Eight changes are brought by the new bill “Modernization of the Greek Land Registry, new digital services and strengthening of digital governance”, which was passed on the evening of Thursday, July 29, 2021, as pointed out in their speeches at the Plenary Session of the Parliament, the representatives of the political leadership of the Ministry of Digital Governance.
As pointed out in their speeches by the Minister of State and Digital Governance Kyriakos Pierrakakis and the Deputy Minister of Digital Governance, responsible for Cadastre matters, Giorgos Stylios, with the new law, land registration is accelerated, the procedures provided by the Hellenic Land Registry are simplified and digitized citizens, while the organization is being reorganized with the aim of providing better services. Specifically, the eight main changes brought by the bill:
- The transition to a functioning Land Registry is accelerated, with the new procedure for examining objections. It is estimated that the schedule until the completion of the Land Registry is accelerated by two years
- The areas with functioning Land Registry are included in all the digital services of the Land Registry
- The security of transactions is enhanced, as all information is gathered in one place, it is public and accessible to anyone who has an interest in looking for it
- It is easier to correct for properties that have been wrongly characterized as “unknown owner”
- Out-of-court procedures are encouraged resolution of disputes
- Accredited engineers and cadastral judges are established, while cooperation with the TEE and Bar Associations is promoted
- The Electronic Real Estate File was enacted, a constant request of all professional branches involved in real estate sales
- It is possible to return to the Municipalities, with the issuance of a Deed of Verification by the Coordinator of the Decentralized Administration, with the consent of the locally competent Real Estate Service of the Ministry of Finance, the communal and public benefit properties that they were characterized as an unknown owner and due to their finalization came to the Greek State.
By Argyris Demertzis / www.ecopress.gr
The milestone date for the registration of private real estate is December 31, 2022, as is defined as a new double deadline, for all categories of owners, who have pending matters with the Land Registry, until then to resolve them.
“All Greek citizens should be informed”
The non-imposition of a fine for late declarations in the land registration phase, with an extension until 31.12.2022, has been regulated with an amendment that was recently passed, the Deputy Minister of Digital Governance responsible for the Land Registry Giorgos Stylios told the Parliament and noted that with the new bill for the Land Registry, which was passed on Thursday 29 July 2021 in the Parliament, an extension is also provided until on 12/31/2022, so that those who have inaccurate first registrations can quickly correct them.
-“We are saying it here now to inform all Greek citizens who they have problems with the Land Registry. How many are affected by this provision? Out of a total of 40 million rights, it concerns almost 39,800,000. It does not concern only 114,000 rights where the final registration was made in 2018 under the SYRIZA government,” said Mr. Stylios.
The Deputy Minister
The Deputy Minister of Digital Governance, Mr.Giorgos Styliosexplained in a simple and illustrative way to the Parliament, how the finalization of inaccurate entries in the Land Registry is connected with the so-called “unknown owner” properties, when and how the “unknown owner” properties become public and the possibilities they have even now and until the new deadline set by the new bill until 12/31/2022, the concerned owners to save their properties. So Mr. Stylios said:
-“Let’s go now to see and understand what the properties of the “unknown” owner are. When does a parcel of land, a property become “unknown”? There was a date in the country, which has changed its duration from time to time and had become rubber.
-“Unknown”, then, is when the posting is completed, the objections have been heard, the first registration is made and after the first registration a space is given. Today is 8 years after the first registration, a period of 8 years, in which an owner can come and say “I forgot”, go to the Land Registry and make the correction there in the Land Registry. After 8 years this “unknown” will fall to the Greek State.
This date of 8 years throughout the term of land registrations and the operation of the Land Registry was at the beginning 7 years, at some point it became 8 years, from 8 it became 12, from 12 it became 13, then it turned again and em>now it’s 8 years and over. So after the first registration you have a period of 8 years to go to the Land Registry to correct it so that it does not become “unknown” and the State does not take it.
This topic about “unknowns” concerns the entire Greek territory (except for the first 35 areas in which the first registration of rights became final in 2018).
