Expert witness and court valuations

Where a property's value is disputed, the case usually turns on the quality of the valuation evidence rather than on the arguments built around it. Cyprus Property Appraisals prepares valuation reports and expert evidence for law firms acting in civil, family and administrative proceedings across Cyprus.

The practice is led by Michael Efstathiou MRICS, in practice since 2012, registered with ETEK — the legal precondition to valuing property in Cyprus — and a member of the RICS Valuer Registration Scheme, which has been mandatory in Cyprus since 1 September 2016.

Proceedings we prepare evidence for

• Contract disputes, including sale agreements, specific performance claims and development agreements
• Compulsory acquisition compensation claims
• Matrimonial property division and other family court proceedings
• Partnership dissolutions and disputes between co-owners
• Inheritance and estate disputes between heirs
• Professional negligence claims involving valuers, agents, architects or engineers
• Forced sale and foreclosure challenges, including reserve price disputes
• Land Registry transfer fee disputes where the Director of Lands and Surveys has substituted his own valuation for the declared price

If your dispute involves land or buildings and the number is contested, it is worth a conversation before the pleadings close.

The duty to the court comes first

An expert valuer instructed in litigation owes a duty to the court that overrides any duty to the instructing party. In practice this means the figure is the figure. Where the evidence supports a range, the report states the range and explains it. Where a client's position is not supported by the market evidence, we say so at the outset, in correspondence, before a report is written and before costs are incurred. A report that cannot survive cross-examination is worse than no report at all.

Instructions are declined where a conflict of interest exists or cannot be managed, in accordance with the RICS Conflicts of Interest professional statement.

How the Red Book applies to litigation work

This is a technical point that is often misunderstood, and it matters when the other side's report is being scrutinised.

RICS Valuation – Global Standards, published December 2024 and effective from 31 January 2025, treats valuations prepared for expert witness and litigation purposes as an exception from the mandatory application of VPS 1 to VPS 6. That exception is frequently misread as meaning the Red Book does not apply to expert evidence. It does.

PS 1 (compliance with standards where a written valuation is provided) and PS 2 (ethics, competency, objectivity and disclosures) continue to bind the valuer in full. PS 2 requires, among other things:

• appropriate qualifications and membership of a professional body
• current knowledge of the local and international markets in which the valuer operates
• compliance with the RICS Conflicts of Interest requirements
• adherence to the RICS Valuer Registration Scheme

RICS also publishes a Cyprus National Supplement, which addresses the local statutory and market context in which Cyprus valuations are prepared.

The practical effect is that the exception frees the report from the fixed VPS reporting template so that it can be structured for the court and directed at the issues in the pleadings, while the ethical and competency obligations remain unaltered. It is not a relaxation of standards.

What the report contains

Reports are written to be read by a judge and tested by opposing counsel. A typical report sets out:

• the instruction, the identity of the instructing party, the question the court is being asked to determine and the valuation date
• the expert's qualifications, registration and relevant experience
• a statement of independence, of the duty to the court, and of any interests disclosed under PS 2
• the property's legal and physical description, drawn from the title, the cadastral plan and the planning zone data
• the extent of inspection and any restrictions on it
• the basis of value adopted and the reason it is the correct basis for the issue in dispute
• the valuation methodology, with the comparable evidence set out in full and each adjustment reasoned and quantified
• special assumptions, where any are directed or agreed, identified as such
• the opinion of value, and any range around it
• a schedule of documents relied upon, and the statement of truth

Where the other side has produced a report, we can also prepare a written critique of its methodology and comparable evidence, and a note of the points suitable for cross-examination.

From instruction to hearing

Instruction. We agree scope, valuation date, basis of value and fee in writing before work begins, and carry out a conflict check.

Documents. You supply the title deed, the pleadings or a summary of the issues, and any planning, survey or transaction documents.

Inspection. The property is inspected in person. Where access is refused or impossible, the report says so and explains the effect on the opinion.

Evidence. Comparable transactions are gathered and verified, and the analysis documented so that it can be reproduced.

Draft and report. A draft is provided for factual correction only. Comment on facts is welcome; the opinion is not negotiated.

Expert discussions. Where the court directs the experts to meet and narrow the issues, we attend and prepare the joint statement.

Oral evidence. Where the matter is heard, the valuer who signed the report gives the evidence and answers for it under cross-examination. Hearing dates are held in the diary once they are fixed, and we tell you at the outset if a listed date cannot be covered.

Single joint expert instructions

Where both sides agree to instruct one valuer, the instruction should come jointly and in writing, and it should record the valuation date, the basis of value, the property and the questions the expert is asked to answer. The report goes to both parties at the same time, and any question put to the expert afterwards is put by both.

A single joint expert costs less than two experts and usually settles faster, because there is no competing figure to argue about. It is not appropriate where the parties disagree about the underlying facts rather than the value, and we say so at the enquiry stage rather than after the fee is paid.

Instructing us

Instructions are accepted from law firms and, where appropriate, directly from parties. To open a matter, send the title deed or Land Registry search, a short note of the dispute and the valuation date required, and the hearing date if one is fixed. We will confirm scope, fee and availability in writing, together with a conflict check, before any work starts.

Last reviewed: August 2026.

Discuss an instruction: [email protected] · +357 25254222 · mobile +357 96569477