34,200 Dwellings for Foreigners

This article was originally published by the daily Yenidüzen (digital) and was done so in Turkish. The translation of it below is placed on the CTBCA’s web site for the benefit of the non-Turkish speaking persons with the permission of Yenidüzen’s publishers.

According to the Building Contractors Association data, 34,200 dwellings have been sold to foreigners so far. İskele took the lead as per the distribution according to regions, followed by Çatalköy, Esentepe, Tatlısu and Mersinlik.

 

Pointing out that legal regulations need to be implemented, Building Contractors Association President Cafer Gürcafer issued critical warnings: “These are not alarming numbers, but various regulations are needed. If we implement such regulations, we can turn this country into heaven, if not, we can turn it into hell.”

 

Gürcafer stated that 15 thousand dwellings were sold in the İskele region, 9 thousand were sold in the Çatalköy, Esentepe, Tatlısu Mersinlik regions, and 4 thousand were sold in the Northern Coastline – Lapta, Alsancak and Vasilya region.

 

He also stated that roughly 2,400 dwellings in the center of the Kyrenia region, 2,000 in the Lefke – Gaziveren – Güzelyurt regions, 1,200 in the Bellapais – Doğanköy regions and 600 in the Karpaz region were sold to foreigners.

 

YENİDÜZEN-SPECIAL REPORT

Cafer Gürcafer, President of the Turkish Cypriot Building Contractors Association, announced that 34 thousand 200 dwellings have been sold to foreigners so far. He stated that in the distribution according to regions, İskele takes the lead, while Çatalköy – Esentepe and Tatlısu – Mersinlik also face heavy demand.

Gürcafer stated that 15 thousand dwellings were sold in the İskele region, 9 thousand dwellings were sold in Çatalköy-Esentepe-Tatlısu-Mersinlik region, and 4 thousand dwellings were sold in the Northern Coastline-Lapta,Alsancak,Vasilya region.

He also stated that an average of 2 thousand 400 dwellings in the center of the Kyrenia region, 2 thousand in the Lefke-Gaziveren-Güzelyurt region, 1200 in the Bellapais-Doğanköy region and 600 in the Karpaz region were sold to foreigners.

Gürcafer explained that records show 700 thousand square meters, that is 523 decares of land sales to foreigners in İskele, which has 203 million square meters of land.

Explaining that the illegal sale and purchase of land by foreigners is not under control in the country, Gürcafer argued that what kind of transaction can and cannot be conducted in which region (and area) should first be determined by the law and inspected in advance.

Gürcafer said, “If the immigration laws are properly regulated, even if 100 thousand foreigners come into the country, we will not be badly affected, but if we proceed without making these regulations, even 5 thousand foreigners coming into the country will affect us badly.” Gürcafer said in summary: “You can go and buy a house in this country, come for a holiday, invest, but you cannot start a business. That is deemed to be a crime. On the other hand, there are young people in the country who bought homes for themselves with the money they had earned through drug dealing and credit card fraud, settled among decent people, and even started businesses. We must implement regulations to prevent these. If we implement these regulations, we can turn this country into heaven, if not, we can turn it into hell. I want this to turn into an opportunity that serves our social being. Yes, there needs to be planning, but we need to implement regulations, not prohibitions.”

Gürcafer said, “There is a legitimate concern. If the State disclosed this data in a transparent manner, no one would have these concerns. These dwelling numbers built for foreigners may be considered laughable,” he said, underlining that some legal regulations need to be implemented.

 

 

President of Cyprus Turkish Building Contractors Association Cafer Gürcafer:

 

“We can turn this country into heaven or hell”

 

Cafer Gürcafer, President of the Turkish Cypriot Building Contractors Association, shared information to YENİDÜZEN about sales of dwellings to foreigners in the country, and attributed the fears of ‘alienation’ to the lack of a statistical data bank in the country.

He said that in the figures reflected in the Building Contractors Association data, 34 thousand 200 dwellings have been sold to foreigners throughout the TRNC so far. With respect to the distribution of these figures by region, İskele took the lead, followed by Çatalköy-Esentepe-Tatlısu-Mersinlik region.

It was stated that according to the data from the Building Contractors Association; 15 thousand dwellings in the Iskele region, 9 thousand dwellings in the Çatalköy-Esentepe-Tatlısu-Mersinlik region, 4 thousand dwellings in the Northern Coastline-Lapta-Alsancak-Vasilya region, on average 2 thousand 400 dwellings in Kyrenia, 2 thousand dwellings in the Lefke-Gaziveren-Güzelyurt region, 1200 dwellings in the Bellapais-Doğanköy region and 600 dwellings in the Karpaz region were sold to foreigners.

Commenting on the sales in question, Gürcafer said, “When we assess this on a land use basis, for example, if we take the sales in Karpaz, these sales cover only 0.13 percent of the land in that region. “These are not alarming numbers,” he said.

In the İskele region; Gürcafer also stated that sales of 700 thousand square meters, i.e. 523 decares of land to foreigners has been recorded, and pointed out that İskele has a total of 203 Million Square Meters of land.

Gürcafer said, “For example, the total land of the Çatalköy-Esentepe region is 130 million 211 thousand 669 square meters… Of this, the forestry land is 73 million. In fact, 55 percent of the land in that region is forestry land. “The surface area of this region is 206 million square meters. Within 206 million square meters, 1 million 800 thousand, or 0.87 percent, of it is land sold to foreigners… These are laughable figures, not numbers to worry about,” he said.

 

“Regulation is required, otherwise…”

“There is a legitimate concern; if this data were disclosed transparently by the state, no one would have these concerns. “The number of houses built for foreigners is considered laughable,” said Gürcafer, underlining that some legal regulations need to be implemented.

