Holiday Rentals News - Owners of villas in Cyprus face having to pay damages

Owners of villas in Cyprus face having to pay damages

Owners of homes in Cyprus built on illegally possessed land may have to pay damages to the original land owners. Home owners who have invested in properties on the north of the island are awaiting the verdict in a case that began in 2005.

Following a ruling by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, owners of villas in Cyprus face the prospect of paying damages to the original Greek Cypriot owners of the land, according to The Times. A final judgement in the case, which began in 2005, is expected later this year.

The case involves a British couple who were ordered to demolish their home in Northern Cyprus to pay compensation to the legal owner of the land, a Greek Cypriot. Like many other investors, the couple had bought the land from Turkish Cypriots, who took ownership illegally following the Turkish invasion of the region in 1974.

After the couple appealed against the ruling, the case was referred to the European Court of Justice. The Court's advocate general, whose opinion is typically followed, is believed to have backed the Greek Cypriots.

An estimated 170,000 Greek Cypriots are said to have fled their homes in 1974. If the original ruling is upheld, damages to the dispossessed population could be enforced against any asset owned elsewhere in the EU by non Greek home owners with property in the region.

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