Ministry of Natural Resources: introduction date "tax" for fire protection of real estate extended

The joint decision of the Ministers for the Environment and Energy, the Climate Crisis, Civil Defense and the Home Affairs extends the deadline for the implementation of the “Regulations for the protection of fire protection for properties in or near forested areas”, which means that the government intends to burden home owners with additional costs that, in essence, , are the new “tax”.

This is a new tax because the government is asking 2 million property owners to spend a lot of money to supposedly make their homes fire-proof. That is property owners will do what that the government must have been doing for years at their own expense, for which these homeowners already pay taxes, including the ENFIA property tax. Namely:

1. For existing buildings, the hazard assessment form and technical report with supporting data must be submitted by the authorized administrator by May 10, 2024. The property owner must submit a report on the implementation of fire safety measures by June 10, 2024.
2. For LPA settlements, you must fill out a hazard assessment form and a technical report on the creation of a fire zone and its gradation along the perimeter of the settlement boundaries by May 26, 2024.

By decision of the Minister of Environment and Energy, Theo Skilakakis, 30 million euros have been allocated from the Green Fund of the Ministry of Environment and Energy for the creation of perimeter zones. In connection with the state's commitment to fire protection of settlements located within or in contact with the forest ecosystems of our country, the Ministry of Environment and Energy, in cooperation with the Green Fund, is immediately implementing an additional funding program of 30 million euros.

This program provides for the immediate preparation of the required technical reports and their immediate implementation on a priority basis with the aim of creating 10-meter perimeter zones, and concerns settlements and residential complexes located in tall forests in areas of particularly high risk of forest fires.

During the fire season of 2024, only preventive fire protection measures are applied to facilities with existing buildings, namely:

• Ensuring access to the facility free from flammable materials,
• Regular cleaning of the territory, including pruning and clearing trees and bushes of dead wood, thinning woody vegetation that is not resistant to fire, pruning branches adjacent to the external structural elements of the building or located at a short distance from them, cleaning the soil (needles), and mowing the grass.
• Regular inspection and maintenance of the irrigation system, cleaning roofs and gutters of flammable materials.
• Transporting any materials that may be loosely stored on site, such as trash, firewood, fuel cans, paint, etc., to a closed area or fireproof cabinet.
• The preparation by the property owner(s) of a pre-evacuation plan, i.e., a checklist of actions to improve preparedness in the event of a fire, listing the necessary actions to be taken before evacuating the building and how to evacuate occupants from the property to a safe location.
• Design of protection zones along the perimeter of populated areas, i.e. three levels of gradient protection around the building, where there is a consistent decrease in combustible materials as one approaches the building.

Due to new questions received by the relevant ministries regarding the application of the regulation, a clarification circular will be issued in the coming days.

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