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Real Estate Law — Lawyer

A real estate lawyer represents one of the leading areas of specialisation of our firm, which is supported by specialist engineering associates. The purchase, sale, and exploitation of real property, together with all the legal procedures that accompany them, constitute one of the most significant areas of economic activity, which, due to its exceptional weight, necessarily requires the involvement and guidance of an experienced real estate lawyer. The real estate lawyer collaborates with notaries public and tax advisors: DEEDS OF TRANSFER – URBAN PLANNING MATTERS – EXPROPRIATION – RESTRICTIONS ON OWNERSHIP – NATIONAL LAND REGISTRY (Κτηματολόγιο).

The matters with which the real estate lawyer deals form a core part of our practice and include, among others, the following:

  • Title checks (of deeds) to identify encumbrances.
  • Drafting of deeds of sale and purchase, preliminary sale agreements, donations, parental gifts, and acceptance of inheritance, in cooperation with experienced notaries public, in order to ensure that our clients’ interests are fully protected.
  • Construction contracts and works contracts and disputes that may arise from them.
  • Drafting of residential lease agreements, commercial leases for shops, offices, building installations, and agricultural plots for the establishment of photovoltaic parks.
  • Lease disputes — actions for unpaid rent — eviction proceedings.
  • Issues of “neighbour law” or issues arising from horizontal property (condominium). (Apartment Building Law).
  • Encroachments.
  • Recovery actions (rei vindicatio).
  • Declaratory actions.
  • Actions for dispossession from possession.
  • Acquisitive prescription.
  • Partition of real property.
  • Exchange of real property.
  • Action for damages due to defects (factual or legal) of real property or lack of agreed qualities.
  • Urban planning matters: resolution of disputes arising between private parties and the State/administration, in cases of inclusion of properties in the town plan, drafting of acts of settlement and adjudication and other related administrative acts, and matters of urban planning violations.
  • Expropriation of real property: matters concerning the declaration of expropriation and the award of compensation.
  • Forest properties.
  • –Archaeological sites.
  • Encumbrance of real property (for the creation of public-utility areas and other restrictions on the right of ownership, by acts of the administration).

USEFUL ADVICE FROM A REAL ESTATE LAWYER

In a first meeting, we examine the documents that constitute the title deeds to the property of interest (deeds of purchase, donation, parental gift, or inheritance), we are informed about the nature and extent of our client’s right over the property (full ownership, usufruct, bare ownership), and we identify the issue and its specific features. We set the desired objective and, in consultation with the client, we choose the most expedient solution depending on the client’s individual needs and aims, after informing them of the estimated cost and the estimated timeframe for achieving the expected result.

SALES — DONATIONS AND OTHER TRANSFERS OF REAL PROPERTY IN GENERAL — LAND REGISTRY OFFICE — NATIONAL LAND REGISTRY

In the context of a purchase, the safest course is to have your interests represented by a lawyer of your choice. The property may conceal factual or legal defects, of which you must be informed. Indeed, the legal defects of a property (encumbrances, prenotations of mortgage, mortgages, attachments, claims) may be found going back many years. For this reason, a title check is essential, the conduct of which we undertake at the Land Registry Office and the National Land Registry. Subsequently, we carry out all the necessary administrative procedures required for the acquisition of a property, supporting you at every stage of the process. In the event of any legal defects, such as registrations of prenotations of mortgage, we follow the necessary judicial procedure for their removal, where there is no longer any reason for their registration. Our firm also collaborates with a notary public and an engineer, in order to provide a comprehensive approach to the matter of property transfer.

LEASES — RELATIONS BETWEEN TENANT AND LANDLORD

Leasehold relationships often present issues to be resolved between tenant and landlord, such as:

  • Drafting of specific lease agreements for both residential and commercial purposes, as well as amendments thereto on the basis of subsequent agreement or in view of rent adjustment.
  • Extra-judicial termination of the lease relationship — termination — extra-judicial declarations for the exercise of rights arising from the lease relationship.
  • Eviction proceedings against a tenant by lawsuit or payment order, and recovery of use of the leased premises.
  • Judicial recovery of unpaid rent and shared expenses, and of expenses for public-utility organisations, as well as recovery of damages for unlawful use of the leased premises in the absence of a contractual relationship.
  • Judicial recovery for damage to the leased premises.
  • Deficiencies / defects in the leased premises / lack of agreed qualities.

