contract of sale was deposited at the Land Registry, the developer who re-sold it to Ms McDonald has committed no crime according to the police who investigated the matter.

This precedent raises a number of serious questions:

  • Does the deposit of a contract of sale at the Land Registry prevent the sale of a property for a second time?
  • Will this ruling open the floodgates enabling other developers to sell the same house to more than one unsuspecting foreign buyer?
  • Are the authorities willing to take action to enforce the law?
  • Is it safe to buy property in Cyprus?

I’ll leave you, the readers of this magazine, to draw your own conclusions.

By: Nigel Howarth Published: Tuesday 9th December 2008
To see comments from British expats read this article in the Cyprus Property News
Copyright © Cyprus Property News

Briton outraged by delay to assault case over house dispute

BRITISH home buyer Conor O’Dwyer was furious yesterday that it will have taken more than a year for Paralimni court to hear his case involving an alleged beating by the property developers with whom he is in dispute over a house purchase.

On Thursday the developers, Karayiannas, father and son, pleaded not guilty to grievous bodily harm after O’Dwyer spent a week in Larnaca hospital at the beginning of this year.

According to O’Dwyer’s lawyer Yiannos Georgiaides the court set the hearing for January 20, 2009. The assault happened on January 14 this year.

A third man, who O’Dwyer claims held him down while the two developers attacked him in the centre of Frenaros, failed to show up at court on Thursday but his lawyer guaranteed the judge that he would show up on October 23 to enter a plea and the arrest warrant was cancelled.

Georgiades said from the date of the assault to the date of the hearing was more than a year. “We had to keep contacting the Attorney General’s office for a long time for information on the prosecution case,” said Georgiades. “Conor is justifiably upset over the delay in taking the case to court. It’s not usual for the courts to fix dates such a long way off.”

He said cases involving assault were usually tried very quickly.

O’Dwyer, 39, who has spent the last 60 days protesting outside the Cyprus High Commission in London said he was furious over the length of time it was taking considering it was a criminal case and not a civil one.

He added police had not filed any charges against the father and son, who O’Dwyer said had grabbed his mobile phone and the memory stick from his camera the day he was assaulted. O’Dwyer had been filming the alleged confrontation. His phone was never recovered and the camera was returned empty.

“It’s all absolutely disgusting,” said O’Dwyer. He said he had met the new Cyprus High Commissioner and another Cypriot official on Thursday and made his feelings clear. “I let them know I was annoyed,” he said. “And I gave them a list of my grievances. I have been here 60 nights. Where is the investigation into the unlawful selling of my house that the Minister said in August 2007, would be carried out?”

“My money is in his (Karayiannas) bank and someone else is living in my house”.

Every detail of O’ Dwyer’s case has been outlined on his website www.lyingbuilder.com and he has now set up a new site www.ShameOnCyprus.com.

O’Dwyer said the only option left to him was the road to Strasbourg. He has hired an EU law firm in London and plans to take action against Karayiannas, the developers` lawyers in Paralimni and another law firm that used to represent him but now represents the developers, and all those who have defamed his name.

“What happened on Thursday with the court case was the final insult,” O’Dwyer said.

Commenting on the response he has been receiving from the Cyprus High Commission in London, O`Dwyer said it’s always “investigation, investigation, investigation”. But nothing has changed since August 2007,” he said.

“I have been here 60 days. My wife and children are upset that I’m here and I have lost two stones in weight but I am determined not to move”.

October 5, 2008
(Source: Cyprus Mail)

Tent protest aims to shame Cyprus in dispute with developers

BRITISH home buyer Conor O’Dwyer marked his 39th birthday yesterday far away from his wife and children as he continued his indefinite protest outside the Cyprus High Commission in London.

O’Dwyer began his protest camping outside the Cypriot diplomatic mission this month because August marks two years since he was due to move his family to Cyprus, and August marks the anniversary of when the Minister of the Interior told the media he was looking into the unlawful selling of O’Dwyer’s house.

In two years, no progress has been made on O’Dwyer’s case outlined on his website www.lyingbuilder.com, and he has now set up a new site www.ShameOnCyprus.com, which will focus initially on his protest in London.

“I am still getting the same rhetoric that I was getting two years ago,” O’Dwyer said yesterday. ‘That’s why I’m protesting. I’m not going anywhere until they drag this case to court and take the developers off to jail. I deserve my day in court.”

O’Dwyer spent a week in Larnaca hospital last January after he was beaten up in Frenaros when he went to take pictures of the house he had bought and over which he later came into dispute with the developers.

They have been charged by police in connection with the attack on O’Dwyer in Frenaros, but the case has yet to reach the courts.

He says the developers unilaterally cancelled his contract and kept his money, some £75,000 sterling, because he had pulled them up over what he saw as a misrepresentation of their deal. That case is also pending at court. The developers have accused O’Dwyer of allegedly masterminding a plan to extort a newer more expensive property, and exorbitant damages from the company.

“My case is undeniable,” said O’Dwyer who, said that if anyone bothered to look at it, it could be solved in an afternoon. “It doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to figure it out. This whole thing stinks.”

