A special legislative provision establishes a six-month suspension of public lawsuits concerning private property claims in the whole of the country's territory.

The process of completing the cadastral survey by the Land Registry has highlighted thousands of cases where the State claims properties or entire areas.

The six-month suspension gives the possibility to establish, in the next period, clear criteria based on the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court. These criteria will guide the Administration and the State Legal Council in order to avoid unjustified claims and reduce the inconvenience to citizens, the burden on the courts and the involvement of the services in cases of no real benefit to the State.

Are there any instances where the State brings lawsuits when it has no legal title?

Yes. Today, the State brings actions even in cases where it has no legal title, such as, in particular, as successor to the Ottoman State.

For example, land services of the State claim land either without invoking a specific document or with undefined descriptions of properties in documents of the Ottoman period, claiming that the Greek state succeeded the Ottoman state in the ownership of these properties, without taking into account the actual situation of the property, as it was formed from the time of liberation until today, or even the fact of the existence of titles of the actual owners - owners.

In addition, there are cases where the public authorities are taking action against owners who have had recognised usufructuary rights for decades.

Another key reason for the public to consider itself the owner of an area is the alleged forest character of even declassified land.

Finally, there are several cases of expropriation acts before 1950 that were never implemented.

How many of these cases are there to date?

The total number of these claims will emerge after the end of the cadastral survey and when the correction claims on the "unknown owner" properties are filed, i.e. from the end of 2025 to December 2026.

According to the latest report of the State Legal Council, in 2023 alone, 857 new land lawsuits, 465 appeals and 179 appeals were filed. In addition, there were 3,106 representations to the Single-Member Court of First Instance, 207 representations to the Multi-Member Court of First Instance and 545 representations to the Court of Appeal, which were related to land lawsuits of previous years.

It should be noted that according to the same data, the public sector loses almost ¾ of the cases it appeals.

What do I do if the claim has been made but I do not wish to be included in the new arrangement?

The regulation to be adopted provides for the possibility for the citizen - a public defendant, if he wishes, to request that his own be held normally, on the specified date. Specifically, any citizen may, through his lawyer, apply to the President of the Trial Chamber of the Court of First Instance for his case to be heard.

What does someone who sees their property as an unknown owner do?

● The solution to the problem of properties of unknown owners is now given extrajudicially through the application for a manifest error, submitted electronically.

● The private owner who for any reason had not registered the property in the cadastre, if he has a legal title (notarial deed, court decision), submits a digital application to the competent cadastral office and the head of the cadastral office corrects the sheet of the property obligatorily indicating him as the owner.

● In fact, this procedure has been simplified and the correction in favour of the private owner has become binding for the Land Registry, with legislative initiatives of the Ministry of Digital Governance, so that the citizen can avoid judicial inconvenience.

To submit a request for a manifest error: https://www.ktimatologio.gr/pliroforiako-yliko/ktimatologio-se-leitourgia/52

What applies to properties that have been declassified as forest?

With No.15 5142/2024 passed on the initiative of the Ministry of Digital Governance, the owner of a property that has been de-registered can, with the relevant decision and title, correct the entry in the Land Registry and officially return the relevant CAC to the legal owner.

To submit a correction request: https://www.ktimatologio.gr/pliroforiako-yliko/ktimatologio-se-leitourgia/53

For more information, citizens can contact the local Land Services or visit the website of the Hellenic Cadastre www.ktimatologio.gr.