INHERITANCE DISPUTES

Although it does not fall strictly within the field of real estate, because succession requires compliance with the legal formalities for real property, our firm successfully handles:

  • Petitio hereditatis actions in cases of infringement of inheritance rights.
  • Actions for recognition of the forced share — challenge of an inofficious donation.
  • Publication and proclamation of a will as the principal will.
  • Acceptance and renunciation of inheritance.
  • Issuance of certificates of inheritance — issuance of certificates.

RECOVERY ACTIONS — DECLARATORY ACTIONS OF OWNERSHIP — CORRECTION / REGISTRATION IN THE NATIONAL LAND REGISTRY

Owing to the gradual transition from the Land Registry Office to the National Land Registry, it is a fact that thousands of inaccurate entries have been identified. Our aim is to safeguard the rights of the owner of the property:

  • Correction actions and objections against inaccurate entries by the National Land Registry, with a known or unknown owner (Greek State) — discrepancies in property surface area.
  • Recovery actions in cases — most characteristically — of complete dispossession from ownership.
  • Actions for recognition of ordinary or extraordinary acquisitive prescription.
  • Legal protection against the classification of land as forest.
  • Registration of registrable acts at the competent Cadastral Mapping Office and Cadastral Office — issuance of certificates from the competent offices.

 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT REAL ESTATE — LAWYER

1. What should I check before paying a deposit on a property?

The title check is the first and most critical step. The lawyer searches the competent Land Registry Office or Cadastral Office and examines the title deeds going back at least 20 years, in order to identify any encumbrances, mortgages, prenotations of mortgage, attachments, claims, or discrepancies in the surface area. At the same time, the urban planning legality of the property, the building’s electronic identity, any unauthorised constructions, and the correct depiction in the National Land Registry are checked. All this is done before the signing of the preliminary agreement and the payment of the deposit, in order to avoid losses that may prove disproportionately greater than the cost of preventive due diligence.

2. How do I protect my money from fraud?

Securing the purchase price is achieved through multiple tools. A preliminary agreement is drawn up that records in detail the terms of the sale, with rescission clauses and clauses for the return of the deposit in case encumbrances or legal defects appear. It is customary for the price to be paid in stages, with part of it being delivered only after the removal of existing mortgages or prenotations. In the case of a sale of a mortgaged property, the amount is paid directly to the bank for repayment of the loan. The lawyer oversees the flow of payments, so that the seller does not receive the full amount before the transfer of a clean title to the buyer is secured.

3. How do I evict a tenant who is not paying?

The fastest route is the order for delivery of use of the leased premises, which is issued by the Single-Member Court of First Instance and requires a written lease agreement and proof of rent arrears. It is preceded by a notice to the tenant at least fifteen days before the filing of the application. The order is served and, after the expiry of the deadline for opposition, is enforced by a bailiff. In parallel, by the same procedure, a payment order is issued for the rent and shared expenses owed. The whole procedure is considerably faster than the classic eviction lawsuit and is the most effective course for a landlord facing a non-compliant tenant.

4. How long does a property transfer take?

In normal cases, between the start of the title check and the signing of the final deed and its registration in the National Land Registry, usually one to three months elapse. The time depends on the speed of gathering the required supporting documents, such as ENFIA certificates, tax clearance, social-security clearance, topographical diagram, building’s electronic identity, and engineer’s certification of legality. In the case of an inherited property or a property with pending issues (unauthorised constructions to be settled, inaccurate cadastral entries, mortgage encumbrances), the time is significantly extended, since the prior settlement of these pending matters is required.

5. What do I do if there is an erroneous entry in the National Land Registry?

Inaccurate first entries are corrected through specific legal tools. When the error concerns details such as name, surface area, or share, an application for correction of a manifest error is submitted to the Cadastral Office. When the property appears with an “unknown owner” or has been registered to another person, an action for the correction of inaccurate first entries is brought before the Single-Member Court of First Instance of the location of the property. The deadlines for bringing these actions are strict, and their expiry leads to the finalisation of the erroneous entry, with the result that the right is lost. Timely review of the entries and prompt initiation of proceedings is recommended.

6. What is the role of the real estate lawyer?

The real estate lawyer is not limited to representation at the signing of the deed. They undertake the preventive title check, negotiate the terms of the contract, draft preliminary agreements and private agreements, cooperate with a notary public and an engineer for full legal and technical due diligence, and handle any judicial disputes that arise (recovery actions, declaratory actions, acquisitive prescription, partition, damages for defects, evictions, corrections of cadastral entries). Their involvement from the first stage drastically reduces the risk of unpleasant surprises and ensures that the client acquires a clean title, free of hidden encumbrances or pending legal matters that would emerge later.


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