With Disy's proposed legislation establishing a National Fund for Loss of Use of Occupied Properties, parliament is seeking to provide financial relief to owners who have been deprived of the use of their properties for 52 years. At the same time, the initiative aims to curb the continued sale of Greek Cypriot properties in the occupied areas to Turkey.
Another 40 applications by Greek Cypriot owners of property in the occupied areas were filed with the Turkish Cypriot Immovable Property Commission (IPC) during the past month.
According to updated figures published on the commission's website, a total of 8,755 applications had been submitted by 14 August 2026.
The number of applications being submitted to the so-called IPC has shown a steadily rising trend in recent years.
The trend highlights, among other things, the financial pressures still faced by thousands of Greek Cypriots, both refugees and non-refugees, who, 52 years after the Turkish invasion and occupation, continue to be deprived of the use and exploitation of their properties.
Without support
Those who apply to the IPC know in advance that they will not be compensated at the true value of their properties.
Economic necessity outweighs the political and legal dimensions of the issue, leading many owners to sell, even at what are regarded as extremely low prices.
The situation raises a significant issue of unequal treatment that the state has allowed to persist for 52 years.
While other citizens of the Republic of Cyprus are able to use, develop and profit from their property, owners of property in the occupied areas are denied the same opportunity.
In an attempt to address what it describes as this injustice and to halt, or at least reduce, the sale of Greek Cypriot property in the occupied areas, Disy submitted a bill in July 2025 proposing the creation of a National Fund for Loss of Use of Occupied Properties.
The bill remains before the House Refugees Committee.
When parliamentary work resumes in early September, DISY intends to seek expedited examination of the proposal with the goal of turning it into law.
The government is moving in a similar direction.
Recognising the need for economic support for owners of occupied properties, it is promoting, through the Central Agency for the Equitable Distribution of Burdens, the implementation of a Special Financial Support Scheme for Owners of Occupied or Inaccessible Properties.
Applications and compensation
As of 17 July 2026, a total of 8,715 applications had been submitted to the IPC by Greek Cypriot owners of occupied land, while 3,288 applications had been processed.
According to updated figures published yesterday, by 14 August 2026 the total number of applications had risen to 8,755, while the number examined increased to 3,592.
In other words, during the past four weeks:
- 40 new applications were submitted.
- 304 additional applications were processed.
The upward trend becomes even clearer when compared with figures from November 2025.
As of 21 November 2025, there had been 8,428 applications and 2,144 cases processed.
Over a period of approximately nine months:
- 327 new applications were submitted.
- 1,448 additional cases were completed.
The total compensation awarded to date to Greek Cypriot owners of occupied properties amounts to £662,933,062 sterling, equivalent to approximately €775,900,170 at yesterday's exchange rate.
It should be noted that the IPC was established in 2005 in the occupied areas following rulings of the European Court of Human Rights, which recognised it as a domestic legal remedy.
The most recent known case involved the payment of €9 million in compensation to the heirs of a refugee from Famagusta.
The proposed law
DISY's proposal for the creation of the National Fund for Loss of Use of Occupied Properties was submitted to the House plenary in July 2025 and referred to the House Refugees Committee.
The bill was signed by DISY MPs:
- Giorgos Karoullas
- Onoufrios Koulla
- Nikos Georgiou
- Kyriacos Hadjiyiannis
- Marios Mavrides
- Rita Superman
Under the proposal, the fund would be established as a public law legal entity with the authority to acquire, own, manage and dispose of assets.
Its revenues would come from, among other sources:
- A 0.4% levy on the sale price of immovable property in the Republic of Cyprus.
- State grants.
- Revenue generated from assets acquired or assigned to the fund.
- Donations and contributions.
- Undisbursed annual budget allocations of the Central Agency for the Equitable Distribution of Burdens and the Service for the Care and Rehabilitation of Displaced Persons.
- Any other source of income.
According to the bill, the fund's management committee would be chaired by the serving Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and would be subject to oversight by the Audit Office of the Republic.
The Finance Ministry proposal
Following the submission of Disy's bill, the Ministry of Finance instructed the Central Agency for the Equitable Distribution of Burdens to prepare regulations for a special financial support scheme for owners of occupied properties.
The scheme would utilise revenue generated by the 0.4% levy imposed on property transactions and share sales involving companies in the Republic of Cyprus.
A Finance Ministry representative told the House Refugees Committee that owners who have applied to the IPC would be excluded from receiving financial assistance.
The 0.4% levy currently generates approximately €20 million annually for the Republic.
If annual revenue remains at around €20 million, owners of occupied properties are expected to receive less than €1 per month as compensation for the loss of use of their properties.
The issue, therefore, is not merely whether financial support will be provided, but whether it will be meaningful, fair and sufficient to help prevent the continued disposal of Greek Cypriot-owned property in the occupied areas.
