Buy Land in North Cyprus: 2026 Limits, Zoning and Permit Steps

Buy Land in North Cyprus: 2026 Limits, Zoning and Permit Steps

A foreigner who wants to buy land in North Cyprus needs a purchase permit from the Council of Ministers of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and must stay inside size limits that, as of 4 November 2026, are set by Decree-Law 89/2026 (Resmi Gazete No. 147, 7 August 2026). The decree allows land that complies with a building permit of at most 1,338 m² carrying one house, or a detached house on land of at most 3,300 m². Agricultural land, forest land, first-degree military zones and share-title land are closed to foreigners. The decree is a Council of Ministers instrument whose 90 days end on about 5 November 2026 unless Parliament enacts it, so every figure below depends on the decree being in force or enacted.

This guide explains how to buy land in North Cyprus as a foreign individual or company: which of the four holding routes in article 8(1) fits a plot, how a donum, an evlek and a square foot convert to square metres, what zoning and a building permit mean for the right to build, which fees and taxes the official schedules attach, what the official statistics say about plot sizes and building costs in 2025, and how the limits apply to schemes on our listing pages. Prices are in sterling as our listing pages show them, and every rule or price that can change carries its date.

Buy Land in North Cyprus: Key Facts at a Glance

Which Text Applies on 4 November 2026: Decree-Law 89/2026 and the 90-Day Question

Two texts give two answers to how many properties a foreigner may hold, and the land caps are the same in both. The first is the consolidated Law 52/2008 on the Central Legislation Office portal, the version amended by Law 39/2024, which allows one apartment, or land of at most 1,338 m² with one house, or a detached house on land of at most 3,300 m². The second is Decree-Law 89/2026, which says that for as long as it remains in force its paragraphs apply instead of the matching paragraphs of article 8. It re-issues Decree-Law 63/2026 (Resmi Gazete No. 87, 11 May 2026). The explanatory note to the August decree says the 90-day validity of the May decree ended on 10 August 2026 and that Parliament, being in recess, could not enact the amendments to Law 52/2008 that its committee had begun to discuss. The same note gives a second reason: buyers abroad had often been unable to pay the taxes and fees within the legal periods, and the state wanted to collect them.

The end date of the August decree can be counted two ways. A plain count of 90 days from 7 August 2026 gives 5 November 2026. The Gazette’s own count for the May decree, published on 11 May and said to end on 10 August, is 91 calendar days; applied to 7 August it gives 6 November. The end therefore falls on 5 or 6 November 2026, which is why this guide says “about 5 November”. As of 4 November 2026 the Resmi Gazete issues of 20 October to 4 November (Nos. 207 to 211 and 213 to 215) carry no replacement decree and no Parliament enactment of the decree’s text. Issue No. 214 of 3 November does carry Council of Ministers decision Ü(K-I)2732-2026 of 2 November 2026, which grants purchase permits to 513 foreign nationals on condition that the property bought is free (serbest) and shows that the permit machinery was running days before the decree’s end date.

Three outcomes are possible in principle: Parliament enacts the content as an amendment to Law 52/2008, the Council issues another decree as it did on 7 August, or the decree ends and the consolidated text is again the only text. For a person planning to buy land in North Cyprus the land and detached-house caps do not move between the first and third outcomes, but the other figures do, as the table shows.

The consolidated text is on the Central Legislation Office portal, and the portal copy still shows the stricter figures. Our guide on whether foreigners can buy property in North Cyprus sets out the full comparison for apartments and villas, and the property taxes and fees guide covers the cost side beyond land.

Rules to Buy Land in North Cyprus: The Four Routes in Article 8(1)

Article 8(1), as replaced by the decree, gives a foreign natural person alternative routes, not cumulative ones. Route A is land that complies with a building permit (yapı iznine uygun), of at most 1,338 m², on which only one house can be built. Route B is apartments, at most three. Route C is a detached house on land of at most 3,300 m², with no second house, apartment or dwelling allowed on that land. Route Ç, which applies to a mass-housing project or “site”, is two two-storey detached villas. Nationals of states that recognise the TRNC and give the same right to TRNC citizens may buy six apartments, or three two-storey villas. Only routes A and C concern land.

