A 49-year-old man was remanded in custody for eight days by the Limassol District Court on Monday in connection with the alleged rental of a house in Limassol without the knowledge or consent of the family who inherited it.
The case came to light after a complaint by a woman who lives permanently in Kuwait. She told police that she, her mother, her four sisters and her brother inherited the house after her father died in April 2020, and that none of the heirs knew of any rental agreement.
On May 11 this year, officers from Polemidia police station visited the house after neighbours reported an alleged illegal entry. A couple outside showed them a photograph of a rental contract, which set out an agreement between the couple and three co-owners of the house. An officer photographed the document.
On May 18, an estate agent handling the sale of the house told the complainant that a rental agreement had been made in April with a woman from Limassol. The complainant said none of the heirs had made any written or verbal agreement with the tenant.
In a statement to Limassol CID on August 25, the woman living in the house said that early this year she had asked a person from Lebanon to contact the owners to arrange a rental. She said the 49-year-old, also from Lebanon, later contacted her, saying he had spoken to one of the heirs living in Kuwait and secured his consent.
According to her statement, the suspect gave her a rental contract in April, which she signed as a witness. She has lived in the house with her partner since then without paying rent, as they were carrying out renovation work under a verbal agreement with him, she said.
Investigators traced a mobile phone number which, when checked against police systems, matched the 49-year-old. He was arrested on a court warrant at the Limassol CID offices on Sunday evening.
When told why he was being arrested and cautioned, he replied: “I didn’t do any of this.” Questioned orally, he denied any involvement.
He is being investigated for conspiracy to commit a felony and a misdemeanour, forgery, circulating a forged document, illegal entry and fraudulent dealings in immovable property belonging to another person.
Investigators are searching for the original of the allegedly forged document, and searches are expected at two locations. A written statement is also due to be taken from another person.
