Many people, Greek nationals or not, own real estate
property in Greece. This property may consist of
lands, lots, houses, apartments, agricultural land etc.
and the owners may have obtained ownership title on
it either by a sale transaction, or by acceptance of an
inheritance, or by donation from a relative or a friend.
The owners of real estate property in Greece,
especially those that reside permanently outside of
Greece, must bear in mind that the more they
abandon their property in Greece, the higher the risk
to legally lose it someday. Property, anywhere in the
world, must be taken care of, and real estate property
has no meaning for the owner, unless he/she
exercises his/her ownership rights over it, at least
from time to time. Otherwise, a trespasser may start
dominating the property himself and establish
ownership rights with time.
Is it really possible a third party, a trespasser,
someone who admits that has no rights at all, to start
dominating over a land and finally to become its legal
owner? Under Greek law this is possible, if the owner
of the land does not care about the fate of his own
property for a certain period of time. If the owner
does not throw out the trespasser, for a period of
twenty years from the time of the first trespass act,
the trespasser becomes legal owner himself.
This is called “hrisiktisia” in Greek, and it is a legal
notion based on the principle that properties must be
cultivated or developed by their owners. The
development of a property is good for the people, the
community and the economy. It is unproductive to
leave pieces of real estate unattended and outside of
the economic life of the community.
The Greek law allows the owner of a real estate
property a period of twenty years to exercise the
owner’s rights over this property. The owner must
show up, at least from time to time, during those
twenty years. The owner must have proof that he/she
exercised, either in person or via a proxy, his/her
property rights over the land/property, by building a
fence, by defending the property against trespassers,
by cultivating it, by developing it, by planting trees in
it, by renting it out to others and by doing several
other acts that prove the owner’s presence and his
dominant role over his own land.
If the owner does not perform some of these acts
during the twenty – year period, the law awards full
property rights to that person (even to the
transgressor) who can prove that he/she actually did
what the owner omitted to do all these years.
The twenty – year period is the basic rule, but Greek
law confers ownership even after ten years, in some
cases. If a person holds a title over the land, but the
title proves to be invalid for any kind of reason, that
person becomes full legal owner if he can prove that
he dominated over the land for ten years and that he
acted in good faith.
According to court rulings and their precedence, the
twenty years start to count from the time the
trespasser starts his illegal domination over the land
and the owner omits or fails to act against him. Action
against the trespasser may be a court lawsuit or even
physical defense of the property, if the trespass
action is very recent.
It is noteworthy that the trespasser does not have to
notify the owner that domination has started in order
the twenty - year period to start running. It is the
owner’s obligation to check from time to time and as
often as possible whether third parties are
trespassing on his land.
On the other hand, there is a notification obligation, if
the “trespasser” is a co-owner of the real estate. This
means in plain words that if two brothers own the
same piece of land in Greece, each of them having
50% ab indivisio (undivided) of the same land, and
the one brother lives in Greece, taking care of the
property for himself and on behalf of his brother, who
lives in New Zealand, the brother who lives in Greece
cannot start the twenty - year domination over his
brother’s half, unless he notifies him that he starts
taking care of the property exclusively for himself
and not on behalf of the brother who lives abroad.
The Greek courts have formed this rule in order to
protect the co-owner who lives outside of Greece and
cannot tell whether his brother develops the land for
both of them, or only for himself.
The conclusion is that owners of real estate in
Greece must visit their property at least every few
years in order to personally make sure that the
property has not been captured by someone else,
and that there are no signs of trespassing by third
parties. Owners must take pictures of their land, in
order to be able to prove the land’s situation at
certain times, and they must take such action as to
defend their property in court against trespassers.
If the owners cannot visit Greece for some years,
they must at least ask a relative or a trustworthy
person to verify on their behalf whether the property
is still free of any transgression. The owners must
also keep the deeds that prove their ownership right
on the land in order to be able to prove before a court
of law their rights against the transgressors. Legal
deeds are obviously very useful to a lawyer who can
perform a title search and find out whose right
prevails over a specific real estate.
property in Greece. This property may consist of
lands, lots, houses, apartments, agricultural land etc.
and the owners may have obtained ownership title on
it either by a sale transaction, or by acceptance of an
inheritance, or by donation from a relative or a friend.
