By GRAMMATIS BAKLATSI,
surveyor - urban planning engineer,
baklatsi@yahoo.gr

The registration and utilization of real estate is a very important issue for every owner. However, there are many citizens who believe that everything is "ordered" and have no problems, since they have the contract for their property, which they have declared in E9 and Cadastre and pay the corresponding ENFIA. However, when they start a process related to the utilization of their property such as: a loan from a bank, the transfer/parental benefit, the subsidy from the "Ex' Oikonomo" program, the connection with Natural Gas, the issuance of TAP by the Municipality et al., find that there are problems that need to be solved.

In fact, most problems with the legality of the buildings are revealed at the last moment, when the owner addresses the engineer for the issuance of the Building's Electronic Identity, which is mandatory from April 1, 2022 for every legal transaction, as well as the inspection of the building for its subsidy from "X' Economo". Gathering the data from the urban planning archive, the EFKA, the land registry, etc. and settling possible irregularities is a process that requires time and a lot of documents.

Thus, many times the owners, due to the untimely collection of supporting documents, lose potential buyers or are excluded from the subsidized programs.

For this reason, every real estate owner should have an organized file with the necessary documents and plans concerning his property, in order to have the right image of him and in any case to settle any outstanding issues in a timely manner and at a lower cost.

  • What are the necessary documents that every property owner should have?
  1. Property contract (purchase/donation/inheritance acceptance etc) together with the accompanying Topographic Map (if any).
  2. Certificate that the property has been transferred to the mortgage registry at the time of purchase by the owner.
  3. Proof Declaration of ownership in the Land Registry.
  4. Cadastre extract (diagram and sheet) from the Cadastre service, if the property is located in an area included in the Cadastre.
  5. Statement of Assets (E9).
  6. Modern Topographic Chart.
  7. In case there is a building, the Building Permit form or other evidence proving the legality of the building.
  8. The approved plans from the town planning office that are in the file of the Building Permit or Legalization of the building That is: Topographical, Coverage diagram, Plans, Elevations and Sections.
  9. In case it is a horizontal property (apartment, office, shop) there should be in the file outside the contract, the establishment of horizontal property of the building and the table of millimeters.
  10. The declaration of termination of settlement, in case of existence of arbitrary.
  • What is meant by the legality of a building?

Legal in general is any construction or installation carried out:

In accordance with the urban planning provisions and regulations in force at the time of its construction, and if it was built in accordance with the terms of a legal building permit the approval, unless they fall under the cases that are exempted from the obligation to issue a building permit license.

In any case where there is no specific provision stipulating an exception, the issuance of a building permit or approval is absolutely required, and therefore constructions not covered by a required permit or approval are arbitrary. Exemption from the obligation to issue a building permit is made only with a relevant legislative provision.

In the event that the owner of the residence does not have a building permit or it does not correspond to the current state of the residence, he should have some legality document (such as for example subjecting the declared construction or use to a law regulating arbitrary constructions or exemption from demolition by law 1337/83).

  • How is the legality of a building proven?

The legality of the building is proven by the following documents:

  • Building permit form. It is noted that all the square meters of the space must have a building permit and have the intended use.
  • Any arbitrary constructions settled under any arbitrary law.
  • Certificate from municipality/engineer for pre-existing building from 1955.
  • Buildings constructed before 1955 are considered legally existing. In this case, a relevant certificate from an engineer is required.
  • Certificate of inclusion of the arbitrary construction in some arbitrary law.
  • If the house (or part of it) was built without a permit after 1955 it must be settled.
  • Certificate of definitive exemption from demolition by Town Planning.
  • How are any arbitrariness settled?

For the buildings with the smallest violations, their owners are given the opportunity to fix them until March 31, 2026, paying -however- increased fines. The completely arbitrary ones as well as those with major urban planning violations are not settled at the moment, apart from some exceptions (arbitrary banks, by inheritance, in affected areas, etc.). With a recent announcement, the Ministry of the Environment announced that it will once again allow the regularization of these large (category 5) illegals. It is emphasized that the arbitrary settlement does not concern constructions or changes of use after July 28, 2011.

  • What about lost building permits?

The issue has concerned many citizens and engineers, who find the license document but do not find the file with the architectural plans in the Urban Planning department that issued the license. In this case, you should contact an engineer who will perform a folder reconstruction.

  • What about buildings that were built before the year 1955 and do not have a permit?

Buildings built before 11-30-1955 are legal and a building permit is not required. But a relevant certificate must be issued by an engineer.

Evidence of the age of a building before 1955 is the following:

  1. Notarial documents
  2. Aerial photographs (with photo interpretation)
  3. Construction method and materials (property technical inspection)

Additional evidence can be public documents such as electricity/water supply, statements to the Ephorate of the property, photographs, historical documents, etc.

  • What about houses that were built after 1955 and do not have a building permit, nor are they declared under the Unauthorized Construction Regularization Act, but were transferred normally and are declared on the tax return?

The existence of a contract and the declaration of residence on the tax return does not imply that the building exists legally. There must be a building permit or equivalent relevant legalizing document (eg exemption from demolition) proving that the building now exists legally. Also, in addition to the document, there should also be the corresponding/additional legalizing documents of the building permit (plans, views, sections) of the building. If the above supporting documents are not available then legalization must be done.

Residential building, which has been subject to law 1337/1983 ("Tritsis" law), is it legal?

Yes, since the first and second phases of Law 1337/1983 have been completed, the entire fine has been paid and the application for the exemption from the demolition of the building has not been rejected by decision of the competent body.

What are the supporting documents included in the HTK file?

  • What are the required details for the Electronic Building Identity?
  1. The structure of the construction permit of the building, with its revisions.
  2. The plans accompanying the building permit.
  3. The energy efficiency certificate of the building or its parts, the construction control certificate, if it has been issued.
  4. Declarations of submission to arbitrary laws.
  5. The floor plans, which depict the building in its actual condition.
  6. The structural vulnerability report and the static adequacy study, if required.
  7. The millimeter table and the cost allocation study of the building, if required.
  8. The Certificate of Completion for Electronic Building Identity.

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