The Presidential Decree on settlement boundaries is renewed. What changes

All countries are trying to find ways to encourage their residents to move outside urban centers, as part of their efforts to address the enormous housing problem.

In Greece, we do the opposite: we eliminate the reasons people might have for leaving urban centers to live and/or invest in the provinces, which we, in turn, devalue.

Not us, the ordinary citizens, but those in power.

There is no more telling example than the Presidential Decree issued by the Ministry of Environment and Energy, which was published in the Government Gazette on Holy Tuesday and reclassifies a large number ofbuildable plots in the region into agricultural parcels.

These are mainly mountainous and beachfront settlements that rely on small-scale ownership, which, having been fully buildable—from 1983 until now—have become partially buildable. In other words, the only permitted use is planting, causing property values to plummet.

To briefly explain an issue that will concern thousands of people from now on, Owners of plots of land smaller than 2 stremmata, in settlements with a population of fewer than 2,000 residents based on boundaries that do not correspond to those established in 1923, can no longer build on them.

The government maintains that it is not leaving settlements “in limbo,” but is resolving issues that have been pending for decades.

Civil engineers strongly disagree.

THE PREFECT'S JURISDICTION IS BEING ELIMINATED

Settlements with fewer than 2,000 residents had been demarcated (the contiguous section) as early as 1923. Another section was demarcated by 1983, with the Tritsis Law in March of that year «an enlightened person and, of course, an expert in the field» he says in NEWS 24/7 G.A., an engineer whom we asked to explain in simple Greek what is going on.

Under the Tritsis Law, Prefects could “raise” the population threshold for settlements to 2,000 residents by their own decision. In other words, they defined the cases in 99%.

This was something that took place from 1983 until Holy Tuesday of 2025.

In the meantime, on three occasions (2005, 2017, and 2019) the Council of State issued rulings in which it deemed the demarcation and expansion of settlement boundaries carried out in the 1990s to be illegal and unconstitutional, by decision of the then prefect «or minister».

The most recent (from six years ago) Decision No. 1268/2019 concerned the Pelion. This was preceded by the Rethymno.

Consequently, the expansion of settlements that took place after 1983 was characterized decades later by the Council of State as lying outside the settlement boundaries and, therefore, as non-compliant and not zoned for construction, once the Local Urban Planning, which has not yet taken place.

The deadline we have from the Checkout Recovery which funds the completion of the Local Urban Plans, expires on end of 2025.

Following the Council of State’s 2019 ruling, nearly 11,000 settlements that had “expanded” by decision of a prefect or minister, or that had a population of fewer than 2,000 residents, were unable to build on their plots of land.

Engineers claim that since then Urban Planning Departments should refuse to issue building permitsin areas that were not within the boundaries of the settlements—based, as always, on the 1923 boundaries.

Everyone was waiting for the relevant Presidential Decree, setting out the criteria for demarcating unmarked settlements… which was delayed by two years. Incidentally, it manages to meet the deadline for the completion of the Local Urban Plans just in the nick of time.

«I’m not saying it was right or wrong, but the prefect’s decisions have been in effect from 1983 to the present, and it was on the basis of those decisions that settlements expanded throughout the region.» G.A. says, «“In other words, there were building density ratios, and properties were being developed and bought and sold. Now nothing can be done, and it will take time to ”clean up» what has already been done.".

As you will read below, in Greece, such issues generally take time (decades) to resolve.

What are the rules for those who have built outside the designated boundaries and for those who have a building permit?

Those affected by the Presidential Decree are those who own land in more than 10,000 settlements established before 1923 or with fewer than 2,000 residents that belonged to the Zone C: Settlements, cases that, under the new Presidential Decree, fall outside the limits—and thus become non-compliant and unbuildable.

The new presidential decree makes no mention of Zone C. The previous draft included the areas of the settlement beyond Zone B1 —a section established between 1923 and 1983—with the settlement’s defined boundary having been established—as you have already read and have likely internalized “by decision of the prefect or minister”.

This zone, therefore, was “removed” in the Council of State’s decision, even though many of the areas designated by prefects have been developed. There will be no consequences regarding this situation.

For those who have not built on their property and have been paying ENFIA taxes, their properties are reclassified as agricultural land and undeveloped lots: thousands of properties lose their building rights. No building permit will be issued, and even if someone who has secured a permit begins construction, they may face a complaint and be held liable.

H Grammati Baklatsi, a land surveyor and civil engineer, wrote in the Magnesia Post Office which is heavily affected (Pelion alone has 80 settlements)—how «Under the new decree, only those areas with documented construction up to 1983 are recognized as settlement boundaries.".

«The boundaries are shrinking, and many areas that were developed later are now losing their building rights. Many plots of land—especially those smaller than 2 stremmata or that do not front a public road—are becoming non-buildable.».

The Presidential Decree establishes three zones (within the plan, outside the plan, and outside the boundaries) and drastically restricts permitted uses in small settlements: residential use, basic social and health facilities, small-scale commercial activities, tourist accommodations with up to 100 beds, and agricultural facilities are permitted.

»However, for settlements that existed prior to 1923 and traditional settlements, such as those on Mount Pelion, a separate provision is in place until urban plans are finalized.".