O’Dwyer did receive a visit from an official at the Cyprus High Commission on Friday but the official only gave him “the same old story”, he said. A new High Commissioner is due to be in place next week, whom O’Dwyer hopes might listen to him.

Since the indefinite protest began, O’Dwyer has been sleeping in a tent and spends his day updating his new website and talking to passers-by, including, he said, potential British property buyers for Cyprus. “A few have now been put off buying in Cyprus when they heard what happened to me,” he said. “I’m not going to stay quiet any more and watch other people lose their savings. I’m sleeping in a tent. That’s what I got for my £75,000. I’ve lost my home but I’m not moving from here until I let everyone know what a corrupt society Cyprus is.”

By Jean Christou – Cyprus Mail
Published on August 15, 2008

London property protest

A GROUP of British expats frustrated with the judicial system in Cyprus protested at Alexandra Palace London on Sunday where President Demetris Christofias was addressing a gathering of UK-based Cypriots.

The protest was led by Conor O’Dwyer, 38, from Surrey who bought a house off plan in Cyprus in 2005 and has since entered in to a lengthy legal battle with the developers.

Unable so far to receive justice in Cyprus, O’Dwyer decided to take his protest to London during Christofias’ visit at the weekend. Holding placards calling for justice and an end to corruption, the protestors camped out in front of the venue.

O’Dwyer was joined by the relatives of expats in Cyprus who are also experiencing legal difficulties over properties they have purchased on the island. Problems include non issuing of title deeds, structural faults, illegal building, or developers extorting immovable property tax and transfer fees, they say.

O’Dwyer said yesterday the protest went very well.

“We didn’t see the President ourselves but hundreds of guests came past our protest stand and accepted leaflets,” he said. “Some were shocked at the severity of the cases represented but few were surprised with problems like the issuing of title deeds as their own families had fallen victim to this trap.”

He said the protestors were highlighting a broad range of issues and said it would be good to have the future support of the London Greek Cypriot community.

“Yesterday [Sunday] was a nice introduction,” he said.

O’Dwyer was badly beaten in Frenaros in January this year after taking photographs outside the house he owns in the village. The developers who sold him the property, and with whom he is engaged in a legal dispute, were later arrested and charged with assault. O’Dwyer, who details his entire case on the website lyingbuilder.com and on YouTube, spent over a week in Larnaca hospital.

By: Jean Christou Published: Tuesday 20th May 2008
To see comments from British expats read this article in the Cyprus Property News
Copyright © Cyprus Property News

διαμαρτυρία 14-05-2008

Υμετ. Σχετ. Γ.Ε. 93/1984/123 & Γ.Ε. 9/52/427        Ημετ. Σχετ. Ο.9-146/2007        Ημερ. 14 Μαΐου 2008

Γενικό Εισαγγελέα της Δημοκρατίας
Κον Πέτρο Κληρίδη
Γραφείο Γενικού Εισαγγελέα
Λευκωσία

«Με το φαξ & δια χειρός»

Έντιμε κύριε Γενικέ,

Θέμα: ΚΑΚΟΠΟΙΗΣΗ ΤΟΥ CORNELIUS DESMOND O’DWYER/ Γ.Ε. 93/1984/123 & Γ.Ε.9/52/427.

Αναφέρομαι στο πιο πάνω θέμα και περαιτέρω προηγούμενης μας αλληλογραφίας σας ενημερώνω ότι τα θέματα που εγέρθηκαν μεταξύ ενός απλού αγοραστή και ενός Υπεύθυνου ανάπτυξης γης (developer), έχουν πάρει σοβαρές διαστάσεις, τύπου χιονοστιβάδας, κατά τρόπο που έχουν αρνητικό αντίκτυπο για το καλό όνομα της Κύπρου.

Λόγω του ότι δεν επιλύονται οι διαφορές σε σχέση με την οικία που είχε αγοράσει ο πελάτης μας, επέλεξε να εκφράσει τη διαμαρτυρία του μέσω ιστοσελίδας όπου δημοσίευσε το πρόβλημα του. Επίσης είχε προβεί σε άλλες διαμαρτυρίες κατά τη διάρκεια εκθέσεων που έγιναν στο Λονδίνο και αφορούσαν επενδύσεις σε ακίνητη περιουσία στην Κύπρο.

Περαιτέρω σας ενημερώνουμε ότι κατά τη διάρκεια της επικείμενης επίσκεψης του Προέδρου της Δημοκρατίας στο Λονδίνο στις 18/5/2008, ο πελάτης μας προτίθεται να κάνει και άλλη διαμαρτυρία.

Λόγω της σοβαρότητας του θέματος πιστεύω ότι χρήζει άμεσης αντιμετώπισης και λήψης παραδειγματικών μέτρων έτσι ώστε να αποτραπούν άτομα που ασχολούνται με τέτοιου είδους επιχειρήσεις από το προβαίνουν σε πράξεις οι οποίες να επηρεάζουν τα δικαιώματα αγοραστών ακίνητης περιουσίας στην Κύπρο.

