Until October 2 the extension for the arbitrary

The Ministry of Environment has decided to grant an eight-month extension to the regulation on illegal buildings. According to reports, the extension will not be accompanied by other changes to the legislation on illegal buildings, as had initially been suggested. Any changes are likely to be included in a new legislative proposal on illegal construction, which will be presented in the summer.

There are only a few days left until the deadline for the last installment of Law 4178/13 on unauthorized buildings (February 8). Although the Ministry of Environment initially wanted the first extension of the law to be accompanied by some changes (e.g., lower fines for vulnerable social groups and a gradual increase in fines until the new deadline), this was ultimately not feasible, as it would have required legislative action and therefore more time. Furthermore, given that some of the adjustments (such as the reduction of fines) would have fiscal implications, the consent of the Ministry of Finance and, by extension, the troika had to be secured. Thus, in the end, the solution of a “simple” extension of the regulation was chosen, which can be done by ministerial decision. According to reports, the new date (October 2) has been agreed upon by Deputy Minister of Environment G. Tsironis and Minister P. Skourletis, and is awaiting the latter’s signature in the coming days to take effect.

In the spring, sources at the Ministry of Environment claimed that efforts would be made to legislate some of the aforementioned changes to the legalization process and the amount of fines for unauthorized construction in the spring. However, if this is not possible, the ministry will include them in a broader regulation on unauthorized construction, which it has been working on for months and is expected to submit to Parliament in the summer.
According to the latest statistics, published last September, in the last two regulations on illegal construction (Laws 4014/11 and 4178/13), 902,961 illegal buildings were included, of which 293,358 had completed the legalization process.

GIORGOS LIALIOS