Thousands of property owners across the country are on… fire as the deadline approaches (next Friday, 31/5) for submitting declarations on the Fire Protection Regulation for properties near and within forest areas. Despite the fact that for this year’s fire season only the application of the preventive fire protection provisions is mandatory, there are increasing voices of those who are asking for an extension for the submission of declarations, mainly for technical reasons.

Extension, for now was given until June 30 for citizens to declare the cleaning of land and uncovered areas of their property, the platform of the National Register of Observance of Preventive Fire Protection Measures, which is located at akatharista.apps.gov.gr, and the website of the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection civilprotection.gov.gr, following a ministerial decision of the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection..

In particular, as stated in the ministerial decision extends the deadline for submitting a solemn declaration as to the fulfilment of fire protection obligations from May 31, 2024 to June 30, 2024.

These declarations are in the context of the National Register of Compliance with Preventive Fire Protection Measures Property established by the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection to record the obligations of citizens during the fire season and compliance with preventive fire protection measures.

For this reason and as predicted, the new digital platform for declaring the cleaning of land plots was opened yesterday under the title Gross Plots (apps.gov.gr). On this platform, these citizens can apply for the cleaning of their land plots as well as proceed with a complaint about gross plots. At the same time, municipalities through the platform will be able to register the inspections they have carried out as well as the plots to be inspected by them.

The cleaning process includes:

Trimming and removal of dead and broken trees and branches, as well as branches that are in direct contact with a building.
Removal of combustible plant material on the ground surface such as but not limited to leaf litter, dead grasses and overlying dead branches.
Removal of the base of the crown of trees and increasing the height of the crown from the ground surface, depending on the age and species of the tree.
Thinning of the bushes in terms of ground cover.
Removal of any other abandoned burners, flammable, explosive or combustible materials, objects and litter.
Safe collection and transportation of all cleanup debris.

Failure to submit the affidavit to the Electronic Registry will incur a fine of 1,000 euros, the method of its imposition, the procedure for its collection and any other related matter will be determined by a joint ministerial decision (CMA) of the Ministers of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, National Economy and Finance and Interior.

Submitting a false affidavit to the Registry regarding the obligation to clean and maintain it shall be punishable by a minimum of two years’ imprisonment and heavy fines.

Until Friday the declarations for the new Fire Protection Regulation

It is noted that in the case of the Fire Protection Regulation for properties located near or within forest areas, the platform has not yet been opened, with the declarations to be submitted by the technical scientists – to whom the obligated property owners must be addressed – to the relevant municipalities.

With a large percentage of local authorities, however, declaring themselves unable to carry out the process and to proceed with the checks provided for by the CPR for properties near or within forests, woodlands and alpine pastures, expected and here the response of the competent Ministry of Environment and Energy to those who call for the suspension of the measure for this year or (new) “generous” extension (including the Central Union of Municipalities and Communities, the Panhellenic Federation of Property Owners and the PDO-OTA).

The regulation is estimated to affect more than one million property owners across the country. Specifically, it concerns properties that have a building and are located within forests, forest ecosystems, woodlands, grasslands located on semi-mountainous, mountainous and rough terrain, whether publicly owned or recognised as private.

It also concerns properties with buildings on lowland grassland (not mountainous or semi-mountainous and not lying on rough ground), which are situated in whole or in part within a radius of 300 metres from the boundaries of woodland. Great care must also be taken by owners of properties located in peri-urban green areas and in areas declared to be forested or reforested or located in parks and groves in urban and residential areas.

The Fire Protection Regulation for properties within or near forested areas focuses on additional measures to protect against fire both the surrounding area, i.e. outdoor structures, plantings, coverings of uncovered areas, etc., and the exterior of buildings, i.e. windows, roofs, wall material, etc.

It provides for measures such as compulsory fencing even for existing buildings, the replacement or addition of metal fibre screens to the frames of the building, for high and particularly high risk properties, and the cladding of the building with non-combustible materials (such as stones, bricks) in case of renovation.

The regulation, taking into account various parameters such as the number of fires, the areas burnt and their percentage of the total area per county, the morphology and vegetation of the area, the frequency of incidents and the infrastructure (among others), divides properties into four risk categories: low, medium, high and very high, determining the measures required, which vary from clearing yard areas, constructing solid fencing and widening roads to developing a property-by-property emergency plan.

In all cases, the necessary measures per property will be determined by a technical expert, who will draw up a building assessment report.

What POMIDA is asking for

POMIDA has sent a letter requesting the rationalisation of the legislation on land clearing to the Minister and the Deputy Minister of Climate Change and Civil Protection V. Kikilia and H. Triantopoulos, asking, among other things, for the suspension and subsequent reduction of the fine of 1,000 euros, the prior notification of owners by the municipalities as a prerequisite for any fine or criminal prosecution and other necessary regulations, so that they are reasonable, practicable and effective.

For 2024 – the current fire season, POMIDA requests:

“1. Extension of the deadline for submitting a declaration to the “National Register for the Maintenance of Preventive Fire Protection Measures for Properties” of No. 53A of Law 4662/2020 (“National Register”) at least until 30.06.2024, given that it was put into operation just last night, i.e. on 26.05.2024, i.e. just five (5) days before the deadline for submitting a declaration!

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2. Suspension of the application for 2024 of the provisions of the fine of 1,000 euros in case of non-submission of a declaration (par. 5, no. 53A, Law 4662/2020) and the criminal offence of submitting a false declaration (par. 7, no. 53A, Law 4662/2020), since in case of non-submission of the declaration to the “National Register” it is presumed that the consent to cleaning is automatically provided (par. 6, no. 53A, Law 4662/2020), so in case of non-fulfilment of the cleaning obligation, the Municipality is entitled to impose a fine of 0.50 €/sqm with a minimum amount of 200 euros (sub. 26, para. b, par. I, article 75, Law 3463/2006) and to charge the cleaning costs (par. 6, no. 53A, Law 4662/2020)”.