Land registry based on the real folio principle.

Some land registration systems consider any immovable asset, regardless its nature or situation, a subject matter of registration. Others restrict the concept only to those specified by law, or even create legal fiction of immovable assets with regard to the registration in the land registry.

1. Is there any specific provision in your law that regulates what can create a new land registry file (a new folio)? Could you please state that provision? What is the basic unit in the land registry? What can open a folio? Only Immovable assets by nature, or also immovable assets by legal fiction (by disposition of law)?

Since we are referring to a title system and not a deed one, nearly 97% of all land is registered. Although, land is registered, there is specific procedure in the law, under which buildings and units (after horizontal division), are registered.

This procedure follows after an application in the Department of Lands and Surveys from the registered owner (the owner needs to provide us with details of the buildings, plans, certification of final approvals from the local authority and many other relevant documents). Only ¼ of the buildings in Cyprus are registered.

Our title system is parcel centric and since nowadays everything is computerized, it is based on a unique internal ID (externally, it possess a registration number, and parcels are also classified with reference details i.e. sheet, plan, block, parcel no.).

Computerization offers us the option to hold and express property in both a real folio as well as a personal folio manner.

2. Could an immovable asset, being part of a bigger immovable asset already registered, be separated in the land registry by opening a new file (a new folio)?

How are these situations organized: is there any link or connection between different real folios?

A new folio is created after a division of a parcel (horizontal or vertical) or after any application that may create a change in the parcel history other than a division, i.e. acquisition of a road, etc.

In the case of a building, you may register a building on an existing plot or you may proceed with a vertical or horizontal division and have separate registration of units with a percentage of ownership for each unit on the land.

3. What is the legal criterion that defines the object of land registration (Please select all possibilities, applicable to your system):

– The nature of the asset

– Legal relationships

Is there a connection between the object of the legal traffic and the land registry entity? If so, could you please describe this connection?

We do register all property rights. We maintain history of all parcel and registration changes which is easily traceable, even if we have to proceed to manual registers existing for nearly 100 years, before 1999 (the official starting year of computerization).

4. Identification of the LR entity: Is each land registry entity identified by a single identification number? Is it created, maintained and written off by the Land registry organization?

If a Land Register identification number is applicable to your situation: could you please describe the way this LR ID number is structured. Could you please share a (specimen) identification number?

Which other information is needed for a easy and complete identification of the entity? (Please select all possibilities, applicable to your system):

As previously stated, parcel numbering is unique, as well as registration. Internally, each parcel has a unique id. It is possible that in the case of horizontal divisions, there is more than one registration on the same parcel.

Parcels are identified by district, town, village, sheet, parcel, and block and parcel no. Registration numbers are given also by district, town, and village and block no. You may identify a property both in terms of registration, as well as by parcel reference details.

An example:

Town: Nicosia (Code: 1)
Village: Latsia (Code: 23)
Quarter: Agios Georgios (Code: 1)
Registration Block: 2
Registration No.: 40
Sheet: 30
Plan: 15W2
Parcel No. 49
Scale: 4 (1:2500)

Land registry organized under the personal folio criteria,

1. Is it possible to present the information, referred to a single immovable property ? If yes, how? Which is the connecting factor? Please describe into detail.

Yes as stated above. Each property is connected to one or more owners since it is a title system.

2. With regard to a certain immovable asset, could all available information (contracts, et cetera) be presented? Could you please describe what information can be presented and what (possibly) can not be presented?

Yes, beyond titles, contracts of sale are registered in the Department Information includes the buyer’s details, the amount of the sale, the date of the sale, the details of the plot and registration, etc.