Electronic identity of buildings

The draft presidential decree is to be issued in accordance with Law 3843/10, with the aim of fully recording the actual condition of buildings, so as to promote transparency and safety in construction and transactions.

The Council of State gave the green light for the implementation of the measure for the electronic identification of buildings, ruling (298/14) that the relevant draft Presidential Decree is lawful and in accordance with the Constitution.

The draft presidential decree is to be issued in accordance with Law 3843/10, with the aim of fully recording the actual condition of buildings, so as to promote transparency and safety in construction and transactions.

Once the corrections indicated by the Council of State have been completed, the draft presidential decree is signed by the President of the Republic and published in the Government Gazette, a ministerial decision will be issued on the date from which the electronic property registration process will come into effect, which is expected to be completed in ten years at the latest, for public and private buildings.

The electronic identity of the building will be required and updated for all types of transfers, in procedures for building permits, even for small-scale works, and will be completed at regular intervals, following periodic inspections, depending on the use of the building, so that the structures are monitored on an ongoing basis.

Objective

The new measure aims to combat bureaucracy and corruption by minimizing citizens’ contact with the relevant government agencies, thereby freeing up many employees from various tasks so that they can focus on inspections.

With the electronic identification of buildings and the electronic interconnection of all state databases, arbitrary construction will be decisively combated, while the use of any unregistered property will be prevented.

Once the relevant system is operational, the building compliance certificate will replace the engineer’s certificate and the energy performance certificate in transfer procedures, etc. The new legislative framework provides for periodic inspections of buildings to record their actual condition, while the “building identity” database will be linked to the Land Registry, the Public Power Corporation, and the Ministry of Finance.

Buildings that are covered by the legislation on the regularization of unauthorized buildings must complete their building identity within five years of the publication of the Presidential Decree in the Government Gazette.