Η συμπεριφορά αυτών των ατόμων αποτελεί πληγή στην οικονομία και επηρεάζει τα συμφέροντα ατόμων που έχουν παρόμοιου είδους επιχειρήσεις καθώς επίσης αποτελεί και σοβαρό πλήγμα σε βάρος της οικονομίας της χώρας μας και ευρύτερα των Κυπριακών συμφερόντων από τέτοιου είδους συμπεριφορές.

Παρακαλώ όπως λάβετε όλα τα αναγκαία μέτρα για την αντιμετώπιση του προβλήματος.

Με τιμή,
Γεωργιάδης & Μυλωνάς
Δικηγόροι & Νομικοί Σύμβουλοι
Κοινοποίηση:

1. Υπουργό Εμπορίου, Βιομηχανίας & Τουρισμού
2. Υπουργό Δικαιοσύνης και Δημοσίας Τάξης
3. Υπουργό Οικονομικών
4. Πρόεδρο Νομικών της Βουλής

Property protest to greet Christofias

British ex pats frustrated with an inept judicial system in Cyprus are to protest at Alexandra Palace London on May 18 where President Demetris Christofias is due to address a gathering of the Cypriot community.

A statement from the organisers said problems suffered by property victims range from the non issuing of title deeds, structural faults, illegal building and developers extorting immovable property tax and transfer fees.

Many of the victims are currently resident in Cyprus but will be represented at the protest by their offspring, the statement said.

Fronting the protest is Conor O’Dwyer, 38, from Surrey who bought a house off plan in Cyprus in 2005 and has since entered in to a lengthy legal battle.

O’Dwyer said: “Crooked Developers and Lawyers in Cyprus act with impunity. My developer has kept all my money and managed to sell my house to another family despite my contract being logged in the Lands Registry. I have been assaulted by the developers twice; the last was in January 2008 when I spent six days in hospital. Every month my lawyer chases the authorities for a criminal investigation into the reselling of my house and every month it’s the same. It’s stuck at the local level” .

By Jean Christou
(archive article – May 10, 2008)
Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2008

Property groups team up to battle for buyers’ rights

THE CYPRUS Land and Property Owners’ Association (KSIA) and the Cyprus Property Action Group (CPAG) have teamed up to explore ways of fighitng for the rights of property buyers in Cyprus.

KSIA is affiliated to the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KEVE) and is a long-standing member of the International Union of Property Owners.

CPAG was only established in May last year, but has already attracted thousands of dissatisfied foreign buyers.

Teaming up with KSIA, which has strong contacts with the government, parliament, local authorities and various other bodies in the property field, will help foreign buyers better push for their rights, CPAG said in a statement yesterday.

The two groups said they plan to make 2008 “a year of intense lobbying” on property issues.

The statement said the two groups met in Peyia recently and toured the area “to view the shocking illegal and other unsuitable developments taking place in the area, even in places like ravines and drainage courses”, CPAG said.

George Strovolides, President of KSIA, said that the two groups had an interest in resolving the common problems faced by their members.

He said one of the biggest problems faced by property buyers of all nationalities in Cyprus was the isuse of title deeds.

Foreign buyers can wait years or even in cases decades to receive their title deeds from peopery developers.

“In Cyprus, buyers can pay in full and then not own their homes, sometimes for many years, as developers raise mortgages using land on which these very homes stand,” said Strovolides.

“Given the risk in this situation, especially in the current economic climate, something needs to be done to turn this current situation around.”
Denis O’Hare of CPAG added: “We don’t mind developers taking their own business risks, this is how the world works. However, we do strongly object when they are taking risks with our homes, especially as we have already paid for them in full. We think this situation is scandalous and needs addressing by the government right now.”

Meanwhile, in the UK, British property buyer Conor O’Dwyer, whose developers were arrested and charged with allegedly beating him up in January this year, will this weekend continue his picketing of UK property trade fairs to highlight his case and those of other Britons facing problems in Cyprus. O’Dwyer spent a week in Larnaca hospital.

This weekend, he and his wide will publicise their situation by handing out leaflets outside the property show “A Place in the Sun Live” at the ExCel centre in London’s Docklands. It is the second time the couple has picketed a property fair in the UK in as many months.

O’Dwyer, whose case is fully detailed on the website lyingbuilder.com, is also planning a demonstration outside the Cyprus High Commission in London in June.

“Problems suffered by victims range from the non issuing of title deeds, structural faults, illegal building and developers extorting immovable property tax and transfer fees.  Many victims are resident in Cyprus but will be represented by their offspring who may inherit the problems drawn up by unscrupulous lawyers,” said O’ Dwyer.
“In my particular horror, the Minister of Interior told the media ‘an Investigating Officer has already been appointed’. That was in August 2007!  Since then I’ve been brutally beaten for just looking at my house from the roadside in Frenaros.  Every month, my lawyer Yiannos Georgiades chases the authorities for a criminal investigation into the reselling of my house and every month it’s the same.  It’s stuck at the local level.”

By Jean Christou Published on April 26, 2008