Opposition is the debtor’s or tenant’s defence against a Payment Order, a Lease Restitution Order, or the auction of real property. The payment order is a judicial writ ordering the debtor to pay a sum of money to the creditor, while the Lease Restitution Order is a judicial order requiring the tenant to return the leased property. The Order constitutes an enforceable title, and from the moment the writ of payment is served, recovery of the stated amount may be pursued through compulsory enforcement proceedings.
It may be sought for monetary or negotiable-instrument claims, provided the dispute is private and both the claim and the amount owed are evidenced by a public or private document, or by a decision on interim measures issued following an admission or acceptance by the debtor.
The principal defence available to the debtor against the payment order and its imminent enforcement is the opposition under Article 632 of the Code of Civil Procedure (KPolD), which must be filed promptly within 15 working days. This opposition does not, however, suspend the enforcement of the order. To be fully protected until the hearing of the opposition, the debtor must file, simultaneously with the opposition, an application for a temporary restraining order – suspension through the interim measures procedure.
A second potential line of defence, where the statutory conditions are met, is the debtor’s inclusion in the over-indebted households scheme.
Opposition against a payment order
The opposition is filed within fifteen (15) working days, or thirty (30) working days if the debtor is resident abroad, calculated from the day following service. If it is not filed within the deadline, the creditor may serve the payment order again, and the debtor then has the right to file an opposition for the first time against this second service within fifteen (15) working days. In this case, however, the debtor loses the right to suspension of enforcement pending the hearing of the opposition. Finally, if this second deadline also lapses without action, the payment order acquires the force of res judicata and may only be challenged through revision (anapsilafisi).
1) Service of the order – opposition and application for suspension of enforcement until the hearing must be filed within fifteen (15) working days.
2) If the above deadline lapses without action – fresh service of the order – opposition within fifteen (15) working days (although the previous right to suspension of enforcement is lost).
3) If the second deadline also lapses without action – the order acquires the force of res judicata – only revision is then possible.
The competent court is the one that issued the payment order, namely the Magistrate’s Court (Eirinodikeio) for debts up to EUR 20,000 and the Single-Member Court of First Instance for debts exceeding EUR 20,000.
The grounds may be either (a) legal (e.g. errors in service, omissions or errors in the content) or (b) factual, the most common being a challenge to the amount owed, though not to the existence of the debt itself.
OPPOSITION AGAINST AN AUCTION
If the efforts to set aside the auction ultimately prove unsuccessful (or the debtor neglects to file any legal remedy) and the auction is successfully completed, what recourse does the debtor have? Is there any final move in the debtor’s quiver to avoid losing ownership of the property?
In such cases, the law provides for the legal remedy of opposition against the auction. This opposition is the debtor’s last move, the ultimate attempt to save the immovable property. The deadline for filing this opposition is 60 days from the day on which the highest bidder registers the summary of the award report, issued by the notary public, with the competent land registry (or cadastral office). This summary is usually issued some weeks after the auction takes place, and a precondition for its issuance is the payment of the auction proceeds by the highest bidder. The opposition against the auction is directed against the enforcing creditor and the highest bidder, who are the parties with every reason to defend the validity of the auction. For the opposition to be admissible, it must be entered in the books of claims of the competent land registry or in the relevant cadastral sheet. This entry naturally has consequences for the marketability of the property, should the highest bidder wish to proceed with a further sale (a third party will hardly be interested in buying a property whose ownership is being judicially contested).
If the opposition is finally upheld, the auction is annulled, ownership reverts to the debtor, and the third-party highest bidder has the following 3 alternatives: (a) to proceed against the creditors (usually banks) to recover the amount they collected from the auction proceeds; (b) to initiate a fresh auction of the property in order to recover the sum paid, which the bidder will receive ahead of any other creditors; (c) to file a notice of claim in an auction initiated by another creditor and likewise be satisfied, on a preferential basis, from the auction proceeds. All 3 alternatives, however, typically presuppose judicial litigation.
Frequently asked questions on opposition against a payment order, lease restitution order and auction
What is opposition against a payment order, and which is the competent court following Law 5108/2024?
Opposition against a payment order is the legal remedy by which the debtor contests the lawfulness or merits of the issued payment order. Under Law 5108/2024, which entered into force in May 2025, jurisdiction over the hearing of oppositions has been transferred to the Court of First Instance, regardless of the amount of the claim. Accordingly, for payment orders issued for both small and large amounts, the competent court is now the Single-Member Court of First Instance of the place where the order was issued.
What is the deadline for filing the opposition, and what happens if it lapses?
Under Article 632 of the Code of Civil Procedure (KPolD), the opposition is filed within fifteen working days from service of the payment order on the debtor. If this deadline lapses without an opposition being filed, the creditor may serve the order again, triggering a fresh ten-working-day period for filing a second opposition; once that period has lapsed, the order becomes final and acquires the force of res judicata. Timely filing is critical, and consulting a lawyer immediately upon service is essential.
How is enforcement of the payment order suspended pending the hearing of the opposition?
Filing the opposition does not automatically suspend enforcement of the payment order. To obtain suspension, the opposing party must file a separate application for suspension of enforcement before the same Court of First Instance, which is heard under the interim measures procedure. The court examines the likelihood of the opposition succeeding and the existence of irreparable harm. If the application is granted, enforcement is suspended until a final judgment is issued on the opposition.
What are the particular features of opposition against a lease restitution order?
A lease restitution order is issued for the compulsory removal of the tenant from the property where the legal conditions are met, in particular delay in the payment of rent or expiry of the lease. The opposition against the restitution order is filed before the Single-Member Court of First Instance of the place where the property is situated, within the deadline laid down in Article 632 KPolD. In most cases the tenant invokes payment of the debts, the invalidity of the contract, or defects in the leased property justifying a reduction of the rent. Given the urgent nature of enforcement, an application for suspension almost always accompanies the opposition.
What does opposition against an auction involve, and what are the deadlines?
Opposition against an auction is governed by Articles 933 et seq. of the Code of Civil Procedure (KPolD) and constitutes the principal means of defence available to the debtor against compulsory enforcement. The opposition is filed within forty-five days from service of the seizure report; specifically for electronic auctions, the deadline runs until the working day preceding the auction. Grounds for opposition may include payment of the claim, invalidity of the enforceable title, procedural irregularities in the seizure, or abuse of right. Jurisdiction lies with the Court of First Instance of the place of enforcement.
What is the role of the lawyer in oppositions of this kind?
The lawyer takes on the immediate review of the enforceable title and of service, identifies the well-founded grounds of opposition, drafts and files the pleading within the strict deadlines, and concurrently submits an application for suspension of enforcement where necessary. In cases involving payment orders based on banking contracts, the General Terms and Conditions (GTC) and the level of compound interest are scrutinised. In oppositions against auctions, speed of action is critical, since after the award the possibilities of reversal are drastically curtailed. Experience in procedural law and knowledge of recent case law of Areios Pagos are essential to the success of the opposition.