How to get the developer to fix snags in Cyprus: list, notice, re-check

What are the steps?

1. Read the contract with your lawyer: handover clause, defects period, how notice must be given.
2. Inspect, and put everything on one numbered list with photos.
3. Send the list in writing to the seller named in the contract.
4. Agree a date for the repairs, in writing.
5. Give access and let the developer do the work.
6. Check the repairs on site, item by item.
7. Sign acceptance only for what is done. List what is still open, with dates.

What should the written notice say?

A Cyprus law firm sets out what a notice of defects should contain: it identifies the property and the contract, describes each defect, says when it was found and what it affects, and asks for inspection and repair within a reasonable time. It goes to the correct legal entity, usually the seller named in the agreement (A. Danos & Associates via Mondaq, 9 Sep 2026).

• Your name, the plot or unit number, the date of the contract.
• The date of the inspection and who did it.
• The numbered list, with one photo or more per item.
• A request to confirm receipt and to give a date for the work.
• Your contact, and who holds the keys.

Send it the way the contract says notices are sent. If the contract is silent, use email and registered post, and keep the receipts.

What should you agree before the final payment?

What happens to the items that cannot be fixed in time. There are three honest outcomes: the handover moves, the handover goes ahead with a signed list of open items and dates, or part of the money waits until the list is closed. Which of these your contract allows is a legal question. Do not hold back money on your own reading of it.

One thing to watch: signing a handover form and taking the keys does not necessarily end your rights, the same law firm notes, but what the form records and how it is worded count (Mondaq, Sep 2026). Read what you are asked to sign at the keys, and have the open list attached to it.

How long does the developer have to fix snags?

In Cyprus, as long as your contract says. We found no standard period. For comparison only: under the UK’s New Homes Quality Code, snags should be resolved within 30 days, and the buyer should be told in advance if that is not possible (Brodies, 30 Nov 2023). In New Jersey, a builder has 30 days from written notice to inspect and repair before the owner can file a claim with the state plan (State of New Jersey, read 13 Nov 2026).

Thirty days is a fair thing to ask for. In Cyprus you are asking, so get the date in writing.

Why does the re-check matter?

Because "done" on a builder’s list means someone was sent. RICS describes snagging as a loop: a list, then rechecking and confirming that the items have been properly fixed (RICS Find a Surveyor, read 13 Nov 2026). Go back with the same list. Tick what is fixed, note what is half-fixed, and add what was not testable the first time, such as taps and drains in a home that had no water.

For waterproofing repairs, ask to see the water test. A new bead of silicone over a failed membrane looks finished and is not.

What if the developer does not fix the list?

1. Write again, refer to the first notice and set a clear date.
2. Keep the evidence: dated photos and video, moisture readings, photos of cracks with a scale, invoices, every message (Mondaq, Sep 2026).
3. Give the developer a fair chance to inspect and repair. The same source says a buyer should.
4. Take the file to your lawyer before any deadline in the contract passes.
5. Do not repair it yourself first, except to stop damage. If you must, photograph everything before and keep the invoice.

We found no ombudsman for new homes in Cyprus. The route is the contract, then negotiation through lawyers, then court.

What does the law give you?

• Claims rest mainly on the sale contract (Contract Law, Cap. 149) and on negligence (Civil Wrongs Law, Cap. 148), according to the same law firm.
• Time limits: generally six years for contract claims and three for negligence (Law 66(I)/2012, arts. 6 and 7, CyLaw). Suspensions and special rules exist, so do not calculate it yourself.
• Contractual notice deadlines can be much shorter than those periods (Mondaq, Sep 2026).
• The developer is normally answerable under the sale agreement even where a contractor did the work (same source).
• A lawyer writing in the Cyprus Mail calls the position on hidden defects a legislative gap (Cyprus Mail, 8 Sep 2025).

This page is part of our snagging series. Start with the main guide (Snagging in Cyprus: the complete guide).

Questions buyers ask

More on new-build and off-plan and related guides

• From permit to title deed: how a new-build in Cyprus gets its papers
• Snagging in Cyprus: how to check a new home before you pay the balance
• New-build snagging checklist for Cyprus: what to check, room by room
• When to snag a new build in Cyprus: before handover or after the keys

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