During the last 40 years the parliament in Greece has voted on too many laws for the protection of forests.

The current legislation in effect is Law 998/1979 and it has been amended with Law 4280/2014.

The Law provides the concept of what a forest or wooded area is and the criminal and administrative sanctions.
Given the lack of definitive forest map, the classification of a forest area is so far taking place at the request of the person concerned or ex officio by enactment of the forest officer or the forest agency.

When a forest area is destroyed by any manner of intervention, it is automatically declared as reforestation area, without any notification as published in the Government Newspaper and is therefore considered as a forest area.
As a result, if a post intervention forest area is hereafter declared as a re-fostered area, and then someone intervenes in it in any way (eg olive vaccination) the penalties, criminal or administrative are excessive to a point of crippling. (50.000 euros per acre ).

This designation act of the administration has the meaning determining the nature of the land and not the ownership. (This will be determined by the National Cadaster)

In May 2016 the Law 4389/2016 was introduced for the forest maps designation. It is expected (announced in the press) by 31-12-2016 that our prefect will be the first.

The designation will take place online in a dedicated website for that purpose, and objection deadline will be 60 days for residents of Greece and 80 days for foreign residents from the designation date.
If the deadline expires, all properties that haven't submitted objections, forest maps will be final and will produce an irrefutable presumption in favor of the State.

Every citizen therefore, that owns property outside the city plan, it is advisable to verify with the local Forest Agency in Volos, where the forest maps are located, with his/her documents, namely, a subordinated topographic coordinates and deeds in order to verify that his property is included or part of it in forest maps.

The designation acts, for those who already have them at their disposal, are mandatory taken into account by the new forest map (the problem will be with the old acts concerning designation), but even that will be established.

Attention

The objection process is in essence, the procedure of filing an administrative appeal, of legal nature, and should be done in the above exclusive deadline, in order thereafter to have the right, whoever is not vindicated according to the above process, to recourse to the administrative courts to prove the non-forest area or not.
The objections are submitted:

1. Electronically in a specified formula at the above mentioned website, where a protocol number will be issued.
2. A file must be sent in hard copy containing a memorandum pleading the grounds of objection and equitable interest along with supporting documents, topographic coordinates, the Protocol and the public fee for the forest agency.
3. You have the right to appoint a technical advisor in support the memorandum.

The objections are examined by special three-member committee, and hearings dates are announced at which there may be present, other than the applicant lawyer, the technical consultant so as to verbally analyze the issue at hand. The Committee shall conduct autopsies when appropriate.

After hearing is completed, the results are announced in 4-6 months also online and then the applicant's deadline starts for appealing to the administrative courts. (Appeal to the Council of State)

Our Law firm is already ready along with its associates engineers, surveyors and forester experts, to undertake this work in locating your property on the forest maps, drafting new topographic coordinates, if necessary, and the appeals-objections ad hoc .

Since the issue is time sensitive, it would be wise to contact our office with an email in order to have sufficient time to prepare the all document in time.

Dear friends,

With legislation that was introduced in 2011, every property transaction requires a certificate, from a Greek engineer that has a special permit, in order to certify that the property doesn’t have any unauthorized (illegal) constructions. If there are any such constructions the property is rendered in essence useless.

The fine for the engineers that will certify any falsehoods is 50.000 euros and loss of their permit.

As an illegal construction is considered anything that is built after 1955 without a permit or anything that has been built in excess of the permit.

Even a water tank, a pergola, a bench or a warehouse is considered an illegal construction.

The state since 2011 up until now with postponements (until Oct. 2016), offers the opportunity to be exempt of demolishing such constructions and the continuous substantial fines that follow, with the payment of a government fee. The submittal of such petition takes place with electronic means only, by a civil engineer who is going to attain the special permit. In the end the interested party receives a file of permit, including a GPS layout with full static charts, diagrams and top views of every construction, legal or not.

It would be wise to tend this issue soon. An associate of our firm is available to inform you on any potential issues considering your property and therefore not to miss the favorable acts that the legislation provides. If the deadline expires, in case of any discrepancies your property will be problematic and no transactions will be allowed in the future and of course there is always the risk of having to demolish the illegal constructions and to be fined on top. At that point, you may issue a normal permit if that is allowed which would solve the problem (but it would cost at least 3-4 times more). However that is rarely allowed and the only way to legalize such constructions is through this process, unless the latter are in area considered a forest or a beach.