The scheduled weekly auctions for main residences, held every Wednesday, have been suspended, as the notaries’ association decided to abstain from its duties until the government reaches a final decision on the matter. The Greek government’s rejection of an amendment tabled by opposition party New Democracy, favourable to first residence owners, reveals it finds itself between a rock and hard place on then matter. On the one hand, the Greek government has to live up to its public promises that it would safeguard the properties of poor people, while on the other hand it fears any initiatives it might undertake in that direction, without informing Greece’s creditors, could be construed as a unilateral action by the latter. Deputy Research and Technology Minister Kostas Fotakis justified the government’s decision to turn down the proposed amendment by saying that it had a draft bill in the pipelines addressing all the pending issues. The gist of New Democracy’s proposal provided the suspension of any foreclosures until December 31, 2017, under specific conditions, including proof that the house was used as the main residence of the citizen; the amount of monthly disposable family income did exceed a certain level; the objective property value was below a certain level for singles and couples etc.