Real Estate: Who and How Will Be Able to Buy Out 90,000 State-Owned Real Estate Properties

Finance and Digital Ministries Open the Door for Thousands of People to Obtain Legal Rights on state property, by paying an amount that can be “cut” to 20% of the objective value of the property.

The process of buying out 90,000 properties will be “launched” on September 30, 2024, with applications being submitted through the new platform by individuals in 20 regional units of the country, and from October 31, 2024, applications will be accepted for properties throughout the country.

Submission of applications, as well as all related procedures, communication between applicants and the relevant authorities will be carried out exclusively through the new digital platform, which will be open for applications until the end of October 2025.

The redemption price is paid either in one lump sum or in 60 equal monthly payments, the minimum amount of which is 100 euros.

“Keys”. Shortly before the process of buying out the captured land begins, interested parties should know the following:

1. Platform: Applications are submitted on the new digital platform at https://aeda.apps.gov.gr. The digital application can be accessed using TaxisNet codes. It is also possible to submit an application for purchase by an authorized person, who must enter their VAT number in the system and attach an authorization declaration from the gov.gr website or a signature authenticity certificate.

2. Deadlines. The acceptance of applications for the purchase of real estate begins:

• 30 September 2024 for the regional units of Aitoloakarnania, Arcadia, Evros, Euboea, Evros, Heraklion, Ioannina, Karditsa, Corfu, Larissa, Lasithi, Lesvos, Magnesia, Xanthias, Pieria, Rethymno, Samos, Trikala, Phthiotis, Chania, Chios. The application deadline for these regions is 30 September 2025.
• October 31, 2024 for all other regional units with an application deadline of October 31, 2025.

3. Conditions: The main requirement for applying for a buyout is the applicant's continuous ownership or franchising of state property:

• at least 30 years with the right of ownership,
• for at least 40 years without ownership, provided that the applicant uses the property as his or her main residence or as an auxiliary part of his or her main residence, or for the purpose of carrying out tourist, handicraft, industrial, commercial, industrial or agricultural activities,
• declaration of ownership on Form 'E9' for at least 5 years preceding the application to make it clear that the applicants consider the property to be theirs.

Besides:

• An application can also be submitted for real estate that does not have a building.
• A 10-day period has been established for informing the applicant in the event of missing documents. The requirement to provide aerial photographs no longer applies, since the presence or absence of a building is no longer considered.
• The possibility for public authorities to decide on exclusion from the right of acquisition on grounds of public interest is expanded. The competent ministries will determine the territories or objects that will be excluded from the acquisition procedure, stating the reasons.
• The deadline for submitting consent to the State Property Company has been accelerated to 2 months from the originally envisaged 3 months.

After the application is submitted and if it is approved by the relevant commission, an approval certificate is issued within 5 days, which is communicated to the applicant.

4. Fee. To apply on the new platform, interested beneficiaries will have to pay a fee of 300 euros, which will be credited towards the purchase price or refunded if the application is rejected.

5. Acceptance certificate. After the application has been submitted and if it is approved by the relevant committee, an acceptance certificate will be issued within 5 days, of which the applicant will be notified. The acceptance certificate will indicate the description of the property being acquired (area and boundaries), applicant details, purchase price and the amount of the one-time and installment payment.

6. Supporting documents. Aerial photographs are not required as the question of whether or not the property is owned is no longer considered, but the following are required:

• Topographical scheme
• Sheet for determining the objective value of a plot or field
• Confirmation of the building condition
• Building permit, if available.
• Extract from the cadastral plan.
• Determination Act ENFIA over the last 5 years

7. Price and installments. The purchase price will be calculated based on the objective value of the property and social criteria (for vulnerable groups, large families, disabled people). It is paid either in one lump sum with a 10% discount or in installments of up to 60 interest-free monthly payments with a minimum amount of 100 euros per month.

8. Discounts for the price are as follows:

• If you own it for at least 30 or 40 years, the discount is 1% per year. For example, if you own it for 90 years, the discount is 50%.
• If the applicant is a person with a disability of 80% or more, or if he is a person who receives guests for more than a year or is a taxable person in the above capacity, with an annual individual income of up to 40,000 euros, or an annual family income of up to 60,000 euros, or the discount is set at 30%.
• For a disability of 67%-79%, a 20% discount is provided.
• For families with many children, the discount is 20% if their annual individual income is up to 40,000 euros or the annual family income is up to 80,000 euros.
• For families with three children whose annual individual income does not exceed 25,000 euros or whose annual family income does not exceed 40,000 euros, the discount is 15%, for single-parent families – 15%, for the long-term unemployed – 15%, and for recipients of the minimum guaranteed income – 20%.
• For a building owned by the applicant and which is the applicant's primary and only place of residence, the discount is 20%.

In addition, the redemption price in special cases where the ownership of state property is disputed, subject to discount:

• 50% for an applicant who was recognized by the court of first instance as the owner of the property or was indicated as the owner in the first cadastral records, and a claim was filed by the state or the period for filing a claim has not expired.
• 70% if the applicant filed an appeal against the court decision recognizing ownership of real estate before 31.12.2022.
• A special provision exists for real estate that meets the housing needs of the applicant or the original licensor as a result of the mass resettlement of population groups before 1964. In this case, the price corresponds to 20% of the objective value of the real estate.

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