Cyprus warns owners against selling occupied properties

Fifty-two years after the Turkish invasion and the continuing occupation, the loss of use of Greek Cypriot properties in the occupied areas remains an unresolved issue, passed from one generation to the next.

Thousands of property owners in the occupied areas have been unable for more than half a century to use, develop or benefit from their properties. This represents a real and continuing financial loss, the cost of which extends beyond one generation and is inherited by their descendants.

For many, the issue is neither theoretical nor limited to the property aspect of the Cyprus problem. It is an everyday reality.

Owning property worth hundreds of thousands or even millions of euros in the occupied areas while trying to make ends meet in the government-controlled areas on a daily wage is a difficult reality. Families may struggle to pay for their children’s education or meet basic needs as the cost of living continues to squeeze household incomes.

The question, therefore, is who can condemn a refugee who, after 52 years of waiting, turns to the Turkish Cypriot administration’s compensation commission?

Financial reality versus political considerations

Those who apply to the so-called compensation commission know in advance that they will not be compensated at the actual value of their properties.

However, when financial pressure becomes severe, and there is no prospect of making use of their properties, economic reality can outweigh the political and legal dimensions of the issue.

This can ultimately lead property owners in the occupied areas to choose to sell, even at heavily reduced prices.

Properties that for decades represented symbols of return and justice can thus become a personal financial solution. Even where there is no immediate financial need, some owners choose to sell because they consider their properties in the occupied areas to have been lost long ago.

How much longer can owners wait?

For years, the answer has remained the same: once the Cyprus problem is resolved, the property issue will also be addressed as part of an overall settlement.

That expectation had some political basis when there was a belief that an agreement was relatively close.

After 52 years, however, referring to a solution that is continually pushed into the future can no longer provide an adequate answer to the problems faced by people living today, particularly those experiencing serious financial difficulties.

This raises a reasonable question: Why should they not sell? Why should they not receive at least some financial return for property they have been unable to use or develop for 52 years and for which they do not know whether or when a Cyprus settlement will be reached?

8,755 applications and €775 million awarded

According to the website of the Turkish Cypriot administration’s compensation commission, a total of 8,755 applications had been submitted by Greek Cypriot property owners in the occupied areas by August 14, 2026.

The total amount awarded in compensation stands at £662,933,062, equivalent to €775,900,170.

DISY proposal seeks compensation for lost use

The owners of properties in the occupied areas have faced what can be described as a serious injustice for 52 years. Other citizens of the Republic of Cyprus can use, develop and benefit from their property, while owners of properties in the occupied areas have been deprived of that ability.

They did not choose to lose the use of their property. Their situation is the result of the continuing Turkish occupation.

This is the basis of a proposal by the Democratic Rally (DISY) to establish a National Fund for Loss of Use of Occupied Properties.

DISY vice-president Giorgos Karoullas, one of the lawmakers behind the proposal, told Politis that the state has a constitutional obligation to address the inequality that has emerged.

Owners of occupied properties did not choose to be deprived of their use and did not cause the circumstances in which they find themselves. Nor, he argued, should they be treated as second-class citizens because their property is located in an area under occupation.

The Republic of Cyprus can and should, through a targeted policy, provide practical recognition of the financial damage caused by the loss of use of occupied properties.

Calls for a new approach

Successive governments have so far chosen to leave the issue for the future, expecting that it will eventually be resolved as part of a comprehensive Cyprus settlement.

But 52 years have passed since the invasion, and the occupation continues, with no clear sign of a solution.

It is difficult to ask a refugee to wait indefinitely when their property remains unused by them, generates income for Turkish settlers and cannot be exploited by its rightful owner.

If the state genuinely wants to limit the sale of Greek Cypriot properties in the occupied areas, it must also address the cause behind it: financial pressure and the inability to make use of those properties.

For this reason, the legislative proposal to establish a National Fund for Loss of Use deserves serious consideration before the House Refugees Committee, where it remains pending.

The issue, the argument goes, should be considered not because it was submitted by DISY, but because the problem is real, ongoing and affects thousands of citizens.

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