# New electricity and water connections for a house in Crete: the certificate, the charges, and the permit check that stops them > A new house, a converted stable or a ruin brought back to life needs a first connection to the grid and the water main — and in Greece that starts with an engineer's certificate that the building is lawful. How the grid operator's six steps work, why the 2026 charge revision raised connection costs by around 39%, the deadlines it has to meet, and what water utilities in Heraklion, Chania and Malevizi ask for. - Canonical URL: https://honestcrete.com/buying/new-electricity-and-water-connections-crete/ - Author: Fotis (Honest Crete, Heraklion) - Section: Buying property in Crete · Stage: Process - Rules verified: September 2026 · Updated: 2026-09-26 · Published: 2026-09-26 - How to cite: "Honest Crete — New electricity and water connections for a house in Crete: the certificate, the charges, and the permit check that stops them (rules verified September 2026), https://honestcrete.com/buying/new-electricity-and-water-connections-crete/" - Disclosure: Honest Crete does not sell or list property and nobody here is an estate agent. Enquiries sent from this section go to a licensed, registered estate agent, not to us. No article names a developer or a specific property. Adverts on these pages are labelled as adverts and buy no say in the text. - Sources: - HEDNO / ΔΕΔΔΗΕ (read September 2026) — new connection: six steps from online application to energisation; the Connection Certificate to Utility Networks, issued by an engineer through e-Άδειες and valid for six months, and an electrical installation certificate are required: https://www.deddie.gr/en/services/network-connection/new-connection/ - HEDNO / ΔΕΔΔΗΕ (read September 2026) — participation in connection costs: charges depend on the power requested in kVA, the distance to the nearest low-voltage point and the area category, under decision Ε-114/2026 of the energy regulator (Government Gazette 3954/Β/1-7-2026): https://www.deddie.gr/en/services/network-connection/participation-payment-in-the-expenses-for-the-connection/ - HEDNO / ΔΕΔΔΗΕ (read September 2026) — guaranteed services: connection offer within 15 working days (20 with a network extension); low-voltage construction within 20, 40 or 60 working days depending on the extension; compensation of €20–80 if missed: https://www.deddie.gr/en/guaranteed-services-to-consumers/ - TaxHeaven (read September 2026) — law 4495/2017 article 84: every provision allowing unauthorised buildings to be connected to utility networks by exception is abolished: https://www.taxheaven.gr/law/4495/2017/arthro/84 - Dealnews (August 2026) — the 2026 revision of connection charges raised them by about 39% in most categories and by up to about 78% in some: https://www.dealnews.gr/energeia/1172955/akrivoteres-oi-nees-syndeseis-gia-to-revma/ - ΔΕΥΑΗ, Heraklion water and sewerage utility (July 2024) — new connections: certified building permit, the utility-connection certificate, title deed and tax number; unauthorised buildings must be legalised first: https://www.deyah.gr/xrisimes-plirofories-dikaiologitika/nees-sundeseis/ - ΔΕΥΑ Chania (August 2026) — sewer connection of buildings: fee of €3.40 per m² for the first 60 m² and €5.50 per m² above; where a sewer exists connection is mandatory and the cesspit is abolished; connecting without a permit brings a 50% surcharge and disconnection: https://deyach.gr/apochetefsi/perissoteres-plirofories-gia-syndesi-oikodomon/ - Foni Maleviziou (November 2025) — ΔΕΥΑ Malevizi changes its rules: owners outside the settlements now pay 50% of a network extension rather than all of it, with works within 60 days and extensions over 100 m decided case by case: https://fonimaleviziou.gr/2025/11/27/lysi-sto-adiexodo-dekadon-allazei-o-kanonismos-tis-devam-gia-tis-syndeseis-sto-diktyo-ydrefsis-entos-kai-ektos-ton-oikismon/ --- A house that has never been connected — a new build, a stone ruin restored, a farm building turned into a home — needs a first connection to the electricity grid and, if it can have one, to the water main. In Greece that step is not a formality. It begins with an **engineer's certificate that the building is lawful**, and without it the grid operator and the water utility will not connect you, whatever you paid for the house. After that the process is well defined, with published steps and deadlines; the cost is the part nobody can tell you in advance, and it went up sharply in 2026. Rules and figures as they stood in September 2026, checked against the grid operator HEDNO, the building law, the energy regulator's 2026 charge decision as reported, and the water utilities of Heraklion, Chania and Malevizi. I am not an engineer or an electrician and this is not technical or legal advice. The engineer who issues the connection certificate is the person to ask what a specific building needs. **New connections in one minute.** Every first connection — electricity, water and other networks — needs the **Connection Certificate to Utility Networks**, issued by an engineer through **e-Άδειες** and valid **six months** (law 4495/2017, article 47A). **Unauthorised buildings cannot be connected**: article 84 abolished every exception. HEDNO's process has **six steps**, with an offer due in **15 working days** (20 with an extension) and construction in **20, 40 or 60**. Charges depend on **kVA, distance and area**; the **2026 revision** raised them about **39%**, up to **78%**. Water utilities ask for the building permit and the same certificate; **ΔΕΥΑ Chania** charges **€3.40/m²** for the first 60 m² to connect to the sewer, and a cesspit must go where a sewer exists. ## The certificate that comes first Since the rule was added to law 4495/2017 as **article 47A**, every first connection to a utility network needs a **Connection Certificate to Utility Networks** (βεβαίωση σύνδεσης με δίκτυα κοινής ωφέλειας). An engineer issues it through the **e-Άδειες** permits system after checking the building's legal status, and it is valid for **six months** — it must be valid both when you apply and when the supply is switched on. It covers electricity, water and other utilities, and temporary supplies for building sites. The rule behind it is **article 84**, which abolished every provision that used to let **unauthorised buildings** be connected by exception. The consequence for a buyer is direct: a house with unauthorised works that have not been legalised cannot get a first connection, and neither can a building that never had a permit. Before you buy anything that is not already connected, the engineer should confirm that the certificate can be issued; see [illegal constructions](https://honestcrete.com/buying/illegal-constructions-afthaireta-crete/) and