That’s why thousands of letters have been sent out to Cyprus Water Board customers in all districts informing them on the new state of play.

Specifically, the letter from the Nicosia Water Board says:  “We would like to inform you that in order to be able to transfer property to the Land Registry office in Cyprus you must also have the water Board’s confirmation, that the bill is settled.

And in a bid to avoid any inconvenience or delay coming from us, we inform you that in order to be issued with the relevant confirmation you must provide the following:  Title deed, ID, latest water supply display by the metre (in a photo).”

The issue came to light and had to be resolved after hundreds of water bills were left unpaid and the new owners of properties had to solve the problem. Thus, they had to pay all pending dues plus a meter reconnection fee at the cost of €65.

To transfer immovable property at the Cyprus Land Registry, you need to submit proof of payment of all rights, fees and taxes charged on the specific property.

Such rights, fees and taxes may include one or more of the following:  capital gains tax (confirmation provided by the Department of Internal Revenue), sewerage fee (confirmation by the Sewage Board), municipal fee (confirmation by the municipality where the property is located), community fee (confirmation by the community where the property is located).

The unpaid water bills issue came under discussion before the House Interior Committee in Cyprus a couple of months ago.