The difference between A and C is easy to miss. Route A describes bare land bought for building and limits its area to 1,338 m². Route C describes a detached house that already stands on a parcel, and limits the parcel to 3,300 m². The wording of C speaks of the property being a detached house, so a bare plot larger than 1,338 m² is not covered by C. The table applies both routes to plot sizes of the kind that appear in advertisements.

Several further rules shape how a plot purchase can be structured. Foreigners may not buy share-title interests in land at all; for an apartment or a detached house, a share title may be bought by at most three foreign natural persons jointly. The decree also keeps the rule that foreigners who are first-degree relatives, or of the same nationality, may not together buy more than half of the units on one parcel, and it caps sales to foreigners at 80% of a housing project in areas open to development (imara açık alan). That last phrase is the one place where the zoning status of the land enters the foreign-purchase rules directly. Before a permit application, condominium title or a condominium easement must exist for a unit under Law 35/2010, which applies where the property is a unit in a condominium; for two years from the decree’s entry into force an application can instead rely on a building permit or a Planning Approval from the Town Planning Department where condominium title could not be established.

The decree’s company rules also touch land. A company registered in the TRNC with any foreign shareholding, however small, is treated as a foreign person. It may buy up to 80,280 m² of land for investment, subject to the investment criteria, and the EUR 10,000,000 deposit rule applies unless the land already carries a building with final approval that meets the criteria. Build-and-sell housing is not counted as investment, although nationals of recognising states may form a build-and-sell partnership with a licensed local contractor, with a foreign share of at most 49%, which can then apply for a permit to buy land. The licensed intermediary investor category, which lets a licence holder market up to ten homes a year without taking title, excludes land and plots by its definition. Our comparison of North and South Cyprus property shows how these limits differ from the Republic of Cyprus rules.

Donum, Evlek and Square Feet: Reading Land Sizes in North Cyprus Adverts

Land in the north is quoted in three systems. The Land Registry’s own statistics are in square feet, the tax regulation uses square feet for building plots and the donum for unparcelled and farm land, and advertisements mix donums, evleks and square metres. The Cypriot unit tables define one donum as 14,400 square feet, split into four evleks of 3,600 square feet each, and put the donum at 1,337.80 m² (Cypriot units of measurement). The legal limit of 1,338 m² is therefore one donum rounded to the next whole square metre, a conversion that is derived here by arithmetic and not stated in the law.

The arithmetic shows how to test an advertisement. If a plot is described as 3 donums, multiply by 1,337.80 to get 4,013 m², which is above both limits for a foreign individual. If a plot is described as 15,000 square feet, divide by 10.7639 to get 1,394 m², which is above the 1,338 m² limit for bare land by 56 m². If the stated area and the stated unit disagree by a factor of about 1,338, the unit has been mislabelled, and the title deed area is the figure to use. The company cap of 80,280 m² equals 60 × 1,338, so it is 60 donums in the legal figure’s own units.

Two official uses of the donum show how the unit appears in practice. The Land Registry fee schedule gives TRNC citizens a one-time reduced rate on a house up to 200 m² plus one plot, described as one donum of field, or a workplace up to 100 m²; foreigners are not in that clause. The income tax law has a similar one-off exemption for a person who sells one house with up to one donum of land, which is not available to foreigners either.

What Land a Foreigner Cannot Buy: Farmland, Forest, Military Zones and the 7% and 3% Caps

Article 4(1) of Law 52/2008 states that no agricultural land and no forest land may be sold to foreign natural or legal persons. The decree does not replace article 4, so the bar applies under both texts. Selling farmland or forest land to a foreigner is an offence under article 16, punishable on conviction by a fine of up to 500 times the gross monthly minimum wage, which at the July 2026 wage of TL 70,893 is TL 35,446,500 (500 × 70,893). The same maximum applies to a seller who sells beyond the acquisition limits, sells a share title of land, or sells a unit without condominium title. A plot sold as “land” in a village can therefore be a farmland parcel, and the permit application, not the advertisement, is where that is tested.

