Immigration Office in Girne

[DenizIsmail]

Dear members as you are all aware from previous post on the forum' WATER METER' I have issues regarding our water connection to our holiday home in Girne. A surveyor has confirmed that our water connection is from mains water and not our communal WELL . This now means that I have to try and negotiate with Esentepe Belediye regarding a water bill they have sent me which is over 5000tl since 2016 . In order to do that I need to prove that I do not live in Girne full time basis and require to show evidence of our entry and exit to TRNC.

Can someone please provide contact details for Girne immigration office please.

[a1sysman]

If you require a record of your “Ins” and “Outs”, these can be obtained from Girne police station.

However, l would argue a list detailing time you have spent in the TRNC is just that, nothing more.

It is in no way proof your property and water usage has not been in continuous or regular use / demand over the period from 2016.

I think you will need more substantive evidence of the property being vacant and services not used during the period in question to support your argument with the belediye l’m afraid.

Unfortunately the onus is on you to prove them wrong once they (the belediye) have submitted a charge to you.

I challenged Alsancak belediyesi over a waste collection charged to a friend’s property even though they were in the UK for well over a year.

I went to the belediye offices and explained the property owners were not in the country so had not left garden waste on land outside for collection.

The office staff argued back a gardener employed by them could have deposited the waste. A not unreasonable argument.

I explained l was the only person looking over their property in their absence. Theirs being the first house in the road, with all neighbours taking rubbish and waste to the end of the road for collection. The belediye waste collectors taking the path of least effort simply charge the waste collection against the first house number they see - even if the waste is not, and never has been, deposited outside or adjacent to the property boundary.

Through reasonable discussion, no tantrum or raised voice, the belediyesi office staff accepted what l said and cancelled the waste charges.

I say the above just to let you know it is possible to overcome a charge levied by a belediye, keep the faith, and your cool.

[waddo]

As water is normally billed on a monthly basis, could you not require the bely to provide proof of monthly billing and the quantity of water used at your property every month? Not sure how your billing system works but ours is a simple slip of paper stuck in the mailbox every month - the duplicate of which is held in the Bely as well. Your meter may be one of the new models that require a card or the old models that just have the numbers read off it. The old models were renowned for going wrong and ending up with you being charged for air rather than water as well.

Additionally, water prices have changed quite often in the past 5 years with Esentepe coming onto the Turkish provided water the price went up for sure, it would be nice for them to tell you how much water you have supposedly used of the Turkish supplied water as well. Electricity bills should show use of the property also as your water is probably pumped from the mains collection tank into the property - almost zero electric bill would indicate no occupency?

Just thoughts and trying to be helpful. Good luck.

[DenizIsmail]

Thank you both for your post much appreciated. We do not have a water meter at our home as it was taken away by the Esentepe Belediye on the request of the previous owners as they were going to sell the house which we bought in 2014. The bill they have issued us with i.e over 5000tl is an estimation as there is no water meter to record usage. Our solicitor has suggested that I contact Girne Immigration office and get them to confirm our entry and exit from TRNC. This will prove to the Esentepe Belediye that we have not been in the country to use such a large amount of water . Esentepe Belediye are also trying to get us to install a water meter for around 7350tl. However I am hearing stories that these meters lock out if not used within 30 days and if this is so will be no use to us as we only visit TRNC 2 times per year. The only water we use is for showring and washing machine. Due to the pandemic we have not been to TRNC for the last 2 years. Esentepe Belediye calculation is based from 2016 and not 2014 when we purchased our home ? They are saying that someone has illegally connected the water to the mains ?

[Mowgli597]

Moved to the original topic Water Meter

[Geoff1131]

This is getting more and more confusing. I was always under the impression that Aligadi was not connected to the water main from Esentepe? I live in Bahceli and although there was a small water pipe coming down to the coast road from up in Bahceli village, it was nowhere near enough to supply water to the new sites being built in the area ( circa 2005 ) So we had to rely on tankered water being delivered to our site, as did all of the other sites in the area. When the new pipeline was installed and Esentepe Beli connected our site to the new system we were obliged to get new meters and have Beli water supplied. It is much easier now as we have no need to order water as and when we need it. But we were not charged for water used before we were connected to the new supply, which seems to be the case here?. How can the Beli insist on being paid for supplying water to Aligadi if they had no service connected? I saw the Beli running the new pipe line to Aligadi around 6 months ago so surely they can only charge for water used since it has been on mains water? Unless i am wrong and Aligadi has always had a mains water connection?