51% instead of an eternal dead end: new rules for apartment buildings are being prepared in Greece

Greek reform is being prepared – apartment buildings. The authorities want simplify decisions for repairs, general expenses and modernization, but the 51% rule still remains only a discussed part of the future law.

The news that in Greek πολυκατοικίες, that is, apartment buildings, decisions will supposedly soon be made by 51% of the votes and forget about eternal unanimity, sounds almost like communal revolution. Especially for those who have at least once tried to raise money for elevator repairs, replacement of pipes or a new front door.

But this is not yet a valid law. The Greek Ministry of Justice is just preparing a large-scale reform of the rules of joint ownership in apartment buildings. The idea of ​​a 51% majority is being discussed as a possible part of a future new code, and not as an already approved norm.

Today’s system relies heavily on Law No. 3741/1929 and many later regulations, court decisions, urban planning regulations and house-specific internal regulations. As a result, managing an ordinary apartment building sometimes resembles an archaeological excavation: the necessary rule seems to exist, but first you need to understand where it is, who is interpreting it, and why the neighbor on the fifth floor is sure that no repairs are needed at all.

As reported Naftemporiki And SKAIThe Ministry of Justice is going to form a special legislative commission of 13 people. It should include university teachers, judges, representatives of the legal and notary community, the Technical Chamber of Greece, the Ελληνικό Κτηματολόγιο and POMIDA.

51% have not yet become law

The main clarification: the rule on decisions being made by a 51% majority has not yet come into force. It is being considered as an option for future regulation.

The logic is clear. For some issues related to the usual maintenance of the house, repairs, modernization and management of common areas, the authorities want to get away from the situation where one owner is able to block a decision for everyone else.

This could include repairing an elevator, replacing pipes, insulating a façade, restoring a roof, renovating common areas, installing an intercom system, creating a reserve fund or infrastructure for charging electric vehicles.

But it has not yet been determined which decisions will be able to be made by a simple majority, which will require a higher percentage of votes, and where the consent of all owners will still be required. Therefore, it is too early to say that 51% will be able to “do everything.”

Why did the old rules stop working?

A modern apartment building has long ceased to be a place where all the owners live nearby, know each other and only argue about noise after midnight.

Today, in one house there can simultaneously be permanent residents, short-term rental apartments, investors, heirs, banks, owners who live abroad, and management companies. One owner answers calls instantly, another appears once every three years, a third rents out an apartment through Airbnb, and a fourth suddenly finds out that the property debt has existed for a long time.

Under such conditions, even simple repairs turn into a problem. You need to call a meeting, find the owners, check the shares, discuss expenses, wait for agreement and hope that no one disappears at the last moment along with the keys to the basement.

What do they want to include in the reform?

Judging by the published information, the reform should cover a whole set of accumulated issues:

• simplifying decisions on the repair and maintenance of apartment buildings;
• clearer rules on κοινόχρηστα, that is, general expenses of the house;
• creation and use of a reserve fund;
• building insurance;
• energy modernization;
• installation of charging stations for electric vehicles;
• changing the internal rules of the house;
• division or combination of horizontal properties;
• acceleration of legal disputes between co-owners;
• harmonization of old rules with the modern Cadastre.

A separate task will be the codification of scattered norms. Now regulation of joint ownership exists in the form of laws of different eras, provisions of the Civil Code, urban planning rules and judicial practice. The authorities want to put this mosaic together into a single, more understandable code.

Law No. 5142/2024 has already made certain changes in the field of horizontal ownership, but it has not created a full-fledged reform of the management of apartment buildings. Explanations of Ελληνικό Κτηματολόγιο on amendments to Law 5142/2024.

Where unanimity will still remain

Even with reform, the majority will not be able to control everything without restrictions. Matters that affect the property rights of individual owners, changes in ownership interests, redistribution of rights to common parts of a building or a major restructuring of the ownership regime are likely to require a more stringent procedure.

Judicial practice has already emphasized that the majority of owners cannot arbitrarily change the rights of other co-owners or impose changes that affect their property share. Review of practice on changing horizontal ownership rules.

Therefore, the future system will most likely be built on the principle of decision sharing. Routine maintenance and upgrade issues should be resolved more quickly. But anything that changes the fundamental rights of owners will remain under tighter control.

What can this do for residents?

For residents and apartment owners, reform could mean fewer deadlocks. The house will be able to make faster decisions about repairing the elevator, replacing pumps, insulating the facade, repairing the roof, installing solar panels or charging for electric vehicles.

This is especially important for old apartment buildings, where technical problems have been accumulating for years. While the owners argue, the roof leaks, the elevator breaks down and costs rise. Then the repairs cost more, and the culprit, as always, turns out to be the one who “didn’t want to pay extra” five years ago.

But there is also a downside. The easier it is to make decisions by a majority, the higher the risk that an active group of owners will be able to push through expensive work that others do not agree with. Therefore, the future law will have to clearly define where normal management of the house ends and the right of the majority to manage other people’s money begins.

What is important to remember now

So far, no new 51% rules are in effect. All decisions are made in accordance with the current law, internal regulations of a particular apartment building and existing judicial practice.

If the reform is adopted, it could make a significant difference to the daily life of thousands of homes across Greece. But before that, there is still work to be done by the commission, preparation of the text, public discussion and parliamentary procedure.

This means that for now, apartment buildings continue to live by the old rules: the elevator is broken again, there is no reserve fund, three owners do not respond to messages, and the meeting of residents is postponed until next week. Probably for the twenty-seventh time.

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