The Greek legal system acknowledges, as rights in real estate, namely rights in immovable property, the ownership, the right of leasehold (“right in surface”), as well as easements, the most important of which is usufruct, and encumbrances, namely mortgage.

The fundamental principles of the rights in real estate are the principle of the numerus clausus and the principle of formality of property rights, which serve as a binding clause to the autonomy of private will and limit the number and the content of the rights in immovable porperty to these that are acknowledged by Greek law. Furthermore, these acknowledged rights give entitlement only to the notion that the law states, i.e. their content is defined bindingly and exclusively in law.

Which are the rights accruing from ownership?

The most important factor in the content of the right of ownership is the direct, absolute and universal authority over the immovable property. This authority may only be restricted in case that another property right is imposed, either by will or mandatorily, due to the effect of a specific legal act (court judgment or order of similar effect) or specific legislation, on ownership on this specific piece of immovable property.

What is a property lease?

A property lease contract constitutes an agreement between the landlord and the tenant under which the landlord undertakes to grant the use of property (leasehold) to the tenant and to keep the property in suitable condition for its agreed use and, the tenant to pay the rent in full during the contracted period ( currency) of the property lease.

Property lease is governed by the provisions of the Civil Code while specific arrangements are provided for the commercial lease contracts and, the property lease by the State for the accommodation of public administration services.

How the property lease contract is drawn up?

The property lease contract is an informal document. It may also be oral or to be silently compiled since the law does not require the document compliance. A written contract is imposed on leases where one of the parties is a legal public entity. In leases with an agreed duration more than nine years, in order any new landlord to be committed to the tenant bounded by the lease, may be concluded with a notarized document, which is entered in the property public registry.

What is the primary condition with which one must begin to build his own house?

First of all one must check the title deeds.

This is work done through the collaboration of a lawyer and an engineer.

The lawyer checks the legality of the acquisition titles through the cadastre and land registry agencies, while the engineer checks whether the critical size of the plot is larger than the allowable area in which the plot belongs.

And usually when referring to these critical sizes these are the area of the surface to be built, the frontage and in some cases the depth.

It is a very important task, because it requires meticulous research at the relevant departments.

Background

As the Greek economy is going through a major restructure, the sentiment among global investors about the prospects for business growth in Greece is more positive than ever. Already, Chinese COSCO has made a significant investment in Piraeus Port, the biggest port in Greece. Friedmann Pacific Asset Management Limited and Shenzhen Airport Co., Ltd. have expressed their interests in the privatization of Athens International Airport “Eleftherios Venizelos” S.A. The recent investment project of “The Ellinikon Development Project” that attracted capital of major international investment funds, including “FOSUN Group”, is also a characteristic example. Jermyn Street Real Estate Fund IV LP has also been selected as the preferred bidder for sale of Astir Palace Vouliagmeni SA., a major privatization project.

As Greece comes out of recession, the real estate market has a very promising future. The significant fall in real estate values as well as other incentives (like residence permits) granted to foreign investors are only some of the advantages that real estate investing in Greece has to offer and Real Estate Investment Companies (REICs) could be the vehicle through which large scale investment in real estate could take place.

The basic legal framework governing real rights in immovable property

The right to property, as a fundamental right, is under the protection of the State, as provided in the Greek Constitution, Article 17, whereas it is stipulated that property rights cannot be exercised against the public interest.

Within this context, the Constitution imposes a restriction or deprivation of property (expropriation) for the sake of public interest, always under the prerequisite of a prior compensation of the owner.

Furthermore, the most significant source of property law lies in the third book of the Civil Code (articles 947-1345). Other provisions and property law rules exist in other books of the Civil Code (herein C.C.) and the Code of Civil Procedure (herein C.C.P)., as well as in various special laws.