-What do we say about the “unknown”, about the one who, although he has a title, neglected to declare it and we are after the first registration and before the final one, i.e. before 8 years.
-How is it proven that he has a property?
-It has titles and these are described in the law.
So, from the moment I have these titles, to correct the error, omission or whatever has happened we make it possible – that’s what we do – with our regulation to apply to the Land Registry and ask that it be done the specific correction easier. There are three options: One option is for the State to come and say “I have nothing to do with it and move on” or for it to come and say “no it’s mine, I claim it, so I assert rights” and then we go to others ways to resolve the dispute and there is also the way of tacit acceptance “that the State does not come”.
– So, because many different things and extreme examples are heard, it sounds e.g. that someone has an apartment in Kypseli on the third floor and it says “unknown owner”. Will this “unknown owner” be able to come and correct it and declare it?
-When will the State take it from him ;
-If he leaves it and does nothing, after 8 years from the first registration.
-If he goes before the finalization of the entries in the Land Registry, this will correct him and the name of the owner will be written.
-Once the owner’s name is registered and the registration becomes final, it is his property.
-What do we do in this particular. We are giving an extension for all of Greece for all problems except the 36 regions.
-Until when?
-Until 31.12.2022.
-For all those who may not be for some 8 years – there are more – until 31.12.2022 can come and correct, those who for some reason had not made their declaration”
The 35 regions that are excluded
For the 35 regions in which the new extension does not apply the Mr. Stylio explained that: “In these areas the first registration of rights became final in 2018. So here is the issue: If Parliament comes at this time and legislates and opens this issue for these 36 areas, the following may have intervened between 2018 and now: Good faith because it was a final entry registered in the Land Registry, someone trusted what they saw and bought or registered a mortgage. How do we turn this around?”
Extensions will not continue
“Must be used this extension, let everyone hurry to take the actions they need to take because these extensions will not continue forever” said the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Land Registry Dimitris Stathakis, speaking to the relevant committee of the Parliament on the bill of the Ministry of Digital Governance for the Land Registry and noted that:
-“In the approximately 300 OTAs where the first registrations are finalized normally at the end of the year, the period already 15 years and on average that in all cases more than 10 years”, adding that:
-“I have to say that although the bill shows the necessary sensitivity to the conditions of the pandemic that have made everything difficult in our lives and in business, there is no technical reason for the finalization based on the data we see in the land register”.
What are the “unknown owner
Referring to the “unknown owner” properties, Mr. Stathakis explained that:
-“The percentage of properties with an unknown owner in these areas is small at 6%, which also corresponds to the average in the European Union. The elimination rate is very low it is close to 2%. So there isn’t the interest that one would expect if they actually saw that there was a widespread problem. Extended problem does not exist. Owner unknowns are generally of two categories: They are parcels of land and horizon properties. The parcels of land in a very large percentage, perhaps 8 out of 10, are undeclared because the parcels of land belong to the public, which will be returned to the public anyway with the procedure provided for. As for the horizontal properties listed as owner unknown they are not apartments that anyone reading the press reports might expect. It is thousands of times the compensation that has not been implemented and other such cases. Therefore there is no problem”.
For the 35 OTAs
For the old 35 OTAs whose registrations have been finalized, Stathakis in turn noted that “there is no question of opening the deadline because there is no problem. It has been three years since they were finalized and no problem has arisen. This is proof that with the finalization of the documents we will not have any problems”.
European averages
Mr. Dimitris Stathakis also said that out of 39 million estimated rights, 32 million have already been collected. “In other words, we currently have an 82% rate of collection of rights, at the country level. This, at the end of the year, with a million which I believe will certainly be collected, will be close to 85%. We will have 33 million out of 39 at the end of the year. This percentage, apart from being good in itself, also corresponds with the percentages of other countries in Europe. In England the percentage is ignored. In Spain the undeclared property is 5%-20%, depending on the region you are in. In Belgium the undeclared is below 10%. In France and Germany it is 5%,” said Mr. Stathakis to add that “for this reason it is the right time for the acceleration mechanism provided for in the bill”.
