Owners are up in arms over the state-sanctioned dispossession of their land without proper notification nor compensation, leaving their properties in limbo, Ombudswoman Maria Stylianou-Lottides revealed on Monday.

Speaking to CyBC, Lottides described the situation as “disguised property usurpation” and stressed that existing laws and constitutional safeguards protecting property rights must be upheld.

She cited the case of a plot appropriated for a public school in 1996, which remains undeveloped decades later.

Many landowners suddenly find themselves unable to build, sell, or otherwise utilise their properties as there is no systematic means in place for owners to have prior knowledge of the status of their property.

Zoning changes and other decisions carried out by authorities are simply not communicated to owners, Lottides said.

Legal battles for repossession drag on for years, exacerbating the issue. Under the law, if an expropriated property is not used within three years, the owner can seek its return through the courts.

“But there are known situations of owners who won their case and secured the return of their property but are still unable use it because it is still designated as state-owned on official plans,” she said.

Lottides emphasised that the state is legally bound to either re-expropriate such properties and pay compensation based on current market value or release them – but this rarely happens.

Land which was earmarked for expropriation several decades ago has meanwhile significantly increased in value. The original compensation was never paid out, Lottides said, nor were commensurate land-swap arrangements made.

“We cannot have landowners trapped for years, nor can we make planning decisions without considering that the land may be an individual’s sole property,” she said.

She urged authorities to ensure construction projects, such as schools, are feasible within set timeframes before appropriating land.

The Cyprus Mail also learned of similar issues involving the ministry of defence, where land has been taken through property warrants and rented for a nominal fee for decades without owners’ consent.

In some instances, owners were unaware of the ministry’s hold on their land until they tried to sell, only to discover a footnote in land registry records dating back to the late 1990s.

Even more egregious cases have occurred in small villages, where local mayors have allocated private land for road access or other public uses without any discussion of compensation.

Lottides called for urgent reforms, stressing that the right to private property is inalienable and that all irregularities must be rectified.