Vertical and Horizontal Ownership in Crete: What You Actually Own on a Shared Plot
One house of three on a shared plot, or a flat in a block, is a normal Greek purchase. What you buy is defined by a notarial deed that may describe houses that were never built — read it before you fall for the view.
One house of three on a shared plot, or a flat in a block, is an ordinary Greek purchase and safe when the paperwork is clean. My view: in Crete, read the deed of establishment before you look at the kitchen, because on rural plots it is often a 1990s plan for houses never built, under rules that have since changed. Rules and figures as they stood in October 2026, checked against the Civil Code, law 3741/1929, article 98 of law 4495/2017, the Hellenic Cadastre’s legal-review handbook and Greek legal press.
I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. Divided ownership turns on a deed’s wording, a plot’s planning status and the date a building went up; a lawyer should read the deed, and an engineer should check the ground against it.
Divided ownership in one minute. Greek law lets one plot carry several separately owned properties: horizontal (a flat or floor, under law 3741/1929 and Civil Code articles 1002 and 1117) or vertical (a whole building among several on one plot, under legislative decree 1024/1971). Either way you own your unit outright plus an undivided share of the land and common parts, usually written in thousandths (‰), which also sets your share of costs and your vote. The rules sit in a notarial deed of establishment and a regulation; changing either needs every owner’s consent, in a registered notarial deed. Outside town plans and village limits, vertical property is lawful only where buildings stood by 28 July 2011 (law 4495/2017, art. 98), and owners of 65% of a plot can ask a court to impose one. The land itself is never divided: building rights belong to the plot as a whole.
What you own, and what you only share
Article 1 of law 3741/1929 recognises divided ownership of floors, or parts of floors, in one building, and counts basements and rooms under the roof as floors. Article 1117 of the Civil Code adds the other half: the owner of a flat is automatically an undivided co-owner, in proportion, of the parts serving everyone — “notably the ground, the foundations, the main walls, the roof, the courtyard”. Legislative decree 1024/1971 extended it to several independent buildings on one plot.
That is the difference from undivided shares, where you own a fraction of everything and cannot sell a room without the others. Here you own one thing outright, with a fixed share of what is shared, and you can sell it on your own.
The deed and the regulation are the property
Article 4 of law 3741/1929 lets owners, “with the common consent of all”, write a regulation setting their rights, assemblies and the majorities for decisions on the common parts. Article 13 requires any agreement setting or changing those rights to be a registered notarial deed, and gives its restrictions the character of a servitude. You are bound by rules you never signed. Where there is no regulation at all, even appointing a manager needs unanimity.
On a shared plot, the deed describes each building — sometimes buildings still to be built — with its area and thousandths, and usually allots exclusive-use areas: a garden, parking, a terrace. Those allotments are enforceable between owners.
A Justice Ministry committee is drafting a replacement for the 1929 law, with majorities instead of unanimity for repairs, safety, accessibility and energy upgrades; in September 2026 the press reported passage targeted for January 2027. It is not law; do not buy on it.
Thousandths, charges and what you may change
Without an agreement, article 5 makes each owner pay common charges — upkeep and repair of common parts, and taxes on them — in proportion to the value of their unit; regulations turn that into a table of thousandths. Blocks are covered in apartments and complexes; on a shared rural plot the common costs are fewer — a road, a gate, a garden, sometimes a pool.
On a shared plot, your right to build is your share of the plot’s building coefficient, never your own fenced corner: vertical property does not divide land and cannot raise density. If a previous owner built beyond the permit, article 98 lets any co-owner settle their own works without the others’ consent, then, on conditions, amend the deed unilaterally to absorb the settled space.
The Cretan problem: four houses promised, two built
Before 2013, vertical property was, with narrow exceptions, unavailable on rural land outside town plans and village limits; law 2052/1992 had opened it to settlements under 2,000 people and those that existed before 1923. Rural deeds were drawn up anyway, and article 98 rescued many, on conditions. It covers rural plots on which buildings, “lawfully erected or illegal” but settleable, “have been erected by 28.7.2011”, except in the article 89 zones (forest, shoreline and the like). Earlier deeds are “deemed valid from the outset” on the same conditions unless a court has annulled them, and the date is proved by aerial photographs certified by an engineer.
A house standing by mid-2011 is usually safe ground; a unit describing a house that was never built is not. I could not find any provision that rescues it. The same article allows a presidential decree to drop the 2011 condition, and I found no sign of one. What a seller calls “plot 3, ready to build” is, on most readings, a share of land whose building right depends on the whole plot meeting today’s rules — the minimum area and road frontage in buying land to build — and on the coefficient not being used up by the houses already there. Houses in an article 89 zone cannot be settled at all; that is illegal constructions. Inside town plans and recognised village limits, a vertical property over houses still to be built is generally lawful.
How the Cadastre records it
The Cadastre records each divided property as its own entry. Its legal-review handbook (edition 5.0, December 2025) tells registrars to check area, address, floor, unit number and percentage of co-ownership against the deed, and has separate chapters for establishing and amending a horizontal property. The numbering is in the Cadastre and the KAEK.
Errors happen, such as fewer units recorded than buildings on the ground. Compare entry and deed yourself: same units, thousandths adding up to 1,000.
What to check before you sign
- The deed and every amendment, read by a lawyer, not summarised by the seller.
- The regulation: exclusive-use areas, costs, uses, who may still build.
- The planning status: town plan, recognised settlement, or rural land.
- For rural plots: aerial-photograph evidence that each building stood by 28 July 2011.
- Permits for each house, checked against what stands, and what is left of the building coefficient.
- The cadastral entries, against the deed.
The honest downside
In my view, vertical property in rural Crete was too often a workaround for planning rules that would not let a field be split. The 2017 law rescued what had been built by 2011, not what had been promised, and the gap between the two is where buyers lose money. Even a clean scheme ties you to the neighbours for good, with rules that change only with every signature — and if the other owners are a dozen heirs abroad, that unanimity is a wall.
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, an engineer or any other professional, and it never will.
Worth it if the house or flat exists, matches its permit and its deed, the plot’s planning status supports the scheme, and the Cadastre shows the same units and thousandths. Skip it if you are being sold a unit for a house that was never built on rural land, or the deed, the ground and the Cadastre tell three different stories.
What is the difference between vertical and horizontal ownership in Greece?
Horizontal ownership is a flat or floor in one building, under law 3741/1929 and articles 1002 and 1117 of the Civil Code. Vertical ownership is a whole, separate building among several on one plot, under legislative decree 1024/1971. In both, the buyer owns the unit outright and an undivided share of the land and common parts, usually expressed in thousandths.
Can I sell my house on a shared plot without the neighbours' consent?
Yes, if it is a properly established vertical or horizontal property: a divided property is sold as a separate property, with its share of the land travelling with it. That is the main difference from an undivided share, where the buyer gets a fraction of everything. Changing the deed or regulation, by contrast, still needs every owner's signature in a registered notarial deed.
Is a vertical property on a rural plot in Crete legal?
Outside town plans and village limits, article 98 of law 4495/2017 allows vertical property only on plots where buildings, lawful or illegal but settleable, stood by 28 July 2011, proved by aerial photographs and certified by an engineer. Older deeds are treated as valid on the same conditions unless a court has annulled them. Inside town plans and recognised settlements, the rules are looser.
What happens if one of the houses in a vertical property was never built?