The owners of real estate property in Greece,
especially those that reside permanently outside of
Greece, must bear in mind that the more they
abandon their property in Greece, the higher the risk
to legally lose it someday. Property, anywhere in the
world, must be taken care of, and real estate property
has no meaning for the owner, unless he/she
exercises his/her ownership rights over it, at least
from time to time. Otherwise, a trespasser may start
dominating the property himself and establish
ownership rights with time.
Is it really possible a third party, a trespasser,
someone who admits that has no rights at all, to start
dominating over a land and finally to become its legal
owner? Under Greek law this is possible, if the owner
of the land does not care about the fate of his own
property for a certain period of time. If the owner
does not throw out the trespasser, for a period of
twenty years from the time of the first trespass act,
the trespasser becomes legal owner himself.
This is called “hrisiktisia” in Greek, and it is a legal
notion based on the principle that properties must be
cultivated or developed by their owners. The
development of a property is good for the people, the
community and the economy. It is unproductive to
leave pieces of real estate unattended and outside of
the economic life of the community.
The Greek law allows the owner of a real estate
property a period of twenty years to exercise the
owner’s rights over this property. The owner must
show up, at least from time to time, during those
twenty years. The owner must have proof that he/she
exercised, either in person or via a proxy, his/her
property rights over the land/property, by building a
fence, by defending the property against trespassers,
by cultivating it, by developing it, by planting trees in
it, by renting it out to others and by doing several
other acts that prove the owner’s presence and his
dominant role over his own land.
If the owner does not perform some of these acts
during the twenty – year period, the law awards full
property rights to that person (even to the
transgressor) who can prove that he/she actually did
what the owner omitted to do all these years.
The twenty – year period is the basic rule, but Greek
law confers ownership even after ten years, in some
cases. If a person holds a title over the land, but the
title proves to be invalid for any kind of reason, that
person becomes full legal owner if he can prove that
he dominated over the land for ten years and that he
acted in good faith.
According to court rulings and their precedence, the
twenty years start to count from the time the
trespasser starts his illegal domination over the land
and the owner omits or fails to act against him. Action
against the trespasser may be a court lawsuit or even
physical defense of the property, if the trespass
action is very recent.
It is noteworthy that the trespasser does not have to
notify the owner that domination has started in order
the twenty - year period to start running. It is the
owner’s obligation to check from time to time and as
often as possible whether third parties are
trespassing on his land.
On the other hand, there is a notification obligation, if
the “trespasser” is a co-owner of the real estate. This
means in plain words that if two brothers own the
same piece of land in Greece, each of them having
50% ab indivisio (undivided) of the same land, and
the one brother lives in Greece, taking care of the
property for himself and on behalf of his brother, who
lives in New Zealand, the brother who lives in Greece
cannot start the twenty - year domination over his
brother’s half, unless he notifies him that he starts
taking care of the property exclusively for himself
and not on behalf of the brother who lives abroad.
The Greek courts have formed this rule in order to
protect the co-owner who lives outside of Greece and
cannot tell whether his brother develops the land for
both of them, or only for himself.
The conclusion is that owners of real estate in
Greece must visit their property at least every few
years in order to personally make sure that the
property has not been captured by someone else,
and that there are no signs of trespassing by third
parties. Owners must take pictures of their land, in
order to be able to prove the land’s situation at
certain times, and they must take such action as to
defend their property in court against trespassers.
If the owners cannot visit Greece for some years,
they must at least ask a relative or a trustworthy
person to verify on their behalf whether the property
is still free of any transgression. The owners must
also keep the deeds that prove their ownership right
on the land in order to be able to prove before a court
of law their rights against the transgressors. Legal
deeds are obviously very useful to a lawyer who can
perform a title search and find out whose right
prevails over a specific real estate.
