The Greek property file, word by word: the terms in every deed, certificate and tax form, and what each one means
A Crete purchase arrives as a stack of Greek documents with a vocabulary of their own. This is a reader's key to about forty of those words, grouped by the paper they appear on, each with a transliteration, a plain meaning and, where it matters, the law behind it, as checked in October 2026 against the Hellenic Cadastre, AADE and the current text of the laws.
A Greek property file is less forbidding than it looks. Most of it is written in about forty recurring words, and a buyer who knows them can follow what the lawyer, the notary and the engineer are doing. This is that vocabulary, grouped by the document it appears on: each term in Greek, with a transliteration, a plain meaning and the law where the law matters. Checked in October 2026 against the Hellenic Cadastre’s own pages, AADE and the current text of the laws.
I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice. A glossary tells you what a word means, not what it means for a particular deed; that is your lawyer’s job.
The property file in one minute. The συμβόλαιο is the notarial deed, and ownership passes only once it is registered: by καταχώριση in the Cadastre or μεταγραφή in the old registry. The ΚΑΕΚ is the parcel’s 12-digit Cadastre code. The tax words are ΑΦΜ, Ε9, ΕΝΦΙΑ, αντικειμενική αξία and ΦΜΑ, the 3% transfer tax. Whether the building is legal is answered by the οικοδομική άδεια, the τοπογραφικό, the βεβαίωση μηχανικού (valid two months), the ΗΤΚ and the ΠΕΑ; a property with an unsettled αυθαίρετο cannot be sold. Ownership comes οριζόντια, κάθετη, εξ αδιαιρέτου, or split into επικαρπία and ψιλή κυριότητα. Debts show as υποθήκη, προσημείωση or κατάσχεση. Land is εντός or εκτός σχεδίου, and may be caught by the δασικός χάρτης or the αιγιαλός.
The deed, the registry and the Cadastre
The συμβόλαιο (symvólaio) is the deed, drawn up by a notary; for a sale it is an αγοραπωλητήριο (agoropolitírio). Under article 1033 of the Civil Code, ownership of a property passes by an agreement made as a notarial deed and then registered, so the signature is not the last step. Registration has two names. Where the Cadastre operates it is καταχώριση (katachórisi), proved by a πιστοποιητικό καταχώρισης (pistopoiitikó katachórisis), a certificate of registration. Elsewhere it is μεταγραφή (metagrafí), transcription, in the books of the old υποθηκοφυλακείο (ypothikofylakío), the mortgage and land registry. Law 2664/1998 replaces that system area by area as the Cadastre starts to operate, and many former registries now work as transitional cadastral offices.
The Κτηματολόγιο (Ktimatológio), the Hellenic Cadastre, is, in the definition of law 2664/1998, a system of legal and technical information organised by property and covering every property in the country. Its key is the ΚΑΕΚ (ka-ek), Κωδικός Αριθμός Εθνικού Κτηματολογίου: twelve digits for prefecture, municipality, sector, unit and parcel, with suffixes such as 0/2 for flats, and the same number before and after a sale. The κτηματολογικό φύλλο (ktimatologikó fýllo), the cadastral sheet, shows the property’s status, the owners’ shares and any burdens, for €9.50 (€4.50 at a transitional office); the απόσπασμα κτηματολογικού διαγράμματος (apóspasma ktimatologikoú diagrámmatos), an extract of the cadastral map, costs €15. The ανάρτηση (anártisi), the posting stage, and where Crete stands are in the Cadastre and the KAEK.
The tax words
The ΑΦΜ (AFM), Αριθμός Φορολογικού Μητρώου, is your tax number. The Ε9 (E-ennéa) is the declaration of the property you own: a change during a year is declared by 31 January of the next under article 23 of law 3427/2005, and a purchase declared through myPROPERTY files it automatically. ΕΝΦΙΑ (enfía), Ενιαίος Φόρος Ιδιοκτησίας Ακινήτων, is the annual property tax. The αντικειμενική αξία (antikeimenikí axía) is the state’s objective value, set from zone prices and coefficients under article 41 of law 1249/1982; where the price in the deed is higher, tax is charged on the price. The ΦΜΑ (FMA), Φόρος Μεταβίβασης Ακινήτων, is the transfer tax: 3% of the taxable value plus a municipal levy of 3% of the tax, paid by the buyer within three working days of the joint declaration, before the deed.
The building’s legal papers
The οικοδομική άδεια (oikodomikí ádeia) is the building permit with its approved plans; the τοπογραφικό (topografikó) is the surveyor’s plan of the plot, its boundaries and what stands on it. An αυθαίρετο (afthaíreto) is a construction or use without, or beyond, its permit, and under article 367 of law 5306/2026, the 2026 planning code, the sale of a property with unsettled ones is void. Works finished by 28 July 2011 can get τακτοποίηση (taktopoíisi), settlement in one of five categories, for a fee and, in some of them, a fine (article 383). Νομιμοποίηση (nomimopoíisi), legalisation, strictly means bringing a work within a permit. Every sale needs the βεβαίωση μηχανικού (veveíosi michanikoú), an engineer’s certificate on the property’s unauthorised works, valid for two months (article 368); for a building with an ΗΤΚ, its engineer’s πιστοποιητικό πληρότητας (pistopoiitikó plirótitas), certificate of completeness, takes that role. The ΗΤΚ, Ηλεκτρονική Ταυτότητα Κτιρίου (ilektronikí taftótita ktiríou), is the building’s digital file, compulsory since 1 July 2021 at a first transfer, and the ΠΕΑ, Πιστοποιητικό Ενεργειακής Απόδοσης (pistopoiitikó energeiakís apódosis), is the energy certificate without which, under article 12 of law 4122/2013, a building can be neither sold nor let. More in illegal constructions.