The 2012 Limitations Regulation, made under article 4(1) of the law, says that foreigners cannot acquire property in first-degree military prohibited zones or in military security zones, and that any entry made against the regulation is void from the moment it is made. Under article 8 the Interior Ministry checks with the other authorities whether a property is objectionable for military reasons, and under article 4(4) the Council of Ministers may restrict the purchases of a particular person after a later negative security check, in which case any registration made against that decision is void. The enabling clause in article 4(2) excepts acquisition by inheritance from the zones the Council may close, a point our inheritance guide covers.

The area caps are the third limit. Article 4(3) says that no more than 7% of the area of any district and, in any case, no more than 3% of the area of the country may be sold to foreigners, and an entry made in breach is void. “District” has the meaning given in the Local Administration and Divisions law. The caps are totals across all foreign holdings, so an individual buyer cannot compute from them how much room is left, and a lawyer’s Land Registry search does not show the running total. The caps matter to the large parcels that companies buy, such as the 80,280 m² investment cap above, more than to a single villa plot.

Zoning, Building Permits and What “Land That Complies With a Building Permit” Means

Route A turns on one phrase: the land must comply with a building permit. The decree gives no checklist, and the practical meaning comes from how permits are issued. Building permits (inşaat ruhsatı) in towns are issued by the municipalities; Law 15/2022 on the merger of municipalities says in its temporary article 8 that the merged municipalities also issue permits for the settlements attached to them (Law 15/2022). In the Statistical Institute’s construction bulletin, rural construction is the construction in villages for which district offices give the approval, and urban construction is the construction in municipal areas. The decree separately names the Planning Approval (Planlama Onayı) issued by the Town Planning Department Directorate (Şehir Planlama Dairesi Müdürlüğü), so a parcel’s planning status is a Town Planning Department matter even where a municipality signs the permit.

Zoning in this context means the planning decision that says what may be built on a parcel and how much. A building coefficient is the usual way to express the quantity: floor area allowed divided by plot area, so that a coefficient of 0.5 on a 1,000 m² plot would allow 500 m² of floor area. The figure for any parcel comes from the plan or planning decision for it, and a buyer asks for it in writing before reserving. Figures for coastal setbacks that circulate online, such as 50 m or 100 m in Turkey’s Coast Law and 91.44 m in the Republic of Cyprus, are those states’ rules and not TRNC rules; the Town Planning Department is the place to ask for the plan, ordinance and zoning that apply to a given parcel.

Protected areas add a permit layer. Under Environment Law 18/2012, article 43, the management-plan rules of a declared Special Environmental Protection Area must be written into all project approvals and building permits, and significant projects need an ecological impact assessment with the Environment Protection Department’s positive opinion. A 2010 management plan hosted by the department describes the Karpaz Special Environmental Protection Area as 9,645 ha of land and 9,485 ha of sea (Karpaz management plan), and the Karpaz zones in that plan are recommendations from 2010, not law. For a plot at the tip of the peninsula, the department and the municipality are the sources for whether and what can be built. Our town-by-town guide and the city pages for Esentepe and Tatlısu list which municipality covers each area.

Completion is a separate document. The Statistical Institute’s bulletin says its construction tables are compiled only from buildings that obtained a final approval certificate (nihai tasvip şahadetname), so a certificate is the evidence that a building was completed and approved. A buyer of a plot for self-build will meet the same sequence: the permit before work, supervision during it, and the final approval certificate after it, which is the evidence that the house was completed and approved.

Title Category and Pre-1974 Claims on a Plot

The permit answers whether the state agrees to a foreign acquisition. It does not settle who owned the land before 1974. Article 159(1)(b) of the TRNC Constitution vests in the State immovable property found abandoned on 13 February 1975, or later classified by law as abandoned or ownerless, whatever the Land Registry shows, and article 159(4) lets people claiming rights in it prove them under a procedure set by law (TRNC Constitution). Land is described in trade usage as Turkish title (koçan), exchange or equivalent title, or allocation (tahsis), and the Land Registry’s fee schedule of 7 October 2026 confirms that equivalent-property titles (Kesin Tasarruf Belgesi) and points held under Value Documents exist beside ordinary titles. Our title deed guide explains the categories and the search.

