It depends on whether the parking spaces are enclosed within the pilotis (ground-floor parking level) of the apartment building or open. Numerous problems arise in the context of the everyday coexistence of co-owners within the apartment building — a space of friction, as evidenced by the multitude of court rulings from courts of the merits and from the Areios Pagos (AP). These problems have arisen mainly because of the mandatory provision of parking spaces within the apartment building.
Today, the provision for parking spaces is mandatory in every new building, depending on its use (offices, apartments, residences, etc.). In Athens, for example, in horizontal property (condominium), one parking space is mandatory in every new building. The acquisition of a private parking space has become the cause of intense disputes before the courts. Below we shall examine the rules governing private parking spaces in the pilotis, in the basement, and in the uncovered areas of apartment buildings — areas where the system of co-ownership applies and where rights and obligations exist for all co-owners.
1. IN THE PILOTIS:
What is a pilotis?
The pilotis of a building is the ground-floor area that is not surrounded by walls and contains only the building’s columns.
The pilotis is a commonly owned and commonly used area shared by all the co-owners of the apartment building.
Open parking spaces in the pilotis
Privately owned parking is expressly prohibited in the pilotis. The co-owners of the apartments in an apartment building may designate specific open spaces for parking in the pilotis, which will belong to their exclusive use (not ownership). Parking spaces of this kind are not recorded on Form E9.
Case-law has consistently held that the open sections of the pilotis and the open parking spaces in the pilotis of the building cannot constitute the subject of separate divided ownership.
Case-law has therefore held that these areas may be granted to the co-owners for the exclusive use of one parking space for their car by decision of the co-owners (one space for each co-owner).
Only the apartments and shops of the apartment building are entitled to such parking spaces — not storage units, particularly those under 40 sq.m.
By a deed establishing horizontal property (condominium) or by a separate notarial deed, it may be determined who shall lawfully park in the pilotis and to whom the parking spaces shall belong. If neither is done, then the law applies — that is, all co-owners shall have a right to park anywhere, without designated spaces.
In other words: the area of the pilotis of an apartment building is exploitable for parking only by the apartment owners (and only by agreement among them), and it is prohibited to be used by third parties.
May an area in the pilotis of an apartment building, without ideal shares (chiliosta), be leased or sold to third parties to be used as parking?
It is prohibited to lease or sell the area in the pilotis of an apartment building to persons who are not owners within the apartment building. The practice of leasing or selling the spaces of the pilotis was “abolished” by judgment 255/5-1-2018 of the Athens Multi-Member Court of First Instance. That judgment consolidates and reflects the case-law currently in force.
The penalties are strict where a non-resident of the apartment building has acquired a parking space by notarial deed and leaves their car in the area of the pilotis. In such a case, the offender faces a monetary penalty of €1,000 and personal detention of one month.
If a person had purchased a parking space without ideal shares (chiliosta) in an apartment building without simultaneously holding ownership of a horizontal property (e.g. an apartment), they should investigate whether such a purchase is today valid pursuant to judgment 255/2018 of the Athens Multi-Member Court of First Instance, and whether the notarial deeds will be annulled by the courts in the event of an action by one of the co-owners of the apartment building.
To preserve their right to use the parking space for their car, they would have to purchase an apartment in the same apartment building!
May an owner have a parking space with ideal shares (chiliosta) in the pilotis?
Notarial deeds for the exclusive use of parking spaces with ideal shares in the parking area of an apartment building cannot be valid in respect of persons who hold ownership of a horizontal property (e.g. an apartment) in the same apartment building. This concerns owners who had carried out such transactions before 1981 (today, older apartment buildings); thereafter, transactions of this type were prohibited by law. There is a legal problem for them, because today open parking spaces in commonly used areas cannot have the character of separate ownership with ideal shares. That is, a parking space in the pilotis cannot be and constitute an autonomous asset. Such a parking space is recorded on Form E9 as an accessory.
In what case may parking spaces on the ground-floor pilotis constitute the subject of indivisible ownership?
When they are enclosed (that is, closed off on every side, from every direction). If the parking space in the pilotis has been enclosed, this constitutes an unauthorised construction and must be recorded on Form E9 as an auxiliary space (factual situation).
Parking spaces adjacent to the pilotis with a garage door?
The purchase of a parking space on the ground floor is valid where it is enclosed by a garage door (or otherwise) and is located adjacent to the pilotis. Such a space has ideal shares (chiliosta), that is, it constitutes a separate lawful property. It is recorded on Form E9.
2. IN THE BASEMENT:
May parking spaces in the basement constitute the subject of indivisible ownership?
Simply roofed parking spaces — for example, marked-out spaces in the basement of an apartment building — whether open or closed, may constitute autonomous horizontal properties. The provisions of Article 1 para. 5 sub-paras (a) and (b) of Law 960/1979, as replaced by Article 1 of Law 1221/1981, provide that, in respect of parking spaces located in roofed areas of a building that has been subjected to the system of divided ownership, each parking space may constitute divided ownership, the autonomous transfer or leasing of which is permitted, including to third parties unconnected with the building.