Who owns what
Οριζόντια ιδιοκτησία (orizóntia idioktisía), horizontal property under law 3741/1929, is a flat or floor owned outright, with a share of the land and the common parts counted in χιλιοστά (chiliostá), thousandths; the building’s regulation is a notarial deed whose restrictions bind every owner like a servitude. Κάθετη ιδιοκτησία (káthetí idioktisía), vertical property, does the same for a whole building among several on one plot; both are explained in divided ownership. Εξ αδιαιρέτου (ex adiairétou), undivided, means co-owners hold fractions of the whole and none owns a room, so selling the whole needs them all. Επικαρπία (epikarpía), usufruct, is the right to use a property and take its fruits, usually for life; what remains is ψιλή κυριότητα (psilí kyriótita), bare ownership.
The deal and the debts
The προσύμφωνο (prosýmfono), the preliminary contract, is notarial for property, and the αρραβώνας (arravónas), the deposit, is lost by a buyer at fault and returned double by a seller at fault (Civil Code article 403); the detail is in the preliminary contract. A πληρεξούσιο (plirexoúsio) is a power of attorney, the document that lets someone sign for you. A υποθήκη (ypothíki) is a mortgage, a right that lets a creditor be paid from the property first; a προσημείωση υποθήκης (prosimeíosi ypothíkis), a prenotation, is a provisional mortgage ordered by a court, which becomes a full one once the debt is confirmed; a κατάσχεση (katáschesi) is a creditor’s seizure, the step before a forced auction. All three appear among the burdens on the cadastral sheet.
The land words
Εντός σχεδίου (entós schedíou) means inside an approved town plan; εκτός σχεδίου (ektós schedíou), outside it, where building needs a far larger plot and frontage on a lawful road, as buying land to build explains. Εντός οικισμού (entós oikismoú) means inside the boundary of a settlement that has no town plan, with rules of its own. The δασικός χάρτης (dasikós chártis), the forest map, records which land counts as forest, and forest land is not building land. The αιγιαλός (aigialós), the foreshore, is the land the sea reaches at its largest usual waves; it and the παραλία (paralía), the beach zone of up to 50 metres behind it, are public land in common use under law 2971/2001, as amended in 2024.
The honest downside
A glossary flattens words that lawyers argue about. Τακτοποίηση and νομιμοποίηση mean different things in law and the same thing in conversation. Several terms changed address in 2026, when law 4495/2017 moved into the planning code, so older reports may cite articles that have since been renumbered. And reading the words is not reading the file: a translation tells you what a deed says, not whether it is right.
Disclosure: Honest Crete does not sell or list property. Enquiries sent from this section go to a licensed estate agent, not to us; the full statement is below. Nothing in this article names a notary, a lawyer, an engineer, a surveyor or any other business; the Hellenic Cadastre and AADE are named as the public institutions they are.
Worth it if you are about to receive a Greek property file and want to follow it: keep this open beside the deed and the certificates, and ask about any word you cannot place. Skip it if you hope to judge a file yourself; the words are the easy part, and the lawyer’s and the engineer’s checks are not optional.
What is a ΚΑΕΚ number in Greece?
The ΚΑΕΚ, Κωδικός Αριθμός Εθνικού Κτηματολογίου, is the twelve-digit code that identifies a land parcel in the Hellenic Cadastre: two digits for the prefecture, three for the municipality, two each for the cadastral sector and unit, and three for the parcel. Flats and other horizontal properties add a suffix such as 0/2. The code stays with the property when it is sold and changes only if the parcel is split or merged.
What is the difference between μεταγραφή and καταχώριση?
Μεταγραφή and καταχώριση both mean entering a deed in the public record, which under article 1033 of the Civil Code is what completes a transfer of property. Μεταγραφή, transcription, is the old system of registry books; καταχώριση, registration, replaces it wherever the Hellenic Cadastre operates under law 2664/1998. In a Cadastre area, a certificate of registration proves the entry.
What is a βεβαίωση μηχανικού in a Greek property sale?
The βεβαίωση μηχανικού is the engineer's certificate attached to a transfer deed. Under article 368 of law 5306/2026 it states that the property has no building, no unauthorised works beyond the permitted limits, or only works within the legal exceptions; it is filed electronically before the deed, alongside the owner's declaration, and is valid for two months. For a building with an Electronic Building Identity, that identity's certificate of completeness takes its place.
What does αυθαίρετο mean in a Greek property file?
Αυθαίρετο means an unauthorised construction or use: anything built, enclosed or used without the required building permit or beyond it, such as a closed-in veranda or an extra room. Article 367 of law 5306/2026 makes the sale of a property with such works void, with exceptions such as works older than 30 November 1955 or works brought into the settlement scheme with 30% of the fine paid. Works finished by 28 July 2011 can usually be settled (τακτοποίηση) in one of five categories.
What is the difference between a υποθήκη and a προσημείωση in Greece?
A υποθήκη is a mortgage, a right over a property that lets a creditor be paid first from it. A προσημείωση υποθήκης, a prenotation of mortgage, is a provisional mortgage granted by a court decision, which becomes a full mortgage once the debt is confirmed. Both appear among the burdens on the cadastral sheet, and a buyer's lawyer should see them lifted or paid off before the deed.
What do εντός σχεδίου and εκτός σχεδίου mean?
Εντός σχεδίου means a plot inside an approved town plan, where that plan sets the building terms; εκτός σχεδίου means outside any town plan, where a house needs a far larger plot and frontage on a lawful road. A third category, εντός οικισμού, covers land inside the boundary of a settlement that has no town plan. Which of the three applies decides most of what can be built.
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