Trevor’s Tips – November 2013
By Trevor Hughes
Road Fund Licence Renewals
You can now renew your road tax up to four [4] working days before the renewal date. Now that’s progress!
November 5th Celebrations
If you are going to celebrate November the 5th, remember, you cannot have a bonfire in your garden or release fireworks without firstly gaining permission from both the Belediyesi in your area and the Fire Department, respectively!
Cesspits
From time to time you will need to have your cesspit cleaned and emptied. The frequency
for emptying will depend on the size of the cesspit and or the frequency of use. You will know the time for emptying is near, by way of the smell and/or obvious signs around the area of the cesspit.
We are lucky living in the Lapta area, our Belediyesi provides an emptying service at a cost of only 58 TL. For those of you who are not in the Lapta area, you will need to find a private company to provide this service and their charge is approximately 150TL.
Heart attacks
A few issues ago, “Cyprus Today” reported that heart attacks are the biggest single 
killer in the TRNC and is the single most cause of death over here, claiming 250 lives a year! Symptoms of an attack can be pain or pressure in the middle of the chest, the stomach, back or arms. Wise people have an annual cardiac check up to try and avoid early death or disablement.
Under the terms of their insurance policies, Dagli Sigorta customers have a FREE cardiac check-up once a year at the Kolan British Hospital. Why not become a Dagli Sigorta customer and benefit from this free facility?
Driving Licence Renewal
At the time your TRNC driving licence is due for renewal, some people here have renewed their 
licence without having a current Temporary Residence stamp in their passport and others have been refused, because they do not have a valid Temporary Residence stamp in their passport. Well, if you choose not to renew your Temporary Residence because you are 60 years or older, you can now renew your TRNC driving licence without this uncertainty, by obtaining a letter from your village Muhtar and taking it with the usual documents to the driving licence renewal office.
6 kg Dry Powder Fire Extinguishers
The Interior Ministry Office responsible for issuing Gaz tank permits is now requesting that for each tank there must be at least 1 x 6 kg dry powder filled fire extinguisher. You can purchase one of these from Koksal in Lefkosa. Their store is opposite the Mercedes garage [just past the football stadium] on the main road heading out towards Ercan Airport. You will need to go on the other side of the dual carriageway to get to the store.
An e-mail from a helpful reader:
After visiting the Interior Ministry office with the documentation detailed on the application form, I received a visit from the Fire Service about 3 weeks later. He came to inspect the tank for soundness and safety and to confirm its location in relation to roads, power lines, buildings etc.
The Fire Service chap also wanted to see my in-date 6kg dry powder fire extinguisher. As I did not have one he advised me to get it quickly. When I am called forward by the tax office to pay the requisite tax, I must take along a copy of the receipt of purchase as evidence that I have purchased the extinguisher. 
All this is in his report which was subsequently sent to the Ministry of the Interior.
Once the Interior Ministry has the fire brigade tick in the right box, they pass the documents to the tax office who will call the gas tank owner in to pay the back tax and fines plus the amount for the current year. The yearly amount will depend on the size of tank, 500 litre, 750 litre, 1000ltr etc.
I expect to be called to the tax office in around two weeks’ time.
A snag that might come up, as it did in my case, is that when the Interior Ministry scrutinised the Kocan, they found that our house is part of a large plot of land with other plot numbers mentioned. They may ask for the other owners on the plot to sign the application form saying that they have no objection to the gas tank installation! As the owners of the other dwellings in my case are all abroad, I had to write a letter to that effect saying it would be impossible for me to get their agreements and they accepted this.
Please also be aware that the purchaser’s name is written on the fire extinguisher by the supplier to stop people passing them around to avoid a purchase. The extinguishers also have a shelf life of 12 months, after which time the powder needs to be renewed. The date of replacement is also written on the extinguisher so there can be no doubt by the owner when this needs to happen. Koksal will replace the powder at their premises or at your home for a fee of 30 T L……………….
Of course, if your land is owned by the builder and you don’t have your land deeds, you will only need to get permission from the person who owns the land [the builder maybe?] and not the other people on the plot.
Gas Water Boiler
With the prospect of large hikes in the cost of electricity looming, it prompted me into 
having an LPG hot water boiler installed. No more immersion heater costs, instant hot water at a fraction of the cost and a system you can shut down in the summer months, benefiting from free hot water produced by your solar panels.
The cost for full installation and purchase was 900 TL and only took two [2] hours to complete. You can buy cheaper, but they may disappoint, because they are not powerful enough to do the job successfully!
Turkcell Mobile Payments
I used to instruct my bank to pay my monthly “Turkcell” bills by standing order. After several non-payments, I decided to cancel the standing order arrangement and pay “Turkcell” myself.
To our delight we found that you can make your monthly payment at “Laconic” in Lapta [next to the funky pharmacist]. It certainly saved me a lot of time and expense going all the way to Girne to pay the bill at the “Turkcell” office.
You can make your payment at any of the “Laconic” outlets nearest to where you live.
Win a free holiday to Istanbul Competition
From the 1st of October this year, until the 31st of December 2013, Dagli Sigorta 
are offering new policy holders [not renewals] the chance to win a fabulous 3 day – 2 night, luxury holiday to Istanbul. This will include return flights from Ercan airport. This is of course in addition to all the usual customer benefits that all other insurance companies can only envy.
All you need to do is take out one of Dagli Sigorta’s house/car insurance policies and you will be automatically entered into this free prize draw.
Good luck to you all, this is really worth winning.
To make your enquiry just ring 0533 844 3403
Temporary Residence
Border Control Officials are being fairly strict on Temporary Residence renewal 
dates, for those of you who are under the age of sixty years who need to apply annually.
If you are considering going over the border, make sure that your Temporary Residence application is under way before you go. They are now fining people who are late with their application/s at a rate of 65 TL per day, for every day over the renewal date. They are also refusing to let these people cross the border, until it is done!!!
Bayram Holiday
Well, believe it or not, there is another holiday where Government and local Government offices are closed for the day. This time it is on Friday the 15th of November 2013.
I am led to believe that there is a further day’s holiday next year to celebrate the only day in the year that there is no holiday. Oh happy days if you work in any of the above offices.
