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PROPERTY LAW
Types of ownership
• Real property rights are the ownership (article of Civil Code
999), the servitudes (articles of Civil Code 1118) and the
mortgage (article of Civil Code 1257). Furthermore, the
following distinctions are also met:
Freehold
• The full ownership may be absolute (100% ownership of the
property) or a joint ownership (ownership belonging to two or
more persons).
Leasehold
• A rem right given to an individual or a legal entity to construct
a building on a state owned land that does not belong to him
but has the usufruct rights over a predetermined period. (Law
3986/2011).
Division of real property
• Properties in Greece may be divided into the following ways:
–– Horizontal property – appropriate when there is
ownership of a separate part of the building. It includes
obligatory joint ownership of the common areas of the
premises (mainly applicable to apartment buildings).
–– Simple-vertical property – a type of divided property
applicable when the different ownerships/properties on
separate buildings are constructed on a single land plot.
–– Complex vertical property – applicable when the buildings
that exist on one single plot are also divided horizontally
in flors, apartments etc.
Rights affecting ownership
Rights in rem affecting ownership
• The bare ownership, which is a limited real right as the bare
owner lacks the advantages of usufruct, which means he
cannot use or exploit his property.
• The usufruct is a personal servitude and constitutes part of
full ownership. The usufructuary may use and derive benefit
from the property that belongs to the bare owner.
• The right of habitation, which is a personal servitude and
consists of the right of residence in the property belong to
another party, until the time of death of the beneficiary.
• The easements consist of a limited real right that belongs to
the current owner of the property, in order that the latter is
served at the expense of another property.
• The mortgage is a limited real right that provides the
beneficiary with the power to claim his preferential
satisfaction from the value of the property that is burdened by
mortgage.
ACQUISITION PROCESS:
KEY STAGES
• The procedure of a property acquisition follows the
international practices. The general position in Greece is
that any individual or legal entity can purchase property,
with very limited restriction to properties lying close to the
borders. According to legislation, the acquisition of real rights
in regions of Greek territory designated as boarder areas
is permitted only to individuals and legal entities that are
Greek or have their citizenship or place of business within the
member states of EU or the European Free Trade Association,
under the prerequisite of prior authorisation of the
Greek State.
Marketing
• The marketing of a property is usually carried out either
by the seller directly or by a property agent. The property
agent’s fee is not specified by law but is subject to a private
agreement.
Negotiation
• Negotiations commence once an interested party has been
identified. Until a formal contact is agreed and signed neither
party is legally bound. A serious buyer may require an
exclusivity period within which to try to agree terms with
the seller.
Due-Diligence
• Upon signing heads of terms a legal and technical due
diligence is undertaken.
• Legal: the title search takes place at the Land Registry
Office and/or at the Cadastre office at the property’s region
and includes the right of the vendor and his predecessors
in title (for a time period of at least 20 years), and any
encumbrances (such as mortgages, foreclosure, court claims,
etc) against those persons.
• Technical: on the technical side of the due diligence the
submission to the notary public on the date of the contract
of a ‘certificate of legality’ and an ‘energy certificate’ signed
by a licenced engineer are mandatory. Main issues that need
to be researched, besides the technical specifications of the
building are the check of issues such as: forestry, archaeology,
city planning, environmental restrictions, cost and beach
protection etc. For this, an in-depth technical due diligence is
recommended.
Sale contract
• The sale contract will be negotiated by the parties’ lawyers
and will contain all the terms agreed between the seller
and the buyer including any special conditions. Both parties
are legally bound to complete the transaction once the
sale contact has been exchanged and a deposit of between
5%-10% of the purchase price is paid. If the buyer fails to
complete the purchase then the seller may retain the deposit.
Transfer
• The inclusion in public records, kept by public officials, of
acts of any change of real property ownership rights, ensures
the compliance with the publicity of the property relations,
as well as the protection of transactions. Non recordation of
the contract has as a result the non transfer of the property’s
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Investors Guide to Europe 2015