Greek Cadastre (Ktimatologio): Your Guide to Property Registration in Greece

Alt Title: Greek Cadastre Building

Alt Description: A grand, classical building representing the Greek Cadastre, set against a clear blue sky, symbolizing clarity and officiality.

The Cadastre (Ktimatologio) is the comprehensive registration of real estate property in Greece. It encompasses the geometric description and ownership status of every land parcel. According to Article 1 of Law 2664/1998, “The National Cadastre constitutes a system of legal, technical, and other supplementary information, organized on a property-centric basis, for all real estate within the territory.”

This registration of property in Greece is carried out through the process of Cadastral Survey (Ktimatografisi), per the provisions of Law 2308/1995. This involves the collection, processing, and registration of property rights and other registrable rights held by natural or legal persons, and the linking of these rights to specific properties.

Simultaneously, legal information is recorded (method of acquisition of the right, details of the act by which the right was acquired, etc.), and properties are located, depicted, and delimited on cadastral diagrams. The cadastral survey begins with the declaration of an area under survey and is completed with the commencement of operation of the Cadastre system, which then replaces the GreekLand Registry Office (Hypothikofylakeio) system in that specific area.

First Registrations in the Cadastre

The operation of the Cadastre begins withfirst registrations. According to Article 6, par. 1 of Law 2664/1998, “First registrations are those initially entered in the Cadastral Book, transferred from the cadastral tables.” These initial registrations must be accurate and correct, as all subsequent registrations rely on them

Law 2664/1998 explicitly states in par. 7. That after the deadline for challenging first registrations, they become definitive and produce an irrefutable presumption in favor of the individuals listed as beneficiaries in these first registrations for the rights they concern.

Alt Title: Reviewing Property Documents

Alt Description: Individuals meticulously examining property documents and detailed maps, symbolizing the process of understanding and verifying land ownership.

Correcting Inaccurate Initial Registrations

Regarding the challenge of inaccurate initial registrations, Law 2664/1998 provides for both judicial and extrajudicial correction procedures.

A. Judicial Correction

1. Action under Article 6, par. 2: This action is filed by the holder of a registrable right over a surveyed property in cases where there is a dispute. It concerns a declaratory or possessory action against the person listed as the beneficiary of the right.
2. Correction of “Unknown Owner” Registrations (Article 6, par. 3): In cases where “unknown owner” is listed as the beneficiary in the initial registrations, the holder of the registrable right has three options:
   • Extrajudicial correction through the obvious error procedure.
   • Application before the Cadastral Judge of the property’s location according to the rules of voluntary jurisdiction.
   • Filing the action under Article 6, par. 2, against the Greek State.
3. Correction of Descriptive and Geometric Property Data (Article 6, par. 8): In cases where the error in the initial registrations lies in the inaccuracy of the descriptive and geometric data of the property, the beneficiary can request their correction by applying to the Cadastral Judge of the property’s location according to the rules of voluntary jurisdiction.

B. Extrajudicial Correction

1. Procedure under Article 6, par. 4: If the right registered in the initial entry had been transferred, altered, encumbered, or abolished by a legal act, administrative act, court decision, or other procedural act, which was registered in theGreece Land Registry Office books before the date of registration of the first entries, the correction of the initial entry does not require an irrevocable court decision. Instead, the holder of the registrable right can apply to the competent Cadastral Office.
2. Procedure for Correcting Obvious Errors (Article 18): In the case of obvious errors, i.e., errors that are easy to ascertain, the correction can be made by the Head of the Cadastral Office, upon application by anyone with a legitimate interest or even ex officio. These errors may concern the beneficiary’s person (incorrect name, ID number, father’s name, mother’s name, date of birth, etc.), the right (incorrect data for the type of registered right, e.g., full or bare ownership, usufruct, etc., and/or the cause of acquisition, e.g., donation, parental grant, etc.), and the title of acquisition (incorrect data of notarial document, court decision, administrative act, etc., e.g., document number, issuer details, incorrect transfer/registration details of the title of acquisition, e.g., Hypothikofylakeio, volume, number, date, etc.).

Hire a Reliable Property Attorney in Greece

Our law firm handles a multitude of cases concerning the institution of the Cadastre. We provide legal advice, submit declarations and objections before cadastral survey offices, proceed with extrajudicial or judicial correction of errors in initial registrations, and generally take any action deemed necessary to secure and protect your Greek real estate property.