16 August 2009 - Gary Robb Customers Face Eviction

Several customers who bought Gary Robb properties in Catalkoy during the early days of his colourful career in North Cyprus now face eviction due to a claim by an alleged construction creditor.

The several property owners include Mrs Mavis Robb, who is the mother of Gary, Mike Bezzant and partner Carole King, Barrie and Jenny Neil, and Dave and Barbara Harris.

The claimant is Mr Asya Orhon who has appears to be the registered owner of the land on which the properties were built. Mr Orhon claims that, in addition to owning the land in question, he financed and built the four properties for Gary Robb's customers and that he is owed money. If this claim can be substantiated, then he would have a good case to evict the British customers and take possession of the land and the properties which stand on them.

Mr Bezzant has been vocal in his dismay and opposition to the prospect of eviction. He claims that he paid the purchase monies in full and has been requesting the transfer of Title Deeds from Mr Orhon for a long time. He first went to court on this matter in 2001 and has secured an injunction preventing the land from being sold. This problem is not unique to Mr Gary Robb and his methods of doing business in North Cyprus. It is a common practice for builders to market and construct properties on land which they do not themselves own. The usual agreement is that the Builder will settle his account with the Landowner once he has funds from customers. However, even if customers pay the full amount of monies contracted with the Builder, there is no guarantee that the Landowner will automatically transfer individual Title Deeds to customers. .

Whether Gary Robb settled his account with Asya Orhon is unclear, but what is evident is the lack of legal redress for customers who have paid in full for a property and now face eviction.

The situation of the British property owners is made worse by the fact that Gary Robb will not be in court in North Cyprus to defend himself against Asya Orhon's claim, as he is on remand in the UK awaiting trial. The only consolation available to the customers is that they took out injunctions on the land which thwart sale or mortgage to third parties. In view of the injunction, it is not clear what Ayse Orhon hopes to achieve. It may well be that he is seeking to exert pressure on the UK customers with the intention of extracting money from them as he appears unable to place the properties on the market either with or without the UK owners in residence.

Wellington Estates Ltd and a minority of other North Cyprus property developers actually buy the land on which they build properties. This is unfortunately the exception rather than the rule. North Cyprus banks are reluctant to lend substantial funds to Builders, unless there is a 'special relationship'. This can take many forms, but is often based on family connections or nepotism. Therefore, it is sensible for Builders to come to an agreement with Landowners which will postpone the payment of land costs.

While this arrangement assists a Builder to construct properties without having to pay for land, it jeopardizes the position of the customer who can fulfill all his contractual obligations and still be unable to procure a valid Title Deed from a Landowner.

There are many contradictory reports concerning Mr Gary Robb, and we apologize for any inaccuracies.

Leslie Hardy - copyright - 16 August 2009

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