Department of Lands and Surveys

The Department of Lands and Surveys, also known as the Τμήμα Κτηματολογίου και Χωρομετρίας, is the national authority responsible for land administration and property registration in Cyprus. Its core function is the management of the island's land registry, maintaining official records of property ownership and boundaries. This includes processing property transactions, such as sales and mortgages, and providing related certification services to the public and legal professionals. The department operates an online portal to facilitate these services, allowing citizens to manage appointments and access certain registry functions digitally. This digital infrastructure is central to its mission of providing efficient and accessible land information and transaction processing. The services it provides are fundamental to the Cypriot real estate market, legal system, and national economy, as secure land title is a cornerstone of property rights. Its work directly supports property ownership verification, conveyancing, and urban planning processes across the Republic.

In March 2023, the department experienced a significant operational disruption when a cyber attack targeted its online portal. This incident forced the postponement of scheduled property transaction appointments, highlighting the portal's critical role in daily service delivery. The department publicly attributed the service interruption to a cyber attack and issued an apology for the resulting public inconvenience. Its response involved committing to notify affected citizens once services could be restored following the technical resolution. This event underscores the department's reliance on secure digital systems to fulfill its statutory duties and the potential for cyber threats to impact essential government services. The incident demonstrated the operational vulnerability of even core regulatory bodies to such attacks and the consequent effect on citizens' ability to conduct time-sensitive legal and financial matters. The department's communication focused on managing public expectations during the downtime and emphasizing a return to normal service.