The Immovable Property Commission (IPC), set up under Law 67/2005, accepts claims from pre-1974 owners until 21 December 2027 under the consolidated law (Law 67/2005). Its website showed 8,807 applications lodged, 3,757 concluded and GBP 768,594,023 awarded in compensation on 2 October 2026 (IPC statistics). The European Court of Human Rights treated the IPC as an effective remedy to use first in its Demopoulos decision of 1 March 2010, and the Court of Justice of the EU held in Apostolides v Orams (28 April 2009) that a judgment of a court in the Government-controlled area ordering buyers to vacate land in the north must be recognised in other member states. The UK Government’s buying property guidance warns that ownership of many properties in the north is disputed, that exchange or gift land carries restitution risk, and that a foreign buyer may be refused permission even for pre-1974 Turkish-title land, with no reason given. Our risks and checks guide covers these points in full. The checks below apply specifically to a plot.

The Land Registry announcement of 15 July 2025 is the source for the district rule in the first row. The Land Registry’s fee schedule also lists charges for land-specific procedures: TL 149 per petition for a local investigation and TL 33 for each parcel in the petition, TL 327 for deciding a boundary dispute per parcel, TL 112 for each boundary mark set out, TL 553 for each plot created when land is subdivided, and TL 413 for each property surveyed and planned under cadastral procedures. An extra three times those charges is payable if the Director agrees to bring a local investigation forward.

How to Buy Land in North Cyprus: The Permit Procedure Step by Step

The procedure is the same for land and for homes, with the land petition form in place of the apartment or house form. The sale agreement is stamped under the Stamp Duty Law at the Tax Department. Under the decree the foreign buyer must register the stamped agreement at the district Land Registry office, in person, through a lawyer or by proxy, within one month, after buyer and seller have paid the taxes and fees due on the sale, and must apply to the Interior Ministry for the permit within the same month. If that is not done, the contract is void automatically. The Interior Ministry’s Immovable Property Unit lists a petition (Annex 1 for an apartment, Annex 2 for a house and Annex 3 for land), information forms (Annexes 4 and 5), a copy of the passport or identity card, a copy of the title, a location plan with the area marked, the original police record from the applicant’s country, the sale contract and a TL 45 stamp where a proxy applies (Interior Ministry document list).

The application fee is half of the gross monthly minimum wage in force, and half of it goes to the compensation account of the Immovable Property Commission while the rest goes to the Land Registry. At the TL 70,893 wage valid from 1 July 2026 (Tax Department notice) the fee is TL 35,446.50 (70,893 ÷ 2). Applications are accepted in person, by proxy or through a lawyer, and the Ministry has an online portal. The wording of the Council’s decisions makes each permit conditional on the property being free, so the Land Registry search should show no registered restriction that would stop the transfer. Our step-by-step purchase guide and the guide to buying off-plan follow the same sequence for homes, and the property lawyer guide covers who may act on a buyer’s behalf.

The decree’s transitional rules matter to anyone who finds an old land contract. Contracts made before the 2024 amendment had to be registered and a permit application lodged within six months of the decree, and a contract above the legal acquisition right can be notified by paying 1% of the price within that period or 3% later. The 10-year use certificate that the decree offers as a fallback for homes does not extend to land sales: the text excludes land sales from the use-certificate route, so an over-limit land contract has no equivalent solution.

Costs and Taxes When You Buy Land in North Cyprus: Worked Arithmetic

The statutory charges on a purchase come from three texts. The Land Registry fee schedule of 7 October 2026 (Resmi Gazete No. 197) sets the fee on a sale to foreigners at 4% in total for the first property (3% transfer, 0.5% Immovable Property Commission and 0.5% Housing Acquisition Unit), 5.5% for the second (4% + 1% + 0.5%) and 6% for the third (5% + 1%). For nationals of states that recognise the TRNC the first two properties pay 4%, the third and fourth 5.5% and the fifth and sixth 6%. The schedule runs from publication to 5 January 2027 inclusive, 62 days after 4 November 2026. The notes to the schedule say registration fees are calculated on the sale price in compulsory sales and on the assessed value (rayiç kıymet) in other transactions, that the Director assesses the value and notifies the person receiving the property, and that this person can object under the Immovable Property (Disposal, Registration and Valuation) Law. The Stamp Duty Law taxes an agreement stating a sum at 0.5% up to TL 89,000,000 and 0.1% above that.