Touching on these legal regulations and the rational for them, Gürcafer said, “If the immigration laws are properly regulated, we will not be negatively affected even if 100 thousand foreigners arrive in the country, but if we proceed without implementing these regulations, even 5 thousand foreigners settling in the country will affect us badly. If we implement these regulations, we can turn this country into heaven, if not, we can turn it into hell. This regulation should not be framed by a prohibitive mentality,” he emphasized.

 

 

 

 

“We are experiencing the third investment climate, we have to turn this into an opportunity”

Stressing that previously in the country there have been two periods of investment climates, Gürcafer noted that the first of these emerged during the Annan Plan era and the second between 2014-2015.

Noting that the phase we are in today is ‘of a third investment climate,’ Gürcafer said, “we need to develop a housing and marketting strategy. We have seized an opportunity and an investment climate has been created again, it is very important to organize this in a way that serves our social well being. All politics should serve this aim,” he said.

 

 

“In order so that we do not become alienated, we need boundaries and discipline within ourselves”

 

Pointing out some examples of regulations that need to be implemented, Gürcafer continued as follows:

“Those who comform to our traditions and customs, who enjoy inhating our culture, who have a serious retirement income and will spend it in our country, without affecting our democratic structure, are the right segment for us to allow to purchase dwellings in our country, and we should target this market. There are examples of this abroad as well. We should aim for a build to sell sector that serves this purpose or make the necessary arrangements for an emerging one. Issues such as immigration law, a law regulating foreign capital for business, settlement permits, permanent residence and workplace permits are all jumbled up in our country. Citizens are troubled by this confusion, and they are quite right. Workers who arrive in the country with a work permit open markets and start businesses. If all these were planned, the build to sell sector would also become more disciplined. People who would buy a house should not be able to start a business in the country in any way. This is the same in the south… We need to have boundaries and discipline within ourselves so that we do not become alienated.”

 

“Procurement of property and the business sector should be kept under control”

Explaining that the purchase and sale of property illegally by foreigners is not being controlled in the country, Gürcafer explained that what kind of work can and cannot be conducted in which sectors and areas should be determined and scrutinised in advance by the law.

Gürcafer said, “It is necessary to define which lines of business can be undertaken by foreign investors and to what extent. For example, if there is a need for a hotel and the conditions are suitable, let foreign investor come and build a port that requires a lot of money. But they shouldn’t do buy-to-sell, they shouldn’t open a bakery, they shouldn’t open a market, because my people are already doing these things,” he said.

 

“Adjustment does not occur by prohibition”

Pointing out that the driver for sales ought to be well understood, Gücafer informed that there are two types of buyers, one of which is the investors who arrive in the country post retirement, and the other is the investors who relocate in our island because the living conditions in their original geography have deteriorated. Explaining that these two types of investors should be identified thoroughly and allowed accordingly, Gürcafer said, “We have done a lot of research on this subject, many developed countries do this. There needs to be a holistic study as well as adjustments made on topics such as living and working in the country,” he said.

Gürcafer mentioned that housing construction planning in the country should also be planned and underlined the view that “adjustment does not occur by prohibition”.

 

 

 

“If we don’t make adjustments we could turn this country into hell”

Adding that this is a build phase that is not progressing in parallel with the underlying infrastructure, Gürfacer issued some warnings. Gürcafer continued as follows:

“Infrastructure should be able to be resolved on its own, feeding off the momentum in the construction sector, without being a burden to the state. At this point, the state is slow in making the legal adjustments. Certain funds need to be established promptly and used for their true purpose. For example, İskele District; the wastewater treatment plant needs drains, bicycle paths are needed, sidewalks and parks are needed… Let’s say there is a need for 50 million dollars for all these. Funding should be made so that 50 million dollars will be paid from the sale of the dwellings built in this region. In return for the funding provided, all these deficiencies must be eliminated. We pushed through a decision at the Council of Ministers regarding this Iskele Region. A law was prepared on this issue and went to the Legislative Assembly. In fact, this process needs to be completed very quickly and a high level of social sensitivity needs to be demonstrated. If we want to maintain our social being; we must first gain our economic freedom, achieve a sustainable economic structure, and use this structure to serve our social being.

All sectors need to produce something that supports each other. It is necessary to become one. While I deal with the construction sector, I should also think about how I can support the industry or how I will support the tradesmen. I should produce a holistic plan based on the idea of how I may do this without negatively impacting on tourism. This in fact is a socio-economic development plan. For example, if the immigration laws are properly regulated, we will not be negatively affected even if 100 thousand foreigners come to the country, but if we proceed without making these regulations, even 5 thousand foreigners arriving in the country will affect us badly. Southern Cyprus, Malta or other countries do this. You can go and buy a house in a country, go on holiday, invest, but you cannot start a business. These are crimes. There are young people in the country who bought homes with the money they earned through drug dealing and credit card fraud, began living among nice people, and even set up businesses. We must implement regulations to prevent these. If we implement these regulations, we can turn this country into heaven, if not, we can turn it into hell. I want this to turn into an opportunity that serves our social entitiy. Yes, a plan needs to be made, but we need to implement regulations, not prohibitions.”

 

“We took initiative for a social housing project”

Sharing his opinion about the rise in housing prices and the inability of local people to own a home, Gürfacer pointed out that the purchasing power in the country has fallen and drew attention to global inflation. Gürcafer said, “It is necessary to carry out another project to meet the need of our people for their own shelter. In addition to social housing, we will carry out a separate social housing project in agreement with the state. This sector will feed it and enable our people to own their own homes. “But all of these require comprehensive and planned collaboration,” he said.