Before you decide to embark on a renovation project in Greece you need to check out a couple of things quite carefully. The main concern is that there are certain restraints on property renovations depending on whether your property is within town limits or not.

Laws regarding building outside village or town limits are changing all the time and vary from place to place - there is no one standard ruling. Some areas in Greece stipulate that the plot size must be over 4,000 square metres but then if they come within the planning zone or they have frontage on to a road you may be able to get permission to build on a plot of 2,000 sq. metres or less. Plots within towns or villages may have a density of up to 70 per cent. The general ruling is that inside the defined village limits, you can build up to a maximum of 400 sq. metres on a plot of 500 sq. metres.

In Crete, for instance, you need a minimum of 4000 sq. metres outside towns or villages to build a house of up to 2000 sq. metres. There are exceptions, for instance if the plot is within 500 metres of the town or village centre. You must also have 45 metres frontage on to a road, and in general have to build 15 metres from the boundaries so you need to make sure that your renovations don’t exceed this. Again, you may be able to obtain an exemption whereby this is reduced to 7.5 metres; however some extra restrictions then apply.

All this to say that you need to make very sure of your facts before signing on the dotted line. You do not want to be landed with a property and find yourself unable to make the necessary changes. It is important to have the following information to hand:

-  Where the plot is located in terms of towns or villages, also beaches, forests and archaeological sites.

-  The exact size of the plot. Do not under any circumstances take the vendor’s word on this; you need to ensure that you have a signed topographic survey.

- The date of the creation of the specific plot of land, in other words the date that your piece of land existed as an independent property.

- You need to make sure that the size of the plot has the legal potential to take a larger sized property if you are thinking of enlarging. The architect will also be able to tell you whether or not you must have a building permit to carry out the work you want to do.

To obtain renovation or extension permission for an older house on a freehold plot outside the boundaries of the nearest town or village on Skopelos and Glossa for instance, with land less than 4,000 sq. metres, you will need legal evidence that the house was built prior to 1923. To obtain permission to renovate a house within a town or village you need legal evidence that the house was built before 1956.

These are the kind of restrictions that will decide exactly what can be built on the property you buy and may well dictate your renovation plans. Please bear in mind that the person to consult in these matters is a competent architect or a civil engineer, called a “mechanikos politikos” in Greece, rather than your lawyer.

Also note that Greece is in a seismic area and that all renovations need to comply with certain stringent regulations. This also has a bearing on whether or not you can insure the property. 

If you employ legal workers you not only have to pay them but their IKA (Idrima Kinonikon Asfaliseon) national insurance security too. Even if you do the work yourself, you must still pay IKA the amount they would have received had other workers done the job. If you do not declare the works you have done and you need to sell the property, you will face problems and have to pay retrospectively. Also while work is being carried out on the property you risk high fines if an IKA representative does a spot check and you have no IKA papers relating to the property.

This is just a brief outline – please make sure that you check the regulations in the area you are thinking of buying in before you buy that tumbledown ruin. It may well turn out to be your dream home but you don’t want to find out too late that you are not legally able to do with it what you wish.

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