Title deeds in North Cyprus

In the TRNC the single most important document is the koçan. Two homes on the same street, identical in every visible way, can carry completely different legal histories — and that history, not the finish, is what determines how safe the purchase is.

Turkish title, Eşdeğer and Tahsis: the three categories

Category	What it means	Practical position
Turkish title (pre-1974)	Land owned by Turkish Cypriots before 1974	No competing pre-1974 claim attached. The rarest and most expensive category.
Eşdeğer (also written esdeger; “exchanged title”)	Formerly Greek Cypriot land, allocated in exchange for property left in the south	The most common category on new developments. Carries a pre-1974 ownership history.
TMD / Tahsis (allocation)	Land allocated by the TRNC, for example to veterans or public servants	Regularisation varies plot by plot; needs individual checking.

How to read a koçan

A TRNC title deed is a single sheet, and five lines on it tell you almost everything:

Koçan No — a number in the YENİ series indicates a deed issued after 1974 rather than an original pre-1974 registration.
Kaza / Kasaba / Mevki — district, village and locality of the parcel.
Adı Soyadı — the registered owner. Check it matches the party selling to you.
İktisap Şekli — how the current owner acquired the land. “Takas ile” means by exchange.
Eski Kayıt No — the previous registration, and the name behind it.

Most buyers are shown a deed, glance at the stamp and assume it means safety. It does not. The stamp confirms the TRNC registry entry; it says nothing about a pre-1974 claim.

Why this decides everything else

Deed category drives resale liquidity, mortgageability with local banks, and legal exposure. It is also the first thing a serious buyer's lawyer will establish — before the price is even discussed. If a seller will not show the koçan, that is the answer.

What can actually go wrong →

Common questions

What does exchanged title mean in North Cyprus?

Exchanged (Eşdeğer, often written esdeger) title covers land that belonged to Greek Cypriots before 1974 and was allocated in exchange for property left in the south. It is the most common category on new developments and carries a pre-1974 ownership history.

What is the difference between Tahsis and Eşdeğer?

Eşdeğer is formerly Greek Cypriot land allocated in exchange for property left in the south. Tahsis (TMD) is land allocated by the TRNC itself, for example to veterans or public servants; how far it has been regularised varies plot by plot. Much allocated land was also Greek Cypriot property before 1974, so it can carry the same pre-1974 history and needs individual checking.

What is pre-1974 Turkish title?

Land owned by Turkish Cypriots before 1974. It has no competing pre-1974 claim attached. It is also the rarest and most expensive category.

What is a koçan?

The Turkish word for a title deed in the TRNC — the single-sheet document issued by the Land Registry that records the parcel, the owner and how the land was acquired.

Is Eşdeğer title safe to buy?

It is legal and transferable under TRNC law and it is what most new developments sit on. It also carries a pre-1974 Greek Cypriot ownership history, which is the source of the legal exposure described on our risks page. That trade-off is the decision.

Can a foreigner hold a koçan in their own name?

Yes, after Council of Ministers approval. Ownership is capped at three apartments, two villas in one complex, or one detached house on a plot of up to 3,300 m².

Written and maintained by the Northern Cyprus For Sale editorial team · last updated 2026-10-16.

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