Legal regulations should be made regarding real estate sales to foreigners - TRNC former Minister of Internal Affairs

TRNC former Minister of Internal Affairs, Ziya Öztürkler, has called on the government to regulate the sales of real estate to foreigners. 

Ziya Öztürkler spoke about the sales of real estate to foreigners, made the call while speaking at the parliament on Tuesday.  

He stated that the issue of goods purchased by foreigners, especially through real estate agents and lawyers, should be examined.

“The Council of Ministers gave immovable property permits to 12 Israeli citizens in 2022, however, when we look at the registration system of real estate agents, we see that 384 Israeli citizens have taken steps to purchase real estate," Öztürkler said.

Öztürkler, said that he served as the Minister of Internal Affairs for about 15 months, and that it was determined that there were problems with the sales made through real estate agents who didn't have permissions to purchase real estate given by the decision of the Council of Ministers.

Stating that he carried out a legal study on this issue during his time and that the opinion of the prosecutor's office has been reached, Öztürkler said, "In line with the opinion to be received, sales contracts made through real estate agents and lawyers, who are not under the control of the state, need to be checked."

Stating that legal regulations should be made regarding the sale and purchase of goods by foreigners, Öztürkler said, “In order to protect our own lands in this country, we need to make legal regulations regarding the goods purchased by foreigners. It was expressed here that the government and the opposition should carry out studies in line with the opinions of experts. "50 representatives should come together and steps should be taken regarding both the real estate agent registration law and the sale of goods to foreigners," he said.

Öztürkler said that especially Israeli citizens' interest in the lands in the north of Cyprus has increased and that this is constantly on the agenda, and said, "If I were to give information to complement what I said, the Council of Ministers had given immovable property permits to 12 Israeli citizens in 2022. "However, when we look at the registration system of real estate agents, we see that 384 Israeli citizens have taken steps to purchase real estate," he said.