The sterling figures use the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye’s forex selling rate for 4 November 2026, TL 67.5454 per GBP (bulletin 2026/207); TRNC banks and the official rate for stamp duty will differ. On a first property the stamp, Land Registry fee and permit fee add up to 500 + 4,000 + 525 = about GBP 5,025 per GBP 100,000 of price, or 5.0%, and on a second property to 500 + 5,500 + 525 = about GBP 6,525. Legal, notary and utility-connection charges are separate and are not in these figures. The 2.8% is derived from the Income Tax Law (consolidated 25 May 2026): the Council of Ministers can raise the 30% exemption up to 60% each January, a person who sells more than three properties in a calendar year or more than five in three years is treated as a property trader, and the one-off exemption for a house with a donum of land is not open to foreigners. Our guide to selling property covers the seller’s side.

Ownership brings an annual immovable property tax. The 2025 regulation, effective 1 January 2025, taxes building plots (arsa) at a base of TL 0.72 per 10 square feet, parcelled farmland per donum at TL 2.70 for dry land, TL 46.25 for irrigated land and TL 0.90 for land that cannot be farmed, and unparcelled land at TL 107 per donum, with surcharges of 10% to 60% by category for plots. A 1,338 m² plot of 14,402 square feet carries a base of 14,402 ÷ 10 × 0.72 = TL 1,036.94 (about GBP 15.35), or TL 1,659.11 with the 60% first-category surcharge. A 3,300 m² plot of 35,521 square feet carries TL 2,557.51 (about GBP 37.86), or TL 4,092.02 with the surcharge. The category depends on the property, and the 2025 regulation is the latest schedule on the Tax Department site.

Building on a Plot: Official Unit Costs, Connections and Supervision

Route A exists so that a foreign buyer can build one house. The only official build-cost series is the Statistical Institute’s construction unit cost in lira per square metre of floor area, taken from the Planning and Construction Department of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport and the Chamber of Architects and Engineers. The Construction and Parcel Statistics 2025 bulletin defines cost as floor area multiplied by the unit price, without the value of the plot, and uses the tender price where a contractor built the structure.

The unit cost applies to floor area, so the arithmetic is simple. A 240 m² house, the closed area printed on the Edremit Villas plan on our listing page, comes to 240 × 34,917 = TL 8,380,080, or about GBP 124,066. A 264 m² house, the closed area on the Moonlight Villas plan, comes to 264 × 34,917 = TL 9,218,088, or about GBP 136,472. A 100 m² apartment comes to 100 × 43,408 = TL 4,340,800, or about GBP 64,265. These are administrative valuations of completed buildings that received final approval, not contractor quotations: they exclude the land, a developer’s margin, pools, landscaping and furniture, and the dwelling series rose 27.2% in 2025 (chain index 127), against consumer price inflation of 35.02% over the 12 months to September 2026 (Statistical Institute).

Connections follow the fees. Under the decree, until all taxes and fees on the transfer are paid, local authorities may not give a permanent or temporary water connection and the Cyprus Turkish Electricity Authority may not give a temporary or permanent electricity connection, although site electricity and temporary water during construction are exempt. The sequence for a plot is therefore title, fees, then the home’s connections, and our electricity and water guide covers bills and supply once a house is built.

Two statements by the Cyprus Turkish Chamber of Engineers and Architects (KTMMOB) frame supervision. In February 2023 its then president said all structures need static calculations to the earthquake regulation, that project approval checks seismic compliance, and that municipalities are bound after an amendment of the Municipalities Law to have supervision done by project authors (Yenidüzen). In November 2025 its president said the regulation for buildings in earthquake zones was published in 2015 with a matching risk map and should be reviewed periodically (Kıbrıs Gazetesi). A self-builder who engages the architect and engineer, and asks for the approved project and the permit number, is following the process those statements describe.

