Proposals to allow Turkish Cypriots to apply to the IPC
The TRNC government has announced that it is planning to take steps to enable Turkish Cypriots who left property in the South in 1974 to apply to the Immovable Property Commission to seek a remedy in relation to their property. It is understand that under the proposals, only Turkish Cypriots who did not receive any property in the North in return for their property in the South under the exchange system implemented by the Turkish Cypriot authorities in the post-war years will be eligible to apply.
Under the exchange system, Turkish Cypriots who had left property behind in the South in 1974 were given ‘points’ calculated on the value of the property which they had left behind. These points were then used to acquire title to abandoned property in the North of equivalent value. Those who received title to property in the North in this way signed over their rights in their properties in the South to the TRNC Government.
According to reports, almost a quarter of exchange points remain unused and so it is hoped that these new proposals, if passed by the TRNC Parliament, will allow those Turkish Cypriots who have not yet used their points or who never applied for or obtained points at all to obtain compensation for the property they left behind in the South. It is understood that in return for receiving the compensation from the IPC, the Turkish Cypriots would be required to transfer their rights in their properties in the South over to the TRNC Government.