One of the largest codification projects in Greek legislation has been completed by the Ministry of Environment and Energy, which is submitting to Parliament the new Spatial Planning – Urban Planning Code.

With 477 articles and provisions drawn from 181 different pieces of legislation spanning the last century, the new Code aims to end the fragmentation of urban planning law and create a single reference framework for citizens, engineers, investors, lawyers, and public authorities.

The new Code addresses a long-standing administrative problem, as rules on spatial planning, construction, building permits, illegal buildings, and land-use planning were previously scattered across dozens of laws, presidential decrees, and regulatory acts.

According to the Ministry, the codification does not change existing law, but instead gathers and organizes all existing provisions into a single, clearer and continuously updated framework.

The Code covers the entire field of spatial and urban planning legislation: from spatial planning and urban regeneration to building regulations, permits, illegal construction, and national strategies for urban resilience and climate adaptation.

The Ministry describes it as an institutional legacy that will allow future reforms to be integrated into a single digital database accessible to all citizens.

What the Code includes

On principle

• The Spatial Planning–Urban Planning Code, submitted to Parliament for ratification, is one of the most important reforms in spatial planning and construction policy, a priority of the Ministry of Environment and Energy from 2020 until today, and addresses long-standing systemic weaknesses with social justice and environmental responsibility.
• It is the result of the consolidation, systematisation, and unification of all existing spatial and urban planning legislation into one Code, to facilitate both public administration and citizens in the correct and timely understanding and application of the law.
• Technical experts, legal professionals, public administration, and citizens will have access to a single coherent tool, replacing fragmented provisions that previously caused legal uncertainty and conflicting interpretations.
• This is not a purely technical or bureaucratic exercise, but a major scientific project carried out by a high-level committee over more than six years.
• The Code not only consolidates legislation but also removes repealed or ineffective provisions, simplifies legal texts, and in many cases rewrites them in clear modern Greek to avoid misinterpretation. It also updates institutional references that changed over time.
• The Code does not introduce new legal rules; it codifies existing law.
• Legal fragmentation creates uncertainty, bureaucracy, and unequal access to information — benefiting the few. Codification and transparency serve the many and strengthen “spatial democracy.”
• The Code will serve as an institutional legacy, as future reforms will be incorporated into its digital platform.

On procedure

• Submission of the Code to Parliament completes a complex project that required more than six years of work.
• It was drafted by a Special Committee composed of highly regarded experts in spatial and urban planning law (including a former President of the Council of State, judges, professors, lawyers, specialists, and senior ministry officials).
• The Code consolidates 477 articles from more than 180 legislative acts dating from 1923 to today.
• It will be discussed in Parliament under Article 111 of the Rules of Procedure, first in committee and then in plenary session.

Structure of the Code

The Code is divided into nine parts:

Part A – Spatial Planning

Covers spatial planning principles, regional and urban planning systems, land readjustment, special planning cases, settlements (including pre-1923 settlements), second-home areas, and special urban development zones.

Part B – Urban Regeneration and Planning Mechanisms

Includes urban renewal rules, planning tools, development rights transfer, incentive zones, and environmental balancing mechanisms.

Part C – Implementation of Urban Plans

Covers land contribution, property adjustment, expropriations, and public spaces in approved urban plans.

Part D – Building Rules and Land Use

Includes general building rules, non-planned settlements under 2,000 inhabitants, off-plan construction, land-use zones, coastal regulations, and restrictions on land subdivision.

Part E – Building Framework

Includes building permits, construction works on expropriated land, digital building identity, and building control mechanisms.

Part F – Illegal Construction and Excess Building

Regulates illegal buildings, enforcement, penalties, and excess construction or land-use violations.

Part G – Dangerous Buildings

Covers unsafe and hazardous buildings.

Part H – Urban Policy and National Strategies

Includes urban resilience, housing stock management, accessibility, and climate change adaptation policies.

Part I – Institutions and Committees

Includes planning councils, architectural councils, accessibility committees, illegal building committees, transitional rules, and digital registers.

The Code also includes appendices allowing users to trace how each provision has been codified.

The Code, unlike the 1999 Basic Urban Planning Code, is designed to remain permanently updated, as future legislation will be incorporated directly into it.

A new digital legal database will also be launched, providing free public access to continuously updated provisions.

17 Questions and Answers on the Code

1. What is the Spatial Planning – Urban Planning Code?

It is a unified codification of all existing spatial and urban planning legislation into a single legal text of 477 articles.

2. Who does it concern?

It concerns all citizens, professionals, investors, public authorities, and anyone interacting with land use and construction.

3. What problem does it solve?

It resolves fragmentation, inconsistency, and legal uncertainty in planning law.

4. What is the aim of codification?

To ensure clarity, accessibility, reduced bureaucracy, uniform application of the law, and legal certainty.

5. How many legislative acts does the Code codify?

The Code includes provisions from 122 laws, 29 presidential decrees, 15 legislative decrees, 4 royal decrees, 3 emergency laws, 7 ministerial decisions, and 1 act of legislative content, meaning a total of 181 legislative acts, some of which are up to 103 years old.

