Receive site visit by the engineer
Agency: Engineer
An inspection by an engineer is required for the new topographic site plan to be drafted.
Time and cost: 1 day, included in Procedure 2
Obtain a topographic site plan and a certificate for the absence of non-licensed construction by the engineer
Agency: Enginee
After the inspection in Procedure 1, it is necessary to issue a recent topographic diagram depicting the boundaries of the property (new site plan) sealed and signed by the engineer. The plan shall be submitted to the notary public a few days before the conclusion of the sale contract.
According to Art. 40 of Law 4409/2016, from July 16, 2018, the engineer must submit the topographic diagram electronically to the database of respective national cadastre.
According to Law N. 4495/2017, a certificate from an engineer is required stating that there are no illegal constructions and change of ancillary uses to the principal use of the property. If there has been a change, the certificate must state that such illegal constructions and uses have been duly settled before the transfer of the real property.
This certificate of the engineer is valid for two months following the date of its signing and shall be annexed to the agreement. Furthermore, a declaration of the seller is needed, stating that there are no illegal constructions or planning offences in the property being sold.
Time and cost: 7 days, EUR 400
Lawyer conducts a title and encumbrances search at the Land Registry and drafts the initial sale and purchase agreement
Agency: Land Registry (“Ypothikofilakeion”)
A lawyer conducts a search of the ownership titles, encumbrances and claims at the Land Registry. Only lawyers are entitled to perform a search at the Land Registry. Once the lawyer obtains all the necessary information, the lawyer drafts the initial sale and purchase agreement.
According to the new Lawyer’s Code, the lawyer’s fee is freely agreed with the clients. In the absence of such an agreement, the new Lawyer’s Code provides a new schedule of fees which is included as Annex II of the new Code.
According to Law 4512/2018, the National Cadastre and Mapping Agency S.A. was abolished and deleted from the General Commercial Register (GEMI). A new Public Entity, Hellenic Cadastre, was established under the supervision of the Minister of Environment and Energy. The Hellenic Cadastre shall act as a full legal successor of the National Cadastre and Mapping Agency S.A. and shall be substituted automatically in all the competencies, rights, obligations and other legal relationships of the earlier entity. Law4512/2018 provides for the gradual abolition of land registers and cadastral offices within 24 months from the date of its publication in the Government Gazette. Within said period the Board of Directors of the new entity shall issue implementing decisions, which shall be published in the Government Gazette, following a recommendation of the General Director. The date on which the operation of the Land Registry Offices and Land Registers will cease and the operation of the Cadastral Offices and their branches of the new entity shall begin, will be published in the form of a relevant announcement of the Agency on its website. Therefore for the next 2 years, the operation of Land Registries and Cadastre will continue based on the currently applicable legislation.
Time and cost: 1 day, EUR 4,486.09 (EUR 440 + 0.5% of the property value between 44 000 – 1.4 million. Lawyer fees are freely agreed with the parties. The Annex II of the new Lawyer’s code give an indicative fee schedule for legal fees.)
Obtain property tax certificate from the Municipality
Agency: Municipality of Athens
According to Art. 59 of Law 4483/2017 in the event of a transfer of the ownership of all kinds of property for any reason and before signing the transfer contract, the sellers are required to provide the notary with a certificate of the relevant local authority stating that no real estate fees are due; otherwise the transfer contract will be invalid.
If the applications are submitted during the day from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. to the Municipality, the certificate will be issued within the same day. Any applications submitted after 12:30 p.m. will be serviced in the following day.
Time and cost: 1 day, no charge
Seller obtains tax clearance certificate and the Real Estate Unified Tax clearance certificate from the Tax Authority
Agency: Tax Authority
On January 2014, a new Unified Real Estate Ownership tax was created to the acquisition of in-rem rights over real estate. For the notarial deed to be valid, the taxpayer has to present a tax certificate issued by the competent Tax Authority to the Notary. It states that the property has been properly declared as well as that the taxpayer has paid off the Unified Real Estate Ownership tax (applicable Law 4223/2013) or the Real Estate Tax (applicable Law 3842/2010) over the past five years before the signature of the deed that transfers the property at issue.
According to article 12 of Law 4174/2013, the transferor of the property is required to submit to the Notary a tax clearance certificate stating that there are no debts towards the Greek State.
Time and cost: Less than one day (online), no charge
Seller obtains a certificate from the Unified Social Security Organization (EFKA)
Agency: Unified Social Security Organization (EFKA)
The seller must obtain a certificate of good standing from the Social Security Institute, which assures that the seller (company) has been paying its social security.
Since January 2017 all Social Security Institutions have been unified into the Unified Social Security Organization (EFKA) (Implementation of Law 4387/2016 implementing reform in the social security system).
According to the Circular of 30/12/2016 of the Minister for Labor and Social Security, the certificate is issued to any natural or legal person that does not owe any dues as regards to social security contributions or that has entered into an arrangement for the payment of any outstanding contributions and complies with the terms of this arrangement. It is also stated that the social security clearance certificates are issued for legal entities or individuals that are obliged to pay social security contributions or are legally responsible for legal entities, among others, for the aim of transferring immovable assets.
Time and cost: Less than one day (online), no charge
Payment of property transfer tax at the Tax Authority
Agency: Inland Revenue Service
Parties obtain a copy of the declaration made before the Tax Authority with powers on the locality of the property verifying that the buyer has paid the property transfer tax. According to Art. 11 of Law 4223/2013 concerning the Single Property Tax, the transfer tax imposed on the buyer is 3% of the transfer price of the property.
