The municipality of Alimos seeks to prevent faits accomplis even before the final decision of the Council of State regarding the bonuses of the New Building Code (NBC) is officially recorded. Just before the end of the year, the municipality suspended building permits issued under NBC provisions.

Alimos, a southern suburb of Athens, initiated the challenge to the constitutionality of the 2012 Building Regulation with appeals to the Council of State (CoS). On New Year’s Eve, the municipality froze over 40 building permits, undermining a recent regulation by the Ministry of Environment and Energy. This regulation stipulated that authorities could neither issue nor revoke permits under NBC provisions (relating to building heights and additional square footage) until the CoS decision was issued.

Ministry of Environment had introduced a legislative amendment before the holidays as part of a Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport bill. However, the Alimos municipality moved ahead on December 31 with a council decision to suspend building permits and halt ongoing construction under NBC provisions, instead of revoking permits through local Building Services.

The suspension applies to permits for which construction began before the CoS announcement and which lack an initial building inspector’s report. Notably, the municipality notified stakeholders via email on New Year’s Eve that Building Service would suspend construction and permit revisions until the CoS issues a definitive ruling on the constitutionality of NBC provisions.

Mayor Andreas Kondylis had pre-announced this plan before the holidays, which he then executed. He argued that once the CoS ruling is published, property owners can issue new permits. Kondylis also accused certain parties of fraudulently claiming they started construction before December 11 to exploit the extra allowances granted by NBC.

Ministry of Environment’s Position

The Ministry’s amendment prohibits issuing or revoking permits under NBC provisions until the CoS decision is finalized. Minister of Environment and Energy, Theodoros Skylakakis, emphasized that the CoS ruling references “commencement of works” without defining this term precisely. Before the holidays, Skylakakis criticized Alimos’ restrictive interpretation, noting over 14,000 permits issued under NOK incentives that owners have yet to activate and need protection.

The CoS President, Michalis Pikramenos, clarified that the unconstitutionality of NBC provisions does not affect permits with verified work commencement. However, the lack of a detailed definition of “work commencement” remains a significant issue for engineers. While this was once confirmed by a declaration to urban planning authorities, it is now undefined, leading to municipalities like Alimos creating their interpretations.

The political leadership has warned of potential urban planning chaos if municipalities independently define “work commencement,” leading to inconsistent revocations and arbitrary interpretations of the CoS decision.