3. IN THE UNCOVERED AREA: may parking spaces be accommodated there?
The uncovered area is intended primarily for planting. In many apartment buildings, however, the uncovered area is used for parking cars in non-planted sections. Such use is permitted only for non-roofed parking spaces, that is, for open-air parking spaces. Such areas used as parking are not recorded on Form E9.
4. FORM E9 — UNAUTHORISED CONSTRUCTIONS IN COMMONLY USED AREAS
Where there is an enclosed garage in commonly used areas of an apartment building with exclusive use granted to a particular property within the apartment building, and the exclusive use of the commonly used area arises from the deed of purchase of that property, the garage is recorded on Form E9 as an accessory.
5. WHICH BUILDINGS ARE NOT REQUIRED TO HAVE PARKING SPACES?
The following are exempt from the obligation to provide parking spaces:
(a) Buildings constructed before 1979.
(b) Traditional buildings undergoing restoration, provided that the restoration returns the building to its original form.
(c) Buildings erected in settlements, or parts thereof, designated as traditional and for which special building and protection terms and restrictions have been established.
(d) Buildings deemed wholly or partly demolishable due to earthquakes, provided that they are reconstructed with the same surface area and for the same use.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON APARTMENT BUILDING PILOTIS AND PARKING SPACES
1. I purchased a parking space in a pilotis by notarial deed. Is it valid?
As a rule, no — where it concerns an open space in the pilotis without a garage door or enclosed area. Case-law, most notably judgment 255/2018 of the Athens Multi-Member Court of First Instance, has consistently held that open parking spaces in the pilotis cannot constitute autonomous divided ownership with ideal shares (chiliosta) and therefore cannot be transferred as autonomous real property.
If the buyer is not at the same time the owner of a horizontal property in the same apartment building (an apartment or shop), the notarial deed risks being annulled following a lawsuit brought by a co-owner. An examination of the title by a lawyer prior to purchase is essential.
2. What do I risk if I park in a pilotis without being a resident?
Where a third party who is not the owner of a horizontal property parks in the pilotis, the co-owners are entitled to file a lawsuit for unlawful use of a commonly used area and to apply for interim measures. Case-law imposes a monetary penalty of up to €1,000 and personal detention of up to one month for each breach of the court ruling prohibiting the parking.
A similar outcome applies where a person has formally acquired the space by notarial deed without owning an apartment in the same building, since their title is in essence annullable.
3. How do I protect the exclusive use of a parking space in my pilotis?
The exclusive use of an open parking space in the pilotis is secured only through the deed establishing horizontal property (condominium) or through a subsequent notarial deed of amendment, signed by all co-owners and allocating specific spaces to the owners of the apartments and shops.
Without express allocation, the rule of free use by all co-owners applies, with no priority. A lawyer specialising in real property law reviews the building regulation, drafts the amending deed and registers it with the competent national land registry (Kthimatologio), so that the arrangement also binds future buyers.
4. Is it lawful to enclose the pilotis with a garage door?
The subsequent enclosure or installation of a garage door in an open pilotis generally constitutes an unauthorised construction, since it converts a commonly used area into an enclosed auxiliary space and alters the structural and architectural design of the building. It must be declared on Form E9 as an auxiliary space and is subject to fines under Law 4495/2017 or to the regularisation provisions for unauthorised constructions.
Conversely, where the building permit originally provides for an enclosed space adjacent to the pilotis with a garage door, this constitutes an autonomous property with ideal shares (chiliosta) and is lawfully transferable.
5. How long does the judicial resolution of a parking-space dispute take?
A lawsuit for the protection of commonly owned property or for annulment of a notarial deed is filed before the Single-Member or Multi-Member Court of First Instance, depending on the subject matter, and the hearing may take from several months up to two years until a first-instance judgment is issued. In urgent cases, an application for interim measures is filed in parallel and is heard within a short time-frame.
Before resorting to litigation, the law imposes a mandatory attempt at mediation for real estate disputes above a specified threshold, which may resolve the dispute more quickly and at lower cost.
6. What role does a real estate lawyer play in a parking-space case?
The lawyer reviews the building permit, the deed establishing horizontal property, the apartment building regulation and the titles registered with the national land registry, in order to determine whether a space is autonomous with ideal shares (chiliosta), an accessory of an apartment, or merely subject to exclusive use. They provide a legal opinion prior to purchase, preventing the acquisition of an invalid title.
In existing disputes, the lawyer drafts an extra-judicial notice, files a lawsuit or an application for interim measures, represents the client before the Court of First Instance, and handles any amendments to the deed establishing horizontal property with the participation of all co-owners.