The final regulation of the Ministry of Environment for off-plan plots

Aspasia Athinaiou
January 11, 2024

Table of Contents

Transitional solution, which seeks to pass the deadlock caused by the decisions of the Council of State in the off-plan building presented yesterday to the Council of Ministers, the Minister of Environment and Energy, Theodoros Skylakakis. The regulation concerns off-plan plots with an area of more than 4 acres, which face an unidentified public road. The owners of these properties will be able to proceed with the construction of a property until December 31, 2025.



In particular, the regulation of the Ministry of Environment concerns plots that:

1) Created between May 31, 1985 and December 31, 2003 and have a face or one of their boundaries abutting a street of at least 3.5 meters in length which:

a) appears on aerial photographs before 27 July 1977 and is at least 3,5 metres wide; and

b) it is connected to an international, national, provincial, municipal or community road which has either been opened by a decision of a State body, or is registered in the land registry under the designation ‘special area’ (EC), or has been paved by a competent authority or body for the improvement and maintenance of roads, or through which a public utility network passes.

The conditions of category 1 exclude plots of land created before 31 May 1985 and having a valid pre-approval of a building permit or a building permit or revised building permit issued until today and until the regulations on off-plan building come into force. Such building permits and pre-approvals may be revised at a later date.

In addition, land created before 31 May 1985 and subject to legal transactions with an onerous cause, entered into in the last five years and a request has been made in good time that the land is complete and buildable, are exempt.

2) The regulation of the Ministry of Environment also applies to plots of land created before 31 May 1985 and which face or abut one of their boundaries on a length of at least 3.5 metres, on a road which:

a) appears on aerial photographs before 27 July 1977 and has a width of at least 3,5 metres and which has either been opened by a decision of a State body, or is registered in the land registry with the indication ‘special area’ (EC), or has been paved by a competent authority or body for the improvement and maintenance of roads, or has a public utility network passing through it; and

b) it has a legally existing roadway, existing before 1985, at least 3,5 metres wide, connected to an international, national, provincial, municipal or community road.

The owners of such properties, who proceed with the construction of a property, when applying for pre-approval or the certificate of building conditions, shall submit all relevant evidence in the “e-Permits” information system. The reporting of this information is mandatory in the engineer’s declaration for the topographical diagram.


Environmental fee on building permits

Owners who proceed with the issuance of a building permit will be charged an environmental fee (“equivalent”), the amount of which will be determined by a Joint Ministerial Decision of the Ministries of Energy and Finance. The JHA will specify the amount of the fee, the payment procedure and the way it will be disbursed to finance actions by municipalities.

The fee will be deposited before the issuance of the building permit in the Deposit and Loan Fund, for the benefit of the Green Fund. The revenue from the fee will be used exclusively to finance actions for infrastructure and climate change adaptation projects within the boundaries of the municipalities where each plot of land is located.

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