Buying property in Greece: a pre-purchase checklist

• Confirm exactly which parcel you are buying: its KAEK, outline and area in the Hellenic Cadastre.
• Screen it against the public maps that most often cause problems: forest maps, flood zones, Natura 2000, the coast and nearby streams.
• Decide how you will use it (home, renovation, short-term rental, building on land), because each use has its own rules.

This costs little and tells you which questions to put to your lawyer and engineer, and sometimes whether it is worth instructing them at all.

Every buyer needs a Greek tax number (ΑΦΜ). Non-residents can apply online through myAADE with a video identity check, or through a representative with a power of attorney. A tax representative is optional for non-residents since 2024. The price must be paid through a bank; a deed recording cash payment is void.

Your lawyer checks at the Cadastre, or the land registry where the Cadastre is not yet operating, that the seller owns the property and that there are no mortgages, pre-notations, seizures or lawsuits. Lawyers commonly review the chain of title over at least 20 years, and compare the deed with the cadastral record and map.

The lawyer also reviews the draft deed, checks the seller's tax certificates and, for non-EU buyers, whether the property is in a border area that needs a permit.

• The engineer's certificate on unauthorised works (Law 4495/2017, article 83), attached to every sale deed and valid for two months.
• For buildings, the Electronic Building Identity, submitted at the transfer.
• For plots, a topographic survey that shows the true boundaries, and checks on whether and what you can build.

The seller usually arranges the certificate. Consider hiring your own engineer to inspect the property against the permit drawings before you sign anything binding.

• Energy Performance Certificate (ΠΕΑ): required for a sale, valid for up to 10 years.
• ΕΝΦΙΑ certificate: confirms the property was included in the seller's annual property tax returns for the previous five years.
• The municipal ΤΑΠ certificate is no longer needed: it was abolished in December 2023.

The sale is signed as a notarial deed, in Greek, and then registered at the Cadastre. Buyer costs in 2026:

• Transfer tax: 3% plus a 3% municipal surcharge on the tax, so 3.09%, on the higher of the price and the tax-assessed (objective) value. VAT on new buildings is suspended until 31 December 2026, so transfer tax applies instead.
• Notary: a regulated percentage of the price, which falls as the price rises, plus VAT and fixed fees. Ask the notary for a quote.
• Cadastre registration: a fee proportional to the value, plus small fixed fees. The notary calculates it.
• Lawyer and engineer: fees are agreed with them and vary with the property and the work involved.

In September 2026 the government announced a 15% transfer tax on homes bought by individuals from outside the EU and EEA from July 2027. At the time of writing this was announced, not law. Check the current position with your lawyer.