The government’s claim that «nothing has changed in the building regulations for settlements»

The Ministry of Environment He continues to insist to this day that the goal of the new Presidential Decree is to ensure “legal certainty,” and that is why the boundaries were defined by a Presidential Decree, since «The President of the Republic enjoys the highest constitutional protection».

In fact, the Efthymios Bakogiannis, Secretary General for Spatial Planning and the Urban Environment, insisted today during his appearance on the show «Connections» in ERTNews how «To ensure legal certainty in urban planning, we submitted a presidential decree setting forth specifications for the demarcation of settlements under the Local Urban Plans.".

These specifications are not immediately applicable. In other words, we didn’t just wake up one day to find that the regulations governing construction in residential areas had changed. The Presidential Decree provides the ministry and the consultants it has selected with the procedures, methodology, and scientific criteria that the consultants will use when visiting each settlement to record the actual data.».

He argued that the insecurity that has arisen in thousands of settlements «has arisen due to the delineation of prefectures»—which, as we have repeatedly stated, has been in effect since 1983—and he emphasized that «nothing has changed, however, from yesterday to today in the building regulations for the country’s settlements, except for the settlements of Rethymno and Pelion, whose boundaries were annulled by the Council of State in 2019 and where building permits are no longer being issued.”.

»For all other settlements, this Presidential Decree has no bearing on the building regulations currently in effect.".

The engineer we consulted had a different opinion.

«The provisions of the Presidential Decree regarding building regulations make it impossible to take any action related to moving to or investing in these settlements.". Although the 2019 decision by the Council of State had been issued, the Presidential Decree was still pending. The political decision could have been different. In any case, it is not It takes 1–2 months to complete.

What is certain is that those who were interested in buying one stremma in a settlement can no longer do anything about it. Any buyer who still wishes to proceed must obtain an approved topographic survey from the Urban Planning Department, which will specify the building regulations.

In addition to G.A., the following person also expressed a contrary opinion: Manos Kranidis, civil engineer and Communications Secretary of the Panhellenic Federation of Property Owners (POMIDA), on the show «Society: MEGA Time.».

He began by commenting that «in Greece, urban planning is, unfortunately, a mess. We’ve seen this with developments outside the plan, and now we have these settlements as well,» before adding that «I've read the bill two or three times. Even we engineers are trying to figure out what the law actually says. The biggest problem is legal uncertainty.".

If someone asks me, “I have a plot of land, 2 stremmata, in an area that isn’t included in the zoning plan—what should I do?” I can’t answer, since the decision states that the permit may remain valid until the local urban planning plan is issued, plus 100 other cases.».

He explained how the changes in urban planning «It will take 30 years. Notably, I would say that there are areas not covered by the plan even within Athens itself. How can we move forward with this uncertainty? The ministry announced that it will designate new zones, but the mere fact that these announcements were made has created enormous uncertainty.».

THE MINISTRY OF THE ENVIRONMENT IS CONSIDERING REGULATIONS

Following the chaos that ensued and despite Mr. Bakogiannis’s assertion that “nothing will change,” reports indicate that the Ministry of the Environment has announced that it is considering legislation, generally regarding the Presidential Decree and specifically concerning Zone C.

It all began with his presence Minister of Environment and Energy, Stavros Papastavrou on the show News Room on ERTNews, where he began by saying that «The boundaries of the settlements had been established since 1985 by the prefect. In 2005, 2017, and 2019, the Council of State ruled that this demarcation was incorrect, as the prefect lacked jurisdiction and the criteria were not methodologically sound.”.

As a result, it annulled the demarcation of settlements in Crete and Pelion and, in doing so, potentially jeopardized the demarcation of all these settlements.

Therefore, the Presidential Decree drafted by my predecessor, Theodoros Skylakakis, not only does it not leave the settlements “in limbo,” but it does exactly the opposite—it resolves an issue that has been pending for decades.».

Regarding the “delisting” of Zone C, Mr. Papastavrou stated that «The State, based on scientific criteria and respecting the assessment of the Council of State, is considering legislation through which it will seek to incorporate properties that have a geographical, actual, or residential connection to the settlement.».

That is, The ministry is considering the creation of new zones that are not included in the Presidential Decree—apparently because the information and data that should have been taken into account were not initially considered.

This applies to lots ranging from 2 to 4 stremmata (properties below this threshold appear to lose the possibility of construction permanently), with the ministry promoting the designation of residential zones within Land Use Control Areas (see introduction to land uses), provided they “face” a recognized public road.

THE COUNTEREXAMPLE OF THE UNPLANNED AND THE EXPERT'S PROPOSAL

In seeking solutions for those who are seeing the value of their property decline, Manos Kranidis said that «The ministry must intervene immediately, not in 10 years—as was the case with the off-plan decision issued by the Council of State, which we’ve been dragging out indefinitely—and right now, off-plan lots aren’t being issued permits, because they lack access to a legally designated public road.”.

»You can't say you're waiting for the Local Urban Planning Plans to be finalized. When? In 2028. That's not going to happen.".

The expert’s practical advice was, first of all, for those concerned to be patient, as things are expected to change and «Never buy land unless you have first obtained a building permit—an online process handled by the Urban Planning Department.

»It is first registered in the previous owner's name and then transferred.", which was also recommended by the person who spoke to NEWS 24/7.

Therefore, there is no need—yet—to despair, but rather to be patient until we see what will ultimately happen.