Illegal estate agents thrive amid weak penalties — ‘their only concern is profit’

Illegal real estate agents continue to defraud unsuspecting buyers and tenants, extending their reach into occupied territories, according to the Cyprus Real Estate Agents Registration Council.

However, council president Marinos Kineyirou warned even in cases where illegal practitioners were successfully found guilty, the resulting fines and penalties were too small to be considered a strong enough deterrent.

“We have mentioned many times in the past the problems caused by illegality in the real estate agent profession, especially for unsuspecting citizens, potential buyers, or tenants, who fall victim to scammers, often losing their life savings,” said Kineyirou.

“The examples are numerous and, unfortunately, recurring,” he added.

Kineyirou explained that despite significant efforts by the council, “the situation is becoming particularly concerning”.

“We are now seeing illegal agents expanding or transferring their activities to the Turkish-occupied territories of our country,” he stated.

“These illegal agents, simply put, are taking it a step further, becoming usurpers by selling off refugee properties without hesitation,” he added.

“Their only concern is profit,” the council president stated.

In this context, Kineyirou outlined a number of actions taken by the council to stop these illegal real estate agents.

“We have placed great emphasis on combating illegal real estate agents in recent years,” he said.

“We have strengthened our team of inspectors, both in quantity and quality, so that they can respond better and more effectively to their duties,” he added.

“At the same time”, he continued, “we have invested in systematic, continuous public awareness campaigns about the dangers of working with illegal agents”.

In addition, he noted that the council has previously explained how citizens can quickly and easily verify whether the person presenting themselves as a real estate agent is indeed licensed.

He pointed out that buyers can visit the council’s website, where they can find properties sold solely by licensed agents.

“We have also made it clear to licensed agents that we will be uncompromising in our strictness if they are found collaborating with illegal agents,” he stated.

He said that the “results of our actions and the strategy we have implemented are evident, as we are pleased to see that the public is now contacting us to verify the credentials of agents”.

Kineyirou also said that reports have also increased, leading to illegal agents being brought to court.

“The numbers are there, proving our efforts, always with the aim of protecting citizens and our profession,” he said.

The council noted that in the two years from 2022 to 2023, it has filed around 627 criminal cases against individuals and companies violating the provisions of the relevant real estate agents law.

According to the council, 40 companies and 90 individuals involved in 90 cases have been tried and convicted for illegal real estate practices, while many more cases are pending trial.

“We fully respect the justice system, recognise the important role it plays, and are fully aware that no one can interfere with its work,” Kineyirou said.

“However, it is with regret that we observe that the penalties imposed on offenders are not sufficiently deterrent,” he added.

He pointed out that the law provides for fines of up to €3,500 or imprisonment of up to 12 months for illegal agents, or sometimes even both.

Those are the harshest scenarios, however, with the council mentioning that fines typically imposed on convicted offenders range from €150 to €200 per charge.

“We note that there is a tendency to treat these cases as inferior to others,” Kineyirou said.

“However, since the profits made by illegal agents are substantial, after the penalties are imposed, they continue their illegal activities,” he added.

“This is why”, he explained, “in many cases, we find ourselves bringing the same individuals back to court after discovering they are still operating illegally”.

He described the legal framework as “adequately satisfactory” for the council to do its job and bring illegal agents to justice.

“Unfortunately, we are forced to publicly highlight some significant weaknesses, which over time have been identified and exploited by the offenders,” he stated.

“We have now reached the point where illegal agents extend their activities to the north and become usurpers of Greek Cypriot properties in the occupied territories of our homeland,” he added.

He cited a recent example involving an Israeli national “arrested for usurping Greek Cypriot properties in the occupied areas, while he also appeared to be operating illegally in the free areas”.

“We at the council will not throw in the towel or surrender to those who exploit the profession of legitimate, licensed real estate agents,” Kineyirou said.

“We call on everyone to stand by our side because the damage is growing and now concerns our homeland,” he added.

He also reiterated that the council is available to the government to “discuss ideas and ways to strengthen the council’s toolkit to more effectively combat illegality”.

“Finally, we stress that anyone collaborating with illegal agents—whether the seller or the buyer of a property—is also committing a criminal offence, and will not hesitate to bring them to justice,” Kineyirou concluded.