According to the Income Tax Code (L.4172/2013), any income equal to the added value deriving from a transfer of property is subject to the 15% capital gains tax. The term “added value” means the difference between the price the seller had paid to obtain the property and the amount he/she receives when selling the same property.
According to Art. 43 of the latest Income Tax Code, if the seller is a natural person, this tax rate is 15% of the above-described income from the property transfer. In this case, the tax is collected in advance by the notary, who shall pay it to the Tax Authority. Taxation of capital gains has been suspended until 31.12. 2019, according to Art. 101 of Law 4583/2018 (the new “Income Tax Code”), as amended by Art. 99 par. 5 of L. 4446/2016 (FEK A 240/22.12.2016.
If the seller is a legal entity, according to the provisions of Art. 58 par. 1 of the new Income Tax Code, as amended by Art. 23 of Law 4579/2018 (FEK Α’ 201/03-12-2018), the legal entity shall include the price of the property transfer at the end of the financial year to its income declaration (which turns the tax payable to the corporate income tax rate at 28%).
The amendment provides for the gradual reduction of the Greek statutory CIT rate from 29% to 25% for the fiscal year 2022 onwards. All legal persons and legal entities, apart from credit institutions, will be subject to 28% for the fiscal year 2019, 27% for the fiscal year 2020, 26% for the fiscal year 2021, 25% for the fiscal year 2022 onwards.
Time and cost: 1 day, EUR 26,364.43 (For the buyer, 3% of the property value plus third party duties 0,3% (City Tax).)
Deliver the initial draft of the sale and purchase agreement to the Bar Association of Athens
Agency: Bar Association of Athen
However, this is still a common practice for commercial properties in Athens. In the latter case, the lawyer delivers the initial draft of the sale agreement to the Bar Association of Athens. The process is as follows:
- Lawyer submits the initial draft sale and purchase agreement to the Bar Association of Athens (BAA).
- BAA issues the lawyer an invoice that legal fees are going to be charged.
- BAA reports the information the national tax authority based on the lawyer’s submission.
- BAA charges the lawyer a minimum legal fee as mandated by law, which the lawyer pays once he receives the payment from the client.
Time and cost: 1 day, lawyer fees included in Procedure 2
A notary public drafts and notarizes the final sale and purchase agreement and prepares the transfer deed
Agency: Notary
As of 1/1/2014, the attendance of lawyers to the notarization of the sale and purchase agreement is no longer mandatory by law. However, it remains a common practice for local companies involved in a commercial property transfer, to hire a lawyer to carry out the search, review the final sale and purchase agreement and be present at the moment that the parties sign the deed in front of the Notary. It is at the absolute and free discretion of the contracting parties whether they wish to have lawyers representing them and attending the conclusion of the sale and purchase notarial deed.
The notary drafts and notarizes the final sale and purchase agreement and prepares the public deed in the presence of the parties (and their lawyers if they wish), who must also sign.
The notary checks up on the documentation which legitimizes the legal representatives of the contracting parties(i.e. Minutes of the Board of Directors regarding the representation of the company published in the Government Gazette, Minutes of the Board of Directors and notarized Power of Attorney regarding the authorization of the contracting party to act on behalf of the company and execute a sale agreement regarding the specific real estate), the ID’s of seller and buyer and attaches to the Public Deed the documentation obtained in the previous Procedures.
The documentation includes:
- Site plan or Cadastral extract
- Declaration of the engineer that the buildings have been built in accordance with the building permit or that any divergence has been legalized (obtained in Procedure No.2)
- Sale agreement (prepared in Procedure No.3)
- Property tax certificate issued by the Municipality (obtained in Procedure No.4)
- Tax clearance certificate and Certificate that the Real Estate Unified Tax for the last 5 years for the specific property has been paid ((obtained in Procedure No. 5)
- Building’s certificate of energy efficiency if required (not in the Doing Business case study because the property is a warehouse)
- Social Security certificate (obtained in Procedure No. 6)
- Verification of payment of transfer tax (obtained in procedure No. 7)
- Copy of the building license
Time and cost: 1 day, EUR 5,930.92
(Notary fees according to the following fee schedule amended by the Ministerial Decision 72386/2015 (plus 24% VAT):
- 0.8% of property value up to EUR 120,000
- 0.7% of property value between EUR 120,000.01 and 380,000
- 0.65% of property value between EUR 380,000.01 and EUR 2.000,000
The fixed fee of EUR 20
The fee for additional sheets of the notarial deed: EUR 5 per sheet)
The deed is recorded under the name of the buyer at the Land Registry
Agency: Land Registry (“Ypothikofilakeion”)
According to Art. 369 and Art. 1033 of the Greek Civil Code, contracts relating to real property (such as a purchase document) must be drafted and executed by and before a notary public. The public deed is delivered to the Real Estate Office to be recorded under the name of the buyer. At the same time, parties request a property certificate, an ownership certificate, a non-opposition certificate and a records certificate from the Real Estate Office. The transfer of deeds usually takes place during the day of application.
Time and cost: 14 days, EUR 4,081.78 (0.475% of the property value (registrar’s rights) + EUR 3 for the stamp fee for application + EUR 6.50 for each of the 4 certificates (EUR 4.50 for the certificate + EUR 2 for stamp duty))
Registration of the transfer at the Cadastre (ktimatologio)
Agency: Cadastre (“Ktimatologio”)
The transfer is registered in the Cadastre. Since Athens is going through a so-called “Cadastre creation” process, the transfer is submitted to the Cadastre office to consolidate the information during the process of implementing the Hellenic Cadastre office in Athens.
Time and cost: 1 day, EUR 35
