The preliminary contract and the deposit: how a Greek property deal is held together before the deed
In Greece a preliminary contract for a house must be signed before a notary, or it is worth nothing — and the deposit with it. What the Civil Code does with a deposit when one side pulls out, why 'returned double' only applies to the party at fault, the self-contracting clause buyers from abroad rely on, and what the notary charges.
The moment most buyers feel committed in Greece is not the final deed but the preliminary contract, when the deposit changes hands and the house comes off the market. The Greek version of that moment has one rule that catches foreigners out: it must be signed before a notary, or it is legally nothing. Get that right, and the Civil Code does the rest with unusual clarity — a party who backs out without a reason loses the deposit or pays it back double. Get it wrong, and a “binding” agreement drafted by an agent is a receipt for money you may have to sue to recover. Rules and figures as they stood in September 2026, checked against the Civil Code, the ministerial decision on notaries’ fees, the tax authority and a Greek circular on bank-only payment.
I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. The preliminary contract is the one document in the purchase that your own lawyer should draft or read before you sign it.
The preliminary contract in one minute. Civil Code article 166 gives a preliminary contract the form of the main one, so for property it must be notarial; a private one is void. A deposit is presumed to cover the loss from non-performance (article 402), and the party at fault loses it or returns it double (article 403). A separate penalty clause can be cut by the court if disproportionate (article 409). Deposits are commonly around 10%. Since 11 December 2023 the price — deposit included — must go through a bank, or the deed is void and a 10% fine applies. A self-contracting clause lets the buyer complete alone once the price is paid. The notary’s fee is charged on the amount paid at signing.
Why it has to be notarial
Article 166 is one sentence long: a contract by which the parties undertake to conclude a certain contract is subject to the form the law requires for that contract. A sale of land or a building requires a notarial deed, so a preliminary contract for one requires a notary too. The agreement on the deposit is caught by the same rule.
The consequence is blunt. A preliminary agreement signed privately — in an agent’s office, by email, on a well-drafted form — is void. Money paid under it is not a deposit in law; it can be recovered only as unjust enrichment, which means asking, and if necessary suing, for it back. The protection the Civil Code gives a deposit exists only when the contract has the right form. Who does what in this process is set out in lawyer, notary, agent, engineer.
What happens to the deposit
Article 402 presumes that a deposit given when the contract is made covers the loss from non-performance, unless the parties agreed something else. Article 403 then says what happens: the party at fault for the contract not being performed loses the deposit it gave or returns double the deposit it received.
The words “at fault” matter. This is not a free option to walk away for the price of the deposit, and it is not triggered by a failure nobody caused. A seller who simply changes their mind returns twice what they took. A buyer who changes theirs loses what they paid. Where neither is at fault — a condition in the contract fails, for instance — the contract’s own terms and the general rules decide, which is why the conditions belong in the contract. If the purchase depends on a mortgage, a clean title or a planning answer, write down what happens to the deposit if that condition fails.
A deposit of around 10% is common, according to Greek property sources, though nothing in law fixes it. Parties sometimes add a penalty clause under article 404 as well. Under article 409, a court can reduce a disproportionately large penalty at the debtor’s request, and a clause excluding that is void. Whether a court can reduce an oversized deposit in the same way is something I could not confirm.
How the money must move
Since 11 December 2023, the price in notarial sale deeds and preliminary contracts must be paid exclusively through bank payment methods, whatever the amount; the notary records how it was paid. A deed recording a cash payment is void and cannot be registered, and the fine is 10% of the undocumented amount, with a minimum of €10,000 and a maximum of €500,000. The deposit is part of the price, so this applies to it too. The practical side — where the money comes from and how it gets to Greece — is covered in paying for a house in Greece.
The self-contracting clause
Buyers from abroad often sign a preliminary contract, pay in full and go home, leaving the final deed for later. The clause that makes this safe is the self-contracting clause (αυτοσύμβαση): it authorises the buyer to sign the final deed alone on the seller’s behalf. Without it, a seller who refuses to complete can be overcome only by a court judgment that substitutes for their consent. Non-residents usually combine it with a notarial power of attorney to a Greek lawyer.
Two tax consequences follow. Greek tax guidance keeps the seller liable for income tax on the property while the preliminary contract is in force, and the buyer must list the property in their own property declaration once the contract grants self-contracting, the price is paid and possession is handed over. Whether transfer tax falls due at the preliminary stage in that situation is a point I could not confirm; ask the notary.
What it costs
The notary’s proportional fee on a preliminary contract is calculated on the amount paid at signing, not the full price, under ministerial decision 111376/2012, and it is credited against the fee for the final deed if that is signed in time. The 2012 scale has since been revised, and sources disagree on the current rates, so get a written quote. The main costs of the purchase — 3% transfer tax on the taxable value, plus a municipal levy of 3% on the tax — come with the final deed and are set out in what buying in Crete really costs. A 15% transfer tax for non-EU buyers from 2027 was announced in September 2026; it is a proposal, not law.
The honest downside
The rules are clear, but enforcing them is not quick. A seller who refuses to return double the deposit has to be sued; a buyer relying on a court judgment instead of a self-contracting clause faces the same delay. The strongest protection is in the drafting — conditions, dates and consequences written down in a notarial contract — which is exactly the part buyers are tempted to rush when the house they want is about to be sold to someone else.
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, a notary, a lawyer or any other professional, and it never will.
Worth it if the preliminary contract is notarial, the deposit is paid by bank transfer, the conditions and dates are written in, and — if you are paying in full and leaving — there is a self-contracting clause. Skip it if you are asked to pay a deposit against a private agreement or in cash, however standard you are told it is.
Does a preliminary property contract in Greece have to be notarial?
Yes. Civil Code article 166 subjects a preliminary contract to the form the law requires for the main contract, and a sale of land or a building requires a notarial deed. A private preliminary agreement is therefore void, and money paid under it can be recovered only as unjust enrichment, not as a contractual deposit.
What happens to the deposit if the seller pulls out in Greece?
Under Civil Code article 403, the party at fault for the contract not being performed loses the deposit it gave or returns double the deposit it received. So a seller who refuses to complete without a valid reason returns twice the deposit. A buyer who walks away without a valid reason loses it.
How much deposit is usual on a Greek property?
Commonly around 10% of the price, according to Greek property sources, though it is a matter of agreement. The deposit, like the rest of the price, must now be paid through a bank; since 11 December 2023 a notarial preliminary contract that records a cash payment is void.
What is a self-contracting clause in a Greek preliminary contract?
It is a clause, usually agreed once the full price has been paid, that lets the buyer sign the final deed alone on the seller's behalf. It protects a buyer against a seller who later refuses to complete; without it, the buyer would need a court judgment substituting the seller's consent.
How much does a notary charge for a preliminary contract in Greece?
The proportional notary's fee on a preliminary contract is calculated on the amount paid at signing, not on the full price, under ministerial decision 111376/2012, and it is credited against the fee for the final deed if that is signed on time. The rates in the scale have been revised since 2012, so ask the notary for the figure.
Can the court reduce a penalty clause in a Greek property contract?
A penalty clause, yes. Civil Code article 409 lets the court reduce a disproportionately large penalty at the debtor's request, and an agreement excluding that is void. Whether a court can reduce a disproportionate deposit in the same way is something I could not confirm from the sources I checked.
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