How to Find Real Estate and Land Register Information in Greece

In Greece, the completion of any real estate transaction requires the registration of the respective title deed with the competent Land Registry or Cadastral Office, depending on which of the two is in operation in the geographical region where the land is located. Once the cadastral survey in all regions of Greece has been completed (still an ongoing project), the remaining Land Registries will no longer register property rights and will be replaced by the Hellenic Cadastre.

Where the Cadastral System has been implemented, it is already possible to obtain full information on any registered property through the website https://ktimatologio.gov.gr The platform allows interested parties to carry out a real estate survey/inspection at any time and on a 24-hour basis and is free of charge. Access to the data of the Hellenic Cadastre is provided to specific professional groups (identified through credentials by their professional/scientific associations and chambers). In particular, access to the platform is granted to:

• Lawyers
• Court Bailiffs
• Notaries 
• Engineers

In addition, any citizen or legal person has access to the entries relating to their own real estate property using their personal “Taxisnet” credentials (issued by the competent tax authority and required for accessing several Greek Government electronic services). The website is available only in Greek.

The search is based on data relating either to the property (e.g. National Cadastre Code Number (KAEK), address, etc.) or to the registered owner (VAT number, ID number, name and surname, company name, etc.).

Apart from the information that can be obtained electronically, there is also the possibility for on-the-spot surveys at the relevant Cadastral Offices through a manual search of hard copies of records.

Since, as already mentioned, the transition to the Cadastral System has not yet been fully completed, in several municipalities/towns there are still Land Registries, where a name-based registration system is maintained and only on-site surveys are possible.

All the legal information concerning a property is recorded on a single Cadastral Sheet, which contains all the information previously held in the books of the Land Registry. Each plot of land is granted a registration number (National Cadastre Code Number-KAEK) and each further separate ownership within the buildings on that plat of land (usually block apartments) are assigned a number under the plot’s registration number.

The Cadastral Sheet contains the data that identify the property (area, address/location, National Cadastral Code Number, etc.), the rights in rem and encumbrances that relate to each property (e.g. ownership details, mortgages, seizures, etc.), the details of the beneficiaries (name/company name, residence/registered office, VAT number, etc.) and the registered acts in the chronological order of their registration (notarial deeds, court decisions, lawsuits, etc.).

In addition, a single Cadastral Diagram is provided for each property that includes technical (spatial) information about the property, i.e. area, location, boundaries, shape, coordinates, etc.

The information contained in the cadastral registers and the books of the Land Registers is publicly available. Therefore, any interested person may obtain information from the Cadastral Offices and the Land Registries without being obliged to prove specific legitimate interest.

The registration with the competent Cadastral Office or Land Registry produces an irrebuttable presumption as to the owner of the property.

The Cadastral Offices issue the following certificates and diagrams upon application and payment of the relevant fees:

• Certificate of Registration of a Registrable Deed (for example, notarial ownership transfer deeds (contracts), property donations, acceptance of inheritance deeds, final court decisions acknowledging ownership rights or other rights in rem, etc.)
  Costs: 9,5 € +6,5 € (for each additional certificate)
• Cadastral Registration Certificate of Registrable Rights (this certificate mentions all cadastral registrations of rights to a particular property for all beneficiaries and co-beneficiaries).
  Costs: 9,5 € +4,5 € (for each additional category of rights)
• Certificate of the existence of cadastral registrations of a natural/legal person (this certificate quotes all rights to immovable property of a particular natural or legal person)
  Costs: 9,5 € +4,5 € (for each additional category of rights)
• Copy of a Cadastral Sheet (see question 2 above)
  Costs: 9,5 € (for each copy) +4,5 € (for each additional Sheet)
• Cadastral diagram (see question 2 above)
  Costs: 33€
• Excerpt of a cadastral diagram
  Costs: 15€

The abovementioned certificates and diagrams bear the electronic stamp of the Hellenic Cadastre and contain a unique system code to certify their authenticity through an authentication service function.

Moreover, the Cadastral Offices and Land Registries are obliged to provide certified copies of the ownership titles and other registered acts to all applicants.

The Hellenic Cadastre website has a special application for the uploading of Forest Maps, which replaced the previous printed publication of Forest Maps. In this way, all users have direct access to the content of the Forest Maps and can find out whether the area they are interested in falls under the protective provisions of the forest legislation.

There is no public register in Greece regarding zoning, contaminated sites, tourism areas or natural dangers. Therefore, any interested person will have to do their own research in respect of a particular property.

Under Greek law, any lawsuit claiming property rights must also be registered with the competent Cadastral Office or Land Registry, otherwise it will be dismissed by the court. The purpose of this provision is to establish security of transactions in relation to the property concerned.

Any interested party may request a copy of the lawsuit upon payment of the relevant fees, which the Cadastral Office or Land Registry is obliged to provide.