Possession and use of the property

Living in the north●Obstructed40/100

The Guardian holds Turkish Cypriot-owned property under Law 139/1991. Title is not extinguished; management passes to the Minister of the Interior for as long as the statute's "abnormal situation" lasts. Section 6A, added in 2010, lets an owner bring a civil claim after an adverse request. The European Court of Human Rights in Kazali (2012) and again in Barutçuzade Ahmet Vasıf Efendi Vakfı and Hakki v. Cyprus (notified January 2026) required that domestic route first; neither decision is a merits ruling on the scheme. The consolidated law is current through 2025, including a duty to inspect for visual and seismic safety before any licence to use. The government's return to the Court reported 45 custodianship-lift applications decided in 2010-11; 16 were lifted and 29 refused. Arif Moustafa's property was returned in 2006. In January 2025 the Supreme Court found the Custodian's 2010 building authorisation unlawful and awarded damages. In June 2026 the Court of Appeal dismissed a claim for 125 Paphos plots. Owners who live in the north remain, as a class, without possession.^12345678

Living in the south●Obstructed40/100

The 2010 amendment to the law lists permanent settlement in the government-controlled areas as a factor favouring lifting custodianship. The government's 2010-11 return to the European Court of Human Rights reported 16 lifts out of 45 decisions; two of the 16 were for owners resident in the south. One owner's property was returned in 2006, after the Supreme Court annulled the Custodian's refusal. No application figures have been published since 2011, so the current rate is unknown.¹⁵