Easement in Cyprus real estate
An easement gives a third party the right to use real property (usually a piece of land) belonging to another for a specific purpose. The third party may be an individual, the government, or a utility company. Easements do not grant ownership.
Examples of easements are the right to pass by foot or vehicles through the property or the right to pass equipment for utility over, on, or under the property.
The property burdened with an easement (i.e., the property that has an easement attached to it) is sometimes referred to as the “servient property.” If applicable, the property belonging to the easement holder is called the “dominant property.”
Legislation
The relevant legislation is the Immovable Property (Tenure, Registration and Valuation), chapter 224 of the laws. See also the Citizen’s Charter of the DLS (PDF, 2.5 MB, EN).
Registration and Due Diligence
In Cyprus, easements are registered with the Department of Lands and Surveys (DLS) and can be discovered through a title search (due diligence). They will appear on the register of both the servient and the dominant properties.
An easement must be clearly defined and not so interfering that it puts the landowner out of possession. Easements are usually permanent (“appurtenant easements”), but see below for how this can change.
Types of easements
Easements are sometimes divided into positive and negative:
- A positive easement (or affirmative easement) allows the holder to do a specific thing.
- A negative easement restricts the landowner from taking particular actions concerning the property. There are continuous easements, whereby the easement can be enjoyed without the holder having to take any specific action (for example, easements about light).
However, the DLS divides easements into actual and individual:
- In an actual easement, the right is held by the current owner of a specific property, such as the owner next to the property where the easement is attached. This type of easement will not change when the owner changes.
- In an individual easement, the right is held by a specific person. An individual easement is sometimes called a gross easement.
Getting an easement
You can get an easement in three ways as follows.
- Upon grant: in writing in a grant deed with details. The DLS has a form, N. 251A. The easement is then registered.
- By reservation upon the transfer of the property: the right can be established upon transfer of the property in the form of transfer N. 270.
- Upon compulsory acquisition: this is a right of way for landlocked property or property with insufficient access, sometimes referred to as easement implied by necessity. To get such easement, you file form N. 283 with the cadastral plan and serve it upon the landowner by double registered post or handed personally in the presence of a witness (if the landowner is a public authority, there is no need for a witness). Within 60 days of notice, you file form N. 284 to get the easement. On N. 284, you attach an affidavit, the certificate of registration or title of the property, and a search certificate stating the owners from which the right of way is requested.
Abandonment and variation of easements and rights
- To abandon an easement, the holder must notify the district office of the DLS in writing.
- An easement or right that has not been exercised for 30 years ceases to exist.
- The servient property owner or the easement holder may apply to the Director of the DLS to determine or vary an easement.
- If a street opens, creating access for a landlocked property, the right of way can be abolished. The servient property owner or the easement holder can request this from the relevant district office of the DLS.
