In Greece, the completion of any real estate transaction requires the registration of the respective title deed with the competent Land Registry or Cadastral Office, depending on which of the two is in operation in the geographical region where the land is located. Once the cadastral survey in all regions of Greece has been completed (still an ongoing project), the remaining Land Registries will no longer register property rights and will be replaced by the Hellenic Cadastre.
Where the Cadastral System has been implemented, it is already possible to obtain full information on any registered property through the website https://ktimatologio.gov.gr The platform allows interested parties to carry out a real estate survey/inspection at any time and on a 24-hour basis and is free of charge. Access to the data of the Hellenic Cadastre is provided to specific professional groups (identified through credentials by their professional/scientific associations and chambers). In particular, access to the platform is granted to:
- Lawyers
- Court Bailiffs
- Notaries
- Engineers
In addition, any citizen or legal person has access to the entries relating to their own real estate property using their personal “Taxisnet” credentials (issued by the competent tax authority and required for accessing several Greek Government electronic services). The website is available only in Greek.
The search is based on data relating either to the property (e.g. National Cadastre Code Number (KAEK), address, etc.) or to the registered owner (VAT number, ID number, name and surname, company name, etc.).
Apart from the information that can be obtained electronically, there is also the possibility for on-the-spot surveys at the relevant Cadastral Offices through a manual search of hard copies of records.
Since, as already mentioned, the transition to the Cadastral System has not yet been fully completed, in several municipalities/towns there are still Land Registries, where a name-based registration system is maintained and only on-site surveys are possible.