Citizens often wonder what action they should take if they discover any kind of urban planning violation (e.g., unauthorized construction, dangerous buildings, structural hazards, etc.).

It is customary for them to submit applications to the urban planning department, attaching the relevant documents they refer to.

The complaint takes the form of a (general or specific) request to the Administration to investigate the existence of the allegations and take the appropriate (corrective/preventive/repressive) measures.

What are the benefits of filing a complaint in general?

The application-complaint:

may constitute the beginning of an administrative procedure or initiate a series of material actions by the Administration

may constitute notification of the urban planning authority regarding an issue that is considered contrary to legality

provides the possibility of resolving an issue at the administrative level, while in many cases the legal solution provided by the Town Planning Department is sufficient, in such a way that no further legal action is required at the judicial level.

What to keep in mind when writing the application

However, in order to carefully draft each application, citizens must be aware of the following:

A) what exactly is being denounced as illegal

B) where it supports this illegality

C) What is my specific request in the application/complaint?

D) How do I prove illegality? In any case, additional relevant documents are required to prove the complainant’s allegations.

Citizens should also be aware that the Town Planning Department may delay responding to their request or may not respond at all.

Usually, after a complaint is filed, the Service conducts an autopsy to verify the allegations.

Finally, it should be noted that it is prohibited for the complaint to target the alleged offender in a manner that is offensive to his or her personality (Civil Code 57, S 5, 2 par. 1, 25, etc.).

If the Town Planning Department does not respond, do I have the right to legal protection?

If the Town Planning Department does not issue a ruling or rejects the request/complaint for a variety of reasons, then the complex question arises as to whether there is any legal recourse against its inaction or rejection.

The answer is that if the Town Planning Department does not respond to or rejects the complaint, provided that this was done after a new investigation of the case, then legal protection is possible in the competent administrative court.

For more information, see https://www.pgalanislaw.gr/blog/