6. When did work on the Code begin and how long did it take?

The drafting of the Code began in July 2020 and was completed in 2026, after a multi-year process of collecting, reviewing, and systematizing spatial planning and urban legislation.

7. How does it differ from the Basic Urban Planning Code (K.B.P.N.) of 1999?

The Basic Urban Planning Code of 1999 was an initial attempt to consolidate then-existing legislation, but it was never updated. It included provisions valid up to 1997, and due to the continuous legislative changes that followed, it quickly became outdated and lost practical value.

In addition, subsequent amendments were made outside the Code itself, resulting again in fragmentation and confusion. As a result, the 1999 codification became progressively obsolete.

The new Code differs because it has been designed as a continuously updated and “living” legal instrument. Every future amendment in spatial and urban planning legislation will now be directly incorporated into it, ensuring it remains continuously relevant, unified, and functional. This guarantees coherence of legislation and avoids repeating past fragmentation.

8. Does the Code introduce new law or change existing provisions?

The Code includes existing provisions of laws and regulatory acts concerning spatial and urban planning legislation. It does not introduce new regulations; rather, it codifies what is already in force.

9. Which legal provisions are incorporated into the Code?

The new Code brings together, in a single text, almost the entirety of general spatial and urban planning legislation under the responsibility of the Ministry of Environment and Energy.

It covers the full spectrum of spatial and urban planning: spatial planning, urban regeneration, implementation of urban plans, building rules and land use, permitting framework, handling of illegal construction and building excesses, dangerous buildings, as well as urban policy issues, national sectoral strategies, and the functioning of collective administrative bodies.

With its 477 articles and systematic structure, it now forms a complete and unified reference framework for technical and legal professionals.

However, certain special regimes are not included in the Code, such as Industrial Areas (VI.PE.), tourism enterprises, Special Spatial Development Zones (ESCHASE), and Special Spatial Development Areas (ESCHADA), etc. These remain in their respective legal frameworks to preserve coherence and proper interpretation. Their removal from their specialized regulatory context would create interpretative gaps in sector-specific legislation.

10. Does the codification include city plans, urban studies, or circular guidelines?

Individual regulatory or administrative acts (such as local city plans or urban studies) are not included in the codification, because they have local rather than general application.

These acts will continue to apply even after the Code enters into force, not only in their individual component (e.g. street and building line definitions), but also in their regulatory part (building terms and land uses of specific areas).

The Code also does not include circulars or interpretative guidelines. However, existing circulars related to codified provisions remain in force and continue to apply.

11. Are provisions that have been ruled unconstitutional included?

Provisions that have been declared unconstitutional are not codified.

However, provisions whose constitutionality may be questioned are included if no final judicial ruling has been issued on them.

12. How can one locate where a provision has been codified?

At the end of the Code, there is an Annex containing a chronological table listing, in the first column, the codified provisions of legislative acts in chronological order, and in the second column, the corresponding codifying articles.

This makes it easy to identify where each provision has been incorporated.

13. Which provisions are repealed by the Code?

From the entry into force of the Code, the codified provisions listed in Annex A and in the correlation table between codifying and codified provisions are repealed.

In summary:

• Everything that is codified is repealed from its previous legal source and becomes part of the Code.
• Everything not codified remains in force.

14. When does the Code take effect? Is there a transitional period?

The Code enters into force upon its publication in the Government Gazette (FEK).

There is no transitional period of parallel application between the Code and the laws it codifies.

However, provisions that are not included in the Code (for example due to their special nature) remain in force alongside it.

15. How can I search within the Code?

Searching within the Code is now extremely easy, as regulations from 181 legislative acts are consolidated into a single unified file.

16. Will the new Code be accessible to every citizen?

Citizens will have free and immediate access to the Code upon its publication.

The text will be available via the website of the National Printing Office (Ethniko Typografeio), searchable by FEK number, and mainly through the new electronic legal database of the Ministry of Environment and Energy.

For the first time, a modern, continuously updated digital spatial and urban planning database is being created, gathering all applicable provisions in one place. The platform will function as an interactive search tool with fast navigation and direct access to current legislation.

Every legislative amendment will be directly incorporated into the Code so that citizens, engineers, lawyers, investors, and public authorities always have access to the updated legal framework.

17. How was the Code drafted?

The Code was drafted by a Special Committee composed of highly distinguished experts in spatial and urban planning law.

The Committee was chaired by Mr. Menoudakos, Honorary President of the Council of State, and included senior judges of the Council of State and the Legal Council of State (NSK), university professors, lawyers, specialists in spatial planning, and senior officials of the Ministry of Environment and Energy.

Significant contribution was also made by the political leadership of the Ministry from 2019 onwards in advancing and completing the project.

Special mention is made of the late Nikos Tagaras, Deputy Minister of Environment and Energy responsible for spatial planning and urban development, who played a decisive role with consistency and personal commitment in supporting and advancing the codification effort, contributing substantially to its completion.