The constant request of thousands of families, uprooted from their homes in the summer of 1974, for financial support of the owners of real estate occupied, in exchange for their lost incomes, brings to the surface a relevant study of the Central Body of Equal Burden.
The whole issue is taking on a wider dimension at this stage, due to the general economic conditions, which are forcing many refugees to turn to the Occupied Territories and the real estate commission set up by Turkey, in many cases selling out land.
The study for the loss of use of these properties was completed in 2019 after consultation with the Ministry of Interior and the consent of the Ministry of Finance. But until today it has fallen into disuse and the intentions of its implementation by the government are unknown.
As mentioned in the introductory point of the study, which is owned by "K", its purpose is
- "The calculation of financial assistance to eligible property owners against their lost income on the basis of a specific item.
- The calculation also of the total amount required for the payment of financial aid, after determining a minimum or even a maximum amount per beneficiary, in order to estimate the budget required for the granting of aid ".
As the study clearly shows, the majority of the owners are natural persons - Cypriot citizens. The study has included companies - property owners, as well as all owners of occupied property. The calculation of loss of use has been made on the basis of three scenarios with the basic parameter the total amount of financial support-compensation of the owners, which will be allocated by the state.
The first scenario envisages a budget of EUR 100 million, the second EUR 150 million and the third EUR 200 million. In terms of implementation, the study clearly highlights the amount of funds that will be allocated from the state budget as a basic condition for serving the objective in a dignified manner. Although it is not explicitly mentioned in the study, but it follows from the context, the minimum percentage that should be budgeted, can not be less than 300 million euros. Otherwise the whole project will be a free gift, as it is typically called, for the majority of owners.
First scenario: Natural persons
All three scenarios of the study for calculating the loss of use of e / k assets in the Occupied Territories, were carried out on the basis of the assumption that the state aid budget will amount to EUR 100 million. An amount, which as it is emphasized, was considered probable to be allocated as a fund and in addition in any case of its increase or decrease, the results can be calculated proportionally. In the first category of owners, the largest, that of natural persons, the compensations concern 105.612 owners for a total land area of 1.289.618.364 sq.m. and total value, with prices in 1974, € 1.653.450.845. As shown in the table, the lowest amounts of financial compensation are received by the majority of beneficiaries. Specifically: 87.059 owners (82,4%) receive up to € 1000. Of these, 34.974 (40,2%) receive compensation of up to € 100 for property, the value of which amounts to € 1.654, while for 8.493 owners their compensation reaches up to 10 euros. In the general category of compensations up to € 1000, 56,9% of the owners will receive aid up to € 200 and 68,3% up to € 300.
Second scenario: Individuals-companies
The second category of owners is that of individuals and companies. Here the number of owners amounts to 106.358, with a total land area of 1.339.877.874 sq.m. and total land value € 1.845.000.152. The number of owners of natural persons remains the same, with the first scenario plus 746 owners who are companies. And in the second scenario the owners who receive up to € 1000 compensation is the majority and amounts to 89.101, a rate of 83,8%. In the individual analysis data, up to € 100 are received by 38.983 owners with a property value of up to € 1.845. Of these, at 9.151, the compensation reaches up to € 10. The data of the study for the large properties and the amount of the compensation are interesting. In the second scenario, the largest amount of financial support received by a land-owning company with a total value of € 21.220.714, is € 1.150.174. Also a natural person owner with property with a total value of € 15.752.273 receives compensation of € 853.781. The same case only for natural persons under the first scenario receives € 952.690.
Third scenario: Total owners
The third case of the study calculates the loss of use of all owners of occupied properties. Here the number of owners is 177.769, η land area at 2.633.860.291 sq.m. and its value, at € 3.089.300.046. In the third scenario, the percentage of the largest category of owners who receive the lowest compensation increases. Up to € 1000 are received by 164.127 owners, a percentage of 92,3%. Of these, 92.911 receive up to € 100 for assets worth up to € 3.090. 10 owners receive the lowest compensation, 28.931 euros. The same cases of assets of the first and second scenarios have been used in the largest amount of aid. For a company owner with property worth € 21.220.741 the compensation amounts to € 686.910, while for a natural person with a land value of € 15.752.273, the loss of use has been estimated at € 509.897. The study shows that the natural persons who receive the maximum amount of compensation (10.000 euros) are 11.749 out of 177.769 owners of occupied property. The value of their assets ranges from € 49.987 + to € 125.237 +.
The priorities of the study and the profile of the property owners
In addition to covering the losses in the use of the occupied properties, the support of the owners is also proposed as a serious barrier to the sale of e / k properties of the occupied in Turkey through the committee that it has set up in the occupied areas. This issue has grown after the illegal announcements of Tayyip Erdogan to open the closed city of Famagusta and the call he addressed to the people of Famagusta.
For the cases of those who have appealed to this committee, the study suggests that all owners of occupied property be required to sign an affidavit stating that they have not alienated their ownership of the property and that they have not applied to the real estate committee in occupied.
Finally, as the results of the study clearly show, none of the three scenarios is able to satisfy the majority of owners. In order for the compensation of the majority of the owners to move to a decent level, the study makes three suggestions - scenarios that concern only the compensation of individuals, in the first phase. l Do not set a minimum amount of financial assistance.
- To set a maximum amount of financial support at 10 thousand euros.
- The financial assistance funds to amount to 100 million euros, 150 million euros and 200 million euros.
- For the owner companies, it is proposed that the government consider considering the possibility of including them at a later stage in the beneficiaries of financial support, in the sense that the funds to be granted will be increased.
Drawing on data from the Government Information Warehouse and the Land Registry, the updated study by the Equal Burden Distribution Agency divides real estate owners into 46 categories, with the Cypriot government and the Church owning the lion's share.
According to the survey, the Republic of Cyprus owns 22.923 properties and the Church of Cyprus owns 5.023 properties. The total number of property owners in the Occupied Territories amounts to 177.769 and the total area of land under occupation has been estimated at 2.633.860.291 sq.m. At 1974 prices the total value of the occupied properties is estimated at € 3.089.300.046. In addition to the state and ecclesiastical properties described as the two largest, the study presents owned organizations, agencies, local authorities.
Specifically, the categorization of property in the study concerns: Villages or parishes, public companies or public benefit organizations, cooperatives, Community Councils, sports and social associations, charities, Christian organizations and institutions, Muslim organizations and institutions, unions, schools, unions, schools cemeteries, estate managers and executors, trustees, foreigners, international organizations, foreign governments, Municipalities, Improvement Council, Provident Funds, Legal Entities under Private Law.
What is particularly important and to which the study provides answers, is the amount of losses in the use of these assets. The first calculation was made in a study completed in 2000. In an update of the original study in 2009 the loss of use was estimated at 15,78 billion euros.
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