Greece Introduces Major Reform in Urban Planning & Real Estate: What It Means for Property Transactions
Greece is moving ahead with one of the most significant reforms in decades in the fields of construction, urban planning, and real-estate administration. A new draft bill places all Urban Planning Offices under the Hellenic Cadastre, which will be transformed into the National Organization for Cadastre and Construction Control (EOKED) — a single digital hub for the full lifecycle of a property.
A Unified Digital One-Stop Shop
EOKED will centralize and digitize key processes, including ownership verification, building permits, and construction inspections. For the first time, AI will be used to conduct risk-based preliminary checks on building permits, increasing transparency and ensuring compliance.
Why This Matters for Real Estate Transactions
The reform is expected to streamline and de-risk property transfers:
• Faster due diligence: By integrating cadastral and building data into one system, due diligence becomes quicker and more accurate. Lawyers, notaries, and buyers will access verified information on titles, boundaries and building permits without delays from understaffed local offices.
• Greater legal certainty: The new digital ecosystem reduces the risk of hidden violations or discrepancies discovered during a sale. Uniform rules nationwide improve predictability for everyone involved in real-estate transactions.
• Stronger Investor Confidence: Clear, centralized procedures make the Greek market more attractive to both domestic and foreign investors, supporting faster deal-making and smoother development processes.
• Enhanced transparency: EOKED will implement AI-assisted checks to detect high-risk building permits. This increases regulatory compliance and helps ensure that properties entering the market are legally sound.
How EOKED Will Operate
• 20 Regional and 77 Local Construction Centers
• Unified digital platform for permits, inspections, and property data
• Registry of Independent Building Inspectors
• Remote submission and monitoring of all applications
Implementation Timeline
• Q1 2026: Legislation adopted
• June 2026: Pilot phase
• Early 2027: Full nationwide operation
This reform is a decisive step toward a more transparent, efficient, and investment-friendly real-estate environment. By centralizing services and digitizing procedures, Greece aims to significantly improve the speed, security and reliability of property transfers—benefiting professionals and investors alike.