What 2025 Parcel Statistics Show About Plot Sizes

The Statistical Institute counts plots created in approved subdivisions, not sales, and reports their total area in square feet. Dividing total area by the number of plots gives the average size of a newly created plot, which can be compared with the 1,338 m² and 3,300 m² limits. The conversion uses 0.09290304 m² per square foot, and the averages are derived here from the bulletin’s tables 16 and 17.

The totals reconcile with the bulletin: the rural districts sum to 281 + 190 + 164 + 16 = 651 plots and the urban districts to 354 + 124 + 15 + 12 + 36 + 5 = 546, including Güzelyurt (15) and Lefke (36). The average new rural plot of 1,075 m² is below the 1,338 m² limit, and Girne’s rural average of 1,165 m² is also below it, while the 16 rural plots created in İskele average 4,157 m², which is above even the 3,300 m² detached-house limit. These are averages of subdivided plots and say nothing about an individual parcel, but they show that the limit is of the same order as the size of an ordinary new plot in three of the four districts. Dwelling units with final approval in 2025 add the supply side: Girne 344 urban and 1,460 rural (1,804 in all), Gazimağusa 538 and 954 (1,492), İskele 204 and 351 (555) and Lefkoşa 887 and 245 (1,132). A price per square metre for a plot comes from the parcel’s own contract and from the Land Registry’s assessed value.

Plots, Sites and Villas in Our Listings: Applying the Limits

Our listing pages for villa schemes show prices and areas for built homes, and those figures let a buyer test which route applies. The table lists schemes where the question matters, with the figures as our listing pages state them. The price per built square metre is the lowest quoted price divided by the smallest stated area, calculated here; it covers the whole property, including land, pool and finishes, and is not a land price.

The Caesar Cliff figures allow one density calculation. A site of 85,000 m² shared by 296 units is 85,000 ÷ 296 = about 287 m² of site per unit, or about 255 m² per unit if the developer blog’s 333 is used; both are far below the 1,338 m² limit, which shows that the limit and the area of a unit’s land share are different things in a multi-unit scheme. In a scheme of numbered plots such as the Edremit layout the plot area per villa is the figure to ask for, and the parcel number, area and boundary plan should be attached to the contract. Our listing page for Aloha Homes Esentepe sets out the project-level documents, and the city pages for Çatalköy and İskele cover the surrounding areas. The page on North Cyprus property prices by town compares prices for built homes across towns, and the cheap property guide sets out what small budgets buy.

What Owning Land Does Not Give: Residence, Citizenship and Finance

Land ownership does not by itself bring a residence permit. The property route in the Residence and Visa Regulation (text of 5 October 2026, article 14(2)(b)) speaks of a home suitable for residence and used for it. With title in the applicant’s name and a total property value of GBP 300,000 or more the Regulation provides a 10-year permit without an income test, and below that a 5-year permit without an income test; where only a stamped and approved sale contract exists, at least one-third of the price must have been paid and the purchase-permit application lodged (Residence and Visa Regulation). Permanent residence under Law 51/2015 requires housing worth at least EUR 125,000, a regular income of at least the minimum wage, health insurance and six years of continuous residence permits, or three for applicants aged 60 or over. TRNC citizenship needs five years of uninterrupted residence under Law 25/1993, or an exceptional Council of Ministers decision for investors, and no provision makes buying property an automatic route; our citizenship guide covers it.

Finance for a plot is limited by the same law. Article 10 lets foreigners mortgage property they have acquired after paying the Land Registry fees, and the Land Registry charges 1% of the debt to register a mortgage; the lenders’ terms are set out in our mortgage guide. Contracts are commonly priced in sterling, but the TRNC’s legal tender is the Turkish lira and the Consumer Price Index rose 35.02% over the 12 months to September 2026, so the currency of the contract and of the fees should be written into it. EU law is suspended in the areas not under Republic of Cyprus control under Protocol 10 to the 2003 Act of Accession (European Commission). The Northern Cyprus country page lists all the schemes on our site by town.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can foreigners buy land in North Cyprus?