the [engineer's check](https://honestcrete.com/buying/building-survey-engineer-check-crete/). ## Electricity: HEDNO's six steps The grid operator, **HEDNO** (ΔΕΔΔΗΕ), sets out six steps: apply online; HEDNO studies the request and makes a connection offer; you pay and sign; HEDNO builds the supply; you submit the activation documents; the supply is energised. The documents are the engineer's connection certificate, an **electrical installation certificate** from a licensed electrician and, for a rural agricultural supply, a form from the regional agricultural directorate. HEDNO publishes **guaranteed deadlines**: the connection offer within **15 working days**, or **20** if the network has to be extended; then construction of a low-voltage connection within **20 working days** without an extension, **40** with a normal extension of up to 400 m overhead or 200 m underground, and **60** for anything larger. If it misses them, compensation of **€20–80** applies. ## What it costs HEDNO charges a contribution to the cost of the connection, based on the **power requested in kVA**, the **distance in metres to the nearest low-voltage point** and the **area category**. The charges were revised by the energy regulator's decision **Ε-114/2026**, published on 1 July 2026, and Greek reporting put the increase at about **39%** in most categories and up to about **78%** in some. HEDNO's own online estimator warns that the real amount comes with the connection offer and **may differ significantly**. I could not find official per-kVA or per-metre figures, and older figures circulating online predate the revision — do not budget from them. For a plot some distance from the nearest pole, distance is what drives the bill; [solar panels](https://honestcrete.com/buying/solar-panels-and-net-metering-crete-home/) change the running cost, not the connection. ## Water and sewerage Water is run by municipal utilities, each with its own rules. **ΔΕΥΑΗ** in Heraklion asks for a certified building permit, the utility-connection certificate, the title deed and a tax number; an unauthorised building must be legalised first; then there is a site inspection and connection fees, which it does not publish. **ΔΕΥΑ Chania** fits a meter about 15 days after the application, and for the **sewer** charges **€3.40 per m²** for the first 60 m² of the building and **€5.50 per m²** above that. Where a sewer exists, connection is **mandatory** and any cesspit is abolished; connecting without a permit brings a 50% surcharge and disconnection. Outside the settlements, the answer depends on the utility. In **Malevizi**, west of Heraklion, owners used to pay the whole cost of extending the network and could not connect without a pipe already outside their property; in 2025 the utility changed its rules so that they pay **50%**, with works within 60 days and extensions over 100 metres decided by the municipal council case by case. Where there is no network at all, the house depends on a well, a tank or a delivery — see [utilities in rural Crete](https://honestcrete.com/buying/utilities-in-rural-crete/) and [wells and water rights](https://honestcrete.com/buying/wells-and-water-rights-crete/). ## The honest downside The rules are clear, and they are strict: no certificate, no connection, and no certificate for an unauthorised building. The costs are not published in a usable form, rose sharply in 2026, and depend on distances you cannot measure yourself. Water outside the settlements is a local negotiation rather than a right. And the delay between buying a house and switching on its lights is set by the slowest step — often the legalisation that should have happened before you signed. *Disclosure:* 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 developer, a property, an engineer, an electrician or any other professional, and it never will. **The verdict.** **Worth it if** the engineer confirms the connection certificate can be issued, HEDNO's offer — or at least its distance to the nearest pole — is known, and the water utility has said yes in writing. **Skip it if** the building has unauthorised parts nobody has legalised, or the plan depends on a water connection the utility has not promised. ## Quick answers **What do I need for a new electricity connection in Greece?** An online application to the grid operator HEDNO, with the Connection Certificate to Utility Networks issued by an engineer through the e-Άδειες permits system and an electrical installation certificate from a licensed electrician; rural agricultural supplies also need a form from the regional agricultural directorate. The engineer's certificate is valid for six months and must be valid both when you apply and when the supply is activated. **Can an unauthorised building in Greece be connected to electricity or water?** No. Article 84 of law 4495/2017 abolished every exception that allowed unauthorised buildings to be connected to utility networks, and every first connection needs an engineer's certificate that the building is lawful. An unauthorised building has to be legalised before it can be connected — to electricity, water or any other network. **How much does a new electricity connection cost in Crete?** It depends on the power requested, the distance to the nearest low-voltage point and the area category, and HEDNO says the real figure comes with its connection offer and may differ significantly from any estimate. The 2026 revision of the charges raised them by about 39% in most categories and up to about 78% in some. I could not find official per-kVA or per-metre figures. **How long does HEDNO take to connect a new house?** HEDNO's guaranteed deadlines are 15 working days for the connection offer, or 20 with a network extension, and then 20 working days to build a low-voltage connection without an extension, 40 with a normal extension of up to 400 m overhead or 200 m underground, and 60 for larger ones. If it misses them, compensation of €20–80 applies. **What does a sewer connection cost in Chania?** ΔΕΥΑ Chania charges €3.40 per square metre for the first 60 m² of a building and €5.50 per m² above that. Where a public sewer exists, connecting is mandatory and any cesspit is abolished; connecting without a permit brings a 50% surcharge and disconnection of the water supply. **Can I get mains water for a house outside the village in Crete?** It depends on the municipal water utility, and rules differ. In Malevizi, west of Heraklion, the utility changed its rules in 2025 so that owners outside the settlements pay 50% of a network extension rather than all of it, with works within 60 days and extensions over 100 metres decided case by case. Ask the local utility before you buy.