| I
want to rent out my property. How?
Technically, for non-residents purchasing a home in Cyprus,
the
current legal position is that such property may only be subsequently
rented to residents of Cyprus on a long term basis.
However, since such a position is no longer legally supportable, nor enforcable, due to European laws being adopted across the Republic, this particular regulation has effectively been swept under the table, and rental agencies are now advertising many foreign-owned properties for rent on a holiday-let basis.
Then of course, there are a large number of holiday rental websites which will more than happily advertise your property in Cyprus.
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Are there tax advantages
in Cyprus?
In a word: Yes
On the whole, tax in in Cyprus tends to be relatively painless when compared to the burdens put on taxpayers by the UK government.
For instance, foreign citizens residing in Cyprus are taxed at
a rate of just 5% on all income from pensions and
overseas investments (savings, stocks & shares,
etc.). The first €3,400.00 of income derived
from these sources is exempt from tax.
Furthermore, in Cyprus, income tax is also favourably structured
for residents, and the rate of corporation tax runs at just 10%, making it not only an ideal country to retire or relocate to, but also an ideal corporate base.
Find out more...
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Property sales
tax. How much is it?
Profits made from the sale of Cypriot Real Estate
are subject to capital gains tax at a rate of 20%.
The seller is allowed to deduct the original purchase
price, plus the underlying rate of inflation for the
period of ownership. The cost of any additions or
improvements made to the property may also be deducted
from 'profit'.
Furthermore, if the property sold is the seller's primary residence in Cyprus, capital gains tax allowances are also available to offset the overall tax burden.
Find out more...
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What government does Cyprus have?
Cyprus is an independent republic with an elected president on a
5 year election cycle as head of state. Legislative
power lies with the elected House of Representatives the government
appointed Council of Ministers.
Cyprus is a member state of the European Union, the British Commonwealth
and the United Nations. It is also a member of the World Bank and
IMF (International Monetary Fund).
With all that said, since the last election in 2008, the Republic of Cyprus is also the only communist-run member state of the European Union.
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How
are Cyprus' property prices set?
This gets asked a lot, and 'Oh Boy' is it a complicated one to answer...
If you're truly looking for the answer to this question, you first have to understand a little about the history of the Cyprus property boom between 2000 and 2008.
Following a growing trickle of British buyers purchasing Cypriot holiday and retirement homes throughout the 1990s, the Republic was officially discovered by the overseas property market in about 2000. Until this time, a handful local development companies across the island had been steadily constructing homes primarily for Cypriot buyers. When overseas real estate companies suddenly started to bring over an increasing number of British people during 2000 and 2001, however, local builders began to realise that there were a great many Brits eager to purchase a dream home in Cyprus.
Fuelled by the fact that properties in Cyprus were quite frankly ridiculously cheap compared to those in the UK, the numbers of British homebuyers flocking to the island continued to swell during 2002. With the countdown to European Union membership ticking away, and British investors now arriving in large numbers, 2003 was the Year of the Property Developer in Cyprus, with new construction companies springing out of nowehere from coast to coast. It was also the year when the Republic's real estate market finally hit British TV, praised as 'The best kept investment secret in the Mediterranean'.
By the time the Republic officially became a full E.U. member on May 1st 2004, the demand for homes foreign buyers and investors had increased fifty-fold compared to just four years earlier. During this time, prices had of course been steadily rising, as Cypriot builders realised that Brits were willing to pay ever increasing amounts for what they were being told was a shrewd investment. Promises of yields between 20% and 25% growth per annum by large-scale British overseas property companies who were themselves charging 12% to 15% commissions from local builders brought in buyers, and further pushed Cypriot real estate prices ever higher.
Prices continued to spiral for the next few years, with large numbers of Johnny Come Lately development companies being formed by melon farmers, eager to jump on the housing bandwagon and grow rich. By the end of 2007, off-plan property prices in Cyprus had gotten out of control to the degree, that it was substantially cheaper in many cases to buy a resale home than a new one. Then, in 2008, the bottom fell out of the global economy, and the rest, as they say, is history.
The last two years have seen an awful lot of the newer development companies disappear, as those operators unable to adjust to the changing economic climate were swept away by the gales of financial instability. Left behind is a field of established construction companies which are established enough to weather the storm.
And so, with most of the cowboy builders and high-pressure real estate companies having gone bankrupt, property prices in Cyprus are once again stabilising, and returning to more sensible levels.
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What are Cyprus council tax rates
like?
The Cypriot equivalent of Council Tax actually consists of three separate
charges.
Local authorities levy an annual property tax, of about €35
to €50. Additionally, there is also a health tax, covering
refuse collection 2 to 3 times weekly. This can range from €70
to €170 per annum, depending on the local authority. The third stage
is a sewage tax of about €35 to €70 per annum.
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