Electronic Building Identity: The role & necessity of the engineer

On April 1, 2022, the electronic building ID came into effect, which will essentially serve as a registry for all buildings in the country. The electronic “filing” of real estate was established in 2011, but after many delays, it is back in the spotlight with its activation by the government.

The electronic building identity is a very important process and the role of the engineer in compiling the file is also particularly important, as the state has transferred to the owner and the engineer the responsibility of collecting plans and documents relating to the building file, which should have been provided in digital form many years ago by the town planning department.

In many cases, because building permit files have been lost from urban planning archives, the engineer must reconstruct the file, then upload the plans and documents electronically, and finally draw up the certificate of completeness of the building’s identity.

In this way, the cost is passed on to the ordinary citizen and the responsibility to the engineer.

This results in an additional fee being added to property owners, which causes dissatisfaction and, to some extent, negates the significant benefit created by the building’s identity.

However, the full activation of the electronic building identity, the electronic issuance of building permits through the e-adeies system, and the operation of the Land Registry will ensure transparency and create conditions of equality and justice for citizens and investors.

What should the engineer collect? The engineer should create an organized electronic file for the property, which will include all the information (documents & plans) for each building, such as:

The form with the Land Registry’s KAEK (or declaration protocol number if the land registry has not been completed),
the building permit for the building, with its revisions,
the plans accompanying the building permit,
declarations of compliance with laws suspending the imposition of penalties for arbitrary acts, where applicable, and the corresponding plans,
the energy performance certificate of the building or parts thereof,
the construction control certificate, if issued,
floor plans, which show the building in its actual condition when these do not exist,
the structural vulnerability report and the structural adequacy study, if required,
the accessibility study for persons with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility, if required,
the millimeter table and the building cost allocation study, if available,
the Certificate of Completeness for Electronic Building Identity.
Where does the engineer submit the supporting documents?
The submission of the information and the application for the issuance of a building certificate is carried out by the competent engineer on behalf of his client. A unique special code is required to complete the information electronically, which is issued by the authorized engineer who is also the administrator of the information system on a special electronic platform of the Technical Chamber of Greece.

The electronic identity of the building is updated after any intervention or modification work on the building, horizontal or vertical divided property for which a building permit or approval of small-scale works by a public authority is required.

What are the steps for registering the details of the electronic identity of a building/divided property? The process of registering electronic building identity or electronic independent divided property identity details is carried out in two basic steps:
A) Registration of Land/Plot: Identification of the plot or land with reference to the buildings and the horizontal or vertical ownership structure on it, if any. Specifically:

a. Each plot or field corresponds to one Plot/Field registration. In the case of vertical ownership, a separate registration may be made for each section of the plot or field that constitutes vertical ownership. If horizontal ownership has been established on vertical ownership, a separate Plot/Field entry is mandatory for each vertical ownership.

b. An authorized engineer logs into the Electronic Building Identity Registry information system and searches for the plot/land registration for the specific property based on criteria such as property address and KAEK (Unique Property Identification Code). If there is no registration for the plot or land, they enter a new registration into the information system.

c. After entering the above information and confirming that it is correct, the authorized engineer completes the submission.

B) Registration of Properties: Description and documentation of plots of land, fields, buildings, or parts thereof that constitute independent properties. Specifically:

a. If the entire plot or field covered by the previous Plot/Field registration constitutes a single indivisible property, one property is registered, regardless of the existence and number of buildings on it. If there is horizontal or vertical ownership on the plot or field, the registration is made per independent divided property. A separate registration is made for all common areas of the plot or field. The registration of the common areas of the plot or field is not required for the completion of the property registration.

b. An authorized engineer enters the Land/Plot registration field and checks whether there is a record for the specific property. If it has not been registered, he fills out an electronic property form.

What does the electronic ownership form include?
The electronic ownership form includes the following information:

a) Description of the property, as referred to in the horizontal or vertical property recommendation, if applicable.

b) Selection of property type (undivided ownership, vertically or horizontally divided ownership, or common areas).

c) Millimeters of ownership on the plot and details of the horizontal or vertical ownership structure (serial number, date, notary).

d) KAEK (Certificate of Horizontal or Vertical Ownership) of the divided horizontal or vertical property, if applicable.

e) Technical description of the property.

f) Details of the person responsible for registering identity details, such as full name, father’s name, tax identification number, and contact details.

g) Building permits, building licenses with their revisions and updates, approvals for small-scale construction works, declarations of compliance with laws suspending the imposition of penalties for unauthorized construction, acts of exemption from demolition, and other acts of construction work relating to the property.

h) Table showing the floor areas per floor, as calculated from the above calculations, documenting the current status of the property, regardless of whether or not the areas are included in the building coefficient.

i) Table showing the uses per floor with a description of each building on the property.

j) Static control form (Technical report, Structural adequacy study, DeDota)

(k) Energy performance certificate (EPC) data for the building or parts thereof, if required.

(l) Justification for submitting the Building/Joint Ownership Identity, in accordance with the provisions in force.

What is a building/divided property identity extract?
After entering the details and the required supporting documents, the authorized engineer completes the submission and issues the Building/Divided Property Identity Extract, which includes the details of the Land/Plot and Property registrations and bears a unique Building Identity Code. Divided Property Identity Extract, which includes the details of the Plot/Land and Property registrations and bears a unique Building/Divided Property Identity code and authenticity key. The process is repeated for each independent property on the plot or land.

How is a Building Identity/Joint Ownership Certificate issued? Following the Building/Divided Ownership Identity Extract, an authorized engineer requests the issuance of a Building/Divided Ownership Identity Completeness Certificate. They enter the date of the on-site inspection of the property and, after confirming the accuracy of the information, issue the Certificate of Building/Divided Ownership Identity Completeness Divided Property, which bears a unique Certificate of Completeness number and receives an authenticity key.

What does the Certificate of Completeness of Identity of Building/Divided Ownership include?
The Certificate of Completeness of Identity of Building/Divided Ownership:

It includes the details of the Building Identity Extract/Split Ownership and the engineer’s certificate of legality of the building.
Issued by the authorized engineer, without the possibility of co-signing.
It is valid for two (2) months from the date of issue, which is the same as the date of the inspection. It is attached to legal documents, replacing the engineer’s certificate, and is submitted to a public authority for the issuance of an administrative act, where required by applicable law.
Within its period of validity, and provided that the date of the inspection is not changed, the Certificate of Building Identity/Divided Ownership may be reissued for use in further notarial or administrative acts.
After the expiry of the Building Identity/Divided Ownership Completeness Certificate, the Building Identity/Divided Ownership Extract must be updated and a new Completeness Certificate must be registered.
When is the Building/
The Building/Split Ownership Identity must be updated, following the issuance of a permit for construction work on the property that changes its urban planning and building dimensions, within four (4) months of the expiry of the permit, provided that the works have been carried out, or within four (4) months of the completion of the works. The supervising engineer is responsible for providing the information and, if the administrative act does not require the appointment of a supervisor, the project owner, through an authorized engineer.
Building/Split Ownership Identity Update is performed for the issuance of a new Building/Split Ownership Identity Completeness Certificate Split Ownership Certificate due to an update of the inspection date or a change of authorized engineer or property owner, as well as to correct obvious errors.
In the event of the creation or modification of independent properties, the registrations of plots/land and properties that no longer correspond to properties as described in the new creation are archived. The owner of the property is responsible for archiving and registering the new properties through an authorized engineer within a period of four (4) months.