Yes, within limits and with a Council of Ministers purchase permit. As of 4 November 2026 a foreign individual can buy land that complies with a building permit up to 1,338 m² with one house, or a detached house on land up to 3,300 m², under Decree-Law 89/2026. Agricultural land, forest land, share-title land and military zones are closed. To buy land in North Cyprus after the decree’s 90 days end, the same two land caps appear in the consolidated Law 52/2008.

How much land can a foreigner buy in North Cyprus?

Route A allows at most 1,338 m² of bare land, with one house; route C allows a detached house on at most 3,300 m². The routes are alternatives, so the limits are not added together. Nationals of states that recognise the TRNC have higher apartment and villa allowances but the same land figures. Purchases above those areas fall under the investment route, which needs EUR 10,000,000 under the decree, and land bought by a TRNC-registered company with foreign shareholders is capped at 80,280 m². Anyone who wants to buy land in North Cyprus on that scale reads the investment rules first.

How many square metres is a donum in North Cyprus?

One donum is 14,400 square feet, or 1,337.80 m², and it divides into four evleks of 334.45 m² each. The 1,338 m² limit for bare land equals one donum rounded up, and 3,300 m² is about 2.47 donums. Check the unit in any advert before comparing it with the limits.

Can a foreigner buy farmland in North Cyprus?

No. Article 4(1) of Law 52/2008 bars the sale of agricultural land and forest land to foreign natural or legal persons, and the decree does not replace it. A seller who sells such land to a foreigner commits an offence punishable by a fine of up to 500 times the gross monthly minimum wage, so anyone who plans to buy land in North Cyprus checks the parcel’s use first.

Does Decree-Law 89/2026 still apply?

As of 4 November 2026 it applies, with its 90 days ending on 5 or 6 November 2026 unless Parliament enacts it. The Resmi Gazete issues to No. 215 of 4 November carry no replacement or enactment. If it ends, the consolidated text applies, with the same land caps but one apartment instead of three and shorter fee and transfer periods.

What taxes and fees apply when you buy land in North Cyprus?

The charges the schedules list are stamp duty of 0.5% on the agreement, a Land Registry fee of 4% for a foreigner’s first property (5.5% for the second and 6% for the third) valid to 5 January 2027, and a permit application fee of TL 35,446.50. On a first property these add up to about 5.0% per GBP 100,000 of price at the 4 November 2026 rate. Legal and connection charges come on top, and annual property tax is small by comparison.

Can I build a house on land I buy as a foreigner?

Route A allows one house on the land, and the land must comply with a building permit. The permit comes from the municipality or district office, the Town Planning Department’s planning status governs what can be built, and completion is evidenced by a final approval certificate. Water and electricity connections wait until the transfer taxes and fees are paid, except site connections during construction.

Can a company buy land in North Cyprus?

A company with any foreign shareholding is a foreign legal person and needs a permit and a positive security check. For investment purchases in tourism, education, health, industry, agriculture, technology or research, the decree requires EUR 10,000,000 deposited in a TRNC bank, used within two years, with a land cap of 80,280 m² and a five-year bar on selling. Build-and-sell housing is not counted as investment.

How long does the purchase permit take?

The law and the decree set no time limit for the Council’s decision. The deadlines run before and after it: one month to register and apply, 75 working days after publication to pay fees and one year after publication to transfer the title. The Council’s decision of 2 November 2026 covered 513 foreign nationals in a single decision.

Does buying land give residence or citizenship?

No provision makes it so. The residence regulation’s property route refers to a home suitable for residence, and TRNC citizenship needs five years of residence or an exceptional Council decision. A buyer who wants to buy land in North Cyprus for a later home reads the residence rules for the home, not the plot.

Last checked: 4 November 2026. Sources: Law 52/2008 consolidated; Resmi Gazete 147; Resmi Gazete 214; Resmi Gazete 197; Statistical Institute construction and parcel statistics 2025; Tax Department property tax regulation; Interior Ministry document list; TRNC Constitution; UK Government property guidance; Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye forex rates; Cypriot units of measurement; Environment Protection Department Karpaz plan.