President Christodoulides signs new foreclosure legislation

President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides has signed into law three out of five bills concerning foreclosures and insolvency frameworks that were returned to Parliament last month. These laws, which include a proposal by DIKO, aim to provide additional protections for borrowers regarding their primary residences. Specifically, the new legislation allows a borrower to apply to a district court within 45 days of receiving a foreclosure notice to request its suspension. If approved, this grants the borrower a 12-month period to negotiate a debt restructuring or pursue an out-of-court settlement. The district court judge is authorized to rule on disputes involving credit balances, interest rates, unfair terms, and guarantees. Simultaneously, the President referred two other pieces of legislation to the Supreme Court, bringing the total number of presidential references on the matter to six. DIKO leader Nikolas Papadopoulos stated that these measures aim to balance the protection of good-faith borrowers with the necessity of preventing strategic defaults.