The clock has started ticking. In less than 15 days, owners of hundreds of thousands of properties across the country who have “neglected” to declare them in the Land Registry will need to complete the process. If they fail to do so, after November 30th, which is the final deadline for submitting declarations to the Land Registry, they may face their properties being “blocked” from any transactions (such as transfers, gifts, etc.), fines, or, in the worst case, having them transferred to state ownership.
Unlike the usual practice in Greece, there will be no extension of the deadline in this case. The Deputy Minister of Digital Governance, Konstantinos Kyranakis, has made this clear, as procedures are underway to complete the Land Registry according to the timeline set by the Prime Minister, so that by 2025 it operates fully and universally. So, who does this affect and what must be done by November 30th?
1/ Who does the November 30th deadline apply to?
It applies to all property rights holders, both natural and legal persons, as well as the Greek State, who are required to submit a declaration under Law 2308/95 for all their registerable rights in properties. These rights may include ownership, usufruct, mortgages, easements, seizures, registerable claims, etc.
This is the final deadline for more than 160,000 properties in 313 areas of Greece, which until now have been marked as “Owner Unknown.” It is literally the last chance for the owners of 15,000 of these properties (which, according to information, are located in 35 areas of the country), who should have declared their properties in the Land Registry by 2018, when the cadastral records for these properties were finalized.
Most of these properties are inherited, where no acceptance of ownership agreement has been made, properties by prescription, and a large portion consists of disputed properties with clear errors.
According to estimates by the Land Registry, of the more than 160,000 “Owner Unknown” properties in 313 areas of the country, which were gradually cadastrated until 2006 and recorded 7,293,068 property rights, 15,000 are in 35 areas where the deadline for their declaration expired in 2018, and their owners failed to submit them by then.
These areas include municipalities in Attica such as Nea Smyrni, Renti, Neo Psychiko, Vrilissia, Melissia, Elefsina, Gerakas, Nea Peramos, as well as areas in Thessaloniki, Aetolia-Acarnania, Argolis, Arta, Arcadia, Achaia, Drama, Patmos, and Evros.
In addition, municipalities in Evia, the Cyclades, Laconia, Larissa, Lefkada, Magnesia, Ilia, Imathia, Xanthi, Pieria, Preveza, Zakynthos, Thesprotia, Kavala, Kastoria, Kefalonia, Kilkis, Kozani, Messinia, Rodopi, Trikala, Phthiotis, and Florina are also included.
The November 30th deadline also applies to the correction of initial registrations that expired at the end of the previous year.
2/ What must property owners who have not declared their properties do?
They must submit a property declaration to the Land Registry. This can no longer be done by mail, so the declaration must be made either at the appropriate Cadastral Office or electronically on the Land Registry platform. In either case, all necessary documents and supporting materials must be available (scanned, in the case of electronic submission).
3/ What documents are required, and where can they be found?
As all forms and supporting documents are available at Cadastral Offices and on the Greek Land Registry website (ktimatologio.gr), those making a property declaration will need: the declaration forms D1/D2, property titles or documents that prove ownership of the property (e.g., court decisions, deeds, administrative acts, and their registration certificates), a completed declaration under Law 2308/1995, a photocopy of the ID card (or passport) of the claimant, and proof of their Tax Identification Number (TIN), such as a tax clearance statement, proof of TIN assignment, or a utility bill.
4/ Does it cost anything to submit a property declaration to the Land Registry?
Those submitting declarations are required to pay a fixed cadastral fee for each registerable right declared in the Land Registry. This fee has been set at 35 euros for main properties (i.e., single-family homes, apartments, shops, buildings with land, undeveloped land, agricultural plots, etc.) and 20 euros for auxiliary spaces (parking spaces or storage rooms), which are independent horizontal properties as specified in the contract, and which do not appear as appendages of divided properties.
For the above properties, the fee is paid per right, while for off-plan properties and those in rural areas, individuals who have registerable rights in more than two properties (regardless of the number) within the same pre-Kapodistrian municipality will pay fixed fees for only two registerable rights.
5/ What happens if there are multiple owners?
The property declaration is made in the same way by both (or more) owners. Each owner is required to declare the property according to their share and to pay the fixed cadastral fee individually.
6/ What will happen if someone does not declare their property by November 30th?
The primary risk for property owners who do not declare their properties is that they may lose them after the deadline. That is, they may be permanently registered as “Owner Unknown” and transferred to state ownership or claimed by neighboring properties.
In another scenario, property owners who do not declare their properties will be “blocked.” This means they will not be able to carry out any transactions, such as selling or transferring the property via a parental gift, issuing building permits, etc. To “unblock” them, they will have to follow time-consuming and costly procedures, which may involve lengthy legal battles.
In the best-case scenario, “negligent” owners may have to pay fines, particularly if they submit their declarations late. The exact amount of these fines has not yet been determined.
7/ Are there any exemptions from the deadline?
Due to the risk that incorrect initial registrations might become final (and create irrefutable evidence in favor of the claimed owner), the Ministry of Digital Governance has accepted the request from the Bar Associations not to make November 30th the final deadline for correcting cadastral records. Therefore, the deadline for correcting initial cadastral registrations has been extended beyond November 30th, 2024.
8/ Which areas have an extended deadline for correcting initial registrations?
Certain areas in Greece, such as those in Attica, Piraeus, Western Macedonia, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Central Greece, the Ionian Islands, Western Greece, Epirus, Thessaloniki, Thessaly, Central Macedonia, the Peloponnese, the Cyclades, the Northern Aegean, and Crete, have extended correction deadlines that could last until 2032. These areas started the process later, and citizens will receive further updates regarding new deadlines.
9/ What applies to properties without an inheritance acceptance deed?
For properties without an inheritance acceptance deed, each property must be geographically identified. This can be done using the road or parcel number if it’s a division, or by submitting a topographic plan, or through mobile identification via the Land Registry website.
10/ What applies to properties based on prescription?
For properties based on prescription, a relevant court decision or notarial documents are required. Additionally, a notarial pre-contract of property transfer must confirm delivery of possession to the rightful owner, along with deeds from neighboring property owners declaring the applicant as the property owner. Other required documents include rental agreements, E9 forms from tax returns, subsidy documents, electricity bills, and proof of payments made on behalf of the property holder.
11/ What happens if a property has been declared by someone else?
If a property has been declared by another person, the objections committee may prioritize the other owner’s claim in the initial registration. In such cases, a legal appeal is required to amend the initial registration.
12/ Which corrections can be made at any time?
Corrections to personal or civil status details (e.g., birth date, TIN, ID number) can be made at any time. Additionally, corrections to the geometric data of the property, such as boundaries and coordinates, are not subject to finalization and can be made at any time.
13/ Which corrections can be made through out-of-court procedures?
Out-of-court corrections can address: obvious errors, such as incorrect details of the owner, mistakes in the contract information, the area of the building, etc.; geometric details of the property like boundaries, coordinates, and area; changes to rights due to new deeds, mortgages, administrative acts, court decisions, or other procedural actions registered before the first cadastral entries; and reclassification of properties as forested following the approval of the forest map.
