The process of declaring unauthorized buildings located within residential areas and forest areas will begin in the coming days and will definitely be completed by September 30. In a simple manner and via an electronic platform, which will operate on the land registry website, interested parties will voluntarily submit the required supporting documents and pay a fee of €250. In this way, their properties will be placed under a special protection regime, which has been established by the recent urban planning and spatial planning law of the Ministry of Environment and Energy (Article 55 of Law 4685/2020) and is essentially valid indefinitely, in combination, as appropriate, on a case-by-case basis and until the final and definitive conclusion of the ratification of the Forest Maps and the completion of the Forest Register and the Land Registry.

However, the conditions set by the law for the regularization of unauthorized forest structures are significant, and it is estimated that thousands of unauthorized structures, located mainly in the heart of the forest or within streams and coastal areas, will not ultimately be able to be included in the regulation, with the result that they will be deemed demolishable. For this reason, they should consult an engineer to examine the property’s details (location, age, proximity to a stream, etc.) and determine whether the conditions are met and the building can be regularized.

What supporting documents are required?
a) Documents proving legal interest (contract, inheritance rights, etc.).

b) A solemn declaration by the owner, in which the interested party declares that the information submitted is true.

c) A signed engineer’s statement certifying the description of the residence and accompanying structures, if any, as well as the required details, i.e., coverage, built area, and height, and that the conditions for exclusion under the provisions of Law 4685/2020 do not apply.

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d) Where applicable, the application for correction of an obvious error in the forest map, objection, request for annulment, or any other administrative or legal remedy, whereby the applicant disputes that his property is of a forest or grassland nature, if applicable.

e) Proof of payment of the €250 electronic fee.

f) Photocopy of police ID/passport.

What are the requirements for regularizing a residence within a forest area?
The building must be used as a residence, and annexes are also permitted.
The residence must have been built by July 27, 2011.
The residence and other structures (tanks, annexes, etc.) must not be located in Natura 2000 network areas, in wetlands protected under the Ramsar Convention, or in other protected areas.
If the property faces a road, the building and other structures must not be located within a zone measuring fifty percent (50%) of those specified by the legislation on measures for the safety of interurban transport expropriation of international, national, provincial, or municipal or community roads. Exceptions are made for unauthorized buildings for which a building permit has been legally granted, at a shorter distance than that specified in this case, as well as unauthorized dwellings used as tourist accommodation by the Greek National Tourism Organization and located in contact with the boundaries of municipal or community roads, at a distance less than that specified herein but in any case outside the expropriation limits and provided that they were in operation and had been granted an operating license by the EOT before July 28, 2011.
Not located on public property.
They must be outside the foreshore and old foreshore. The regularization of residences and other unauthorized structures located within the old foreshore is permitted, provided that they have legal rights in rem that predate the relevant demarcation of the old foreshore.
It must not be located within a beach zone. Exceptions are cases where expropriation has not taken place and where unauthorized constructions or uses predate the relevant demarcation of the zone.
Not built on a stream, critical coastal zone, or protected area, if all construction work was prohibited at the time the unauthorized construction was carried out.
In the case of demarcated streams or where there is a temporary boundary line, it is prohibited to enter the area enclosed by the stream boundaries. In the case of unauthorized construction located between the boundary line and the building line, a surcharge coefficient is applied.
In the case of unmarked streams or lack of temporary boundaries, the following are considered temporary boundaries exclusively for the application of this provision on a case-by-case basis:
in small streams with a catchment area of less than or equal to one (1) square kilometer (sq. km), when located outside the boundaries of settlements or town plans, or less than or equal to half (0.50) sq. km, when located within the boundaries of settlements or town plans, the boundaries coincide with the bank lines,
in medium-sized streams with a catchment area of less than or equal to ten (10) square kilometers, when located outside the boundaries of settlements or town plans, or less than or equal to five (5) square kilometers, when located within the boundaries of settlements or town plans, a line twenty (20) meters on either side of the deep line of the stream,
in large streams with a catchment area greater than ten (10) square kilometers, when located outside the boundaries of settlements or town plans, or greater than five (5) square kilometers, when located within the boundaries of settlements or town plans, a line fifty (50) meters on either side of the deep line of the stream.
Not be located in an archaeological site in Zone A, with the exception of unauthorized constructions built before the archaeological zone was declared, provided that construction was not prohibited at the time.
It must not be located in an archaeological site outside Zone A, unless construction work was not prohibited at the time of the unauthorized construction or installation of the unauthorized use.
It must not be located in a historic site, historic preserved settlement, or area of outstanding natural beauty, unless construction work was prohibited at the time the unauthorized construction was carried out. It must not be in a listed building or a building that is a monument.
The building must not be classified as dangerously dilapidated.
The building must not exceed the height of the ridge line.
The building must be located within a distance of less than or equal to twenty-five (25) meters in the case of a high-voltage transmission line.
The building must not be located in areas subject to air traffic protection restrictions, unless accompanied by relevant approval from the Civil Aviation Authority.
Homes and other buildings shouldn’t be in areas that have to be reforested because of fires, except for ones built before the reforestation was announced.
Buildings or accompanying structures that hinder the escape of citizens or the access of fire trucks in the event of a fire or other natural hazard are not repaired.
How will the application be made on the Land Registry’s electronic platform?
The application shall include the following information:

a) The details of the applicant.

b) The address of permanent residence or stay abroad.

c) The type of right invoked.

d) The protocol number of the application for correction of an obvious error in the forest map, objections, the application for annulment, or any other administrative or legal remedy by which the applicant disputes that his property is of a forest nature or falls within a grassland area, if any.

e) Description of the residence to which the application relates and the accompanying structures, in terms of coverage, built area, and height.

f) The geographical coordinates (in EGSA 87) of the vertices of the boundaries of the parcel.

g) The geographical coordinates (in ETRS87) of the vertices of the perimeter of the dwelling and any ancillary structures accompanying it.

What is the procedure for submitting an electronic application?
The application is submitted electronically via the online platform maintained by the public entity “Hellenic Cadastre.” Access to the platform is granted using taxis codes.
A special online form must be completed in order to submit the application.
The geospatial location of the land parcel is identified.
If the posted forest map concerns an area covered by the land registry, it will be possible, by registering the KAEK (Unique Identification Code) of the land parcel, a “special extract” can be issued that will include the land parcel, according to the data in the cadastral diagram, which will be used to locate the land parcel and determine its boundary coordinates.
The geospatial location of the perimeter of the residence and any accompanying structures within the land parcel is determined.
To complete the application, an electronic fee of two hundred and fifty (250) euros must be paid.
After the application is submitted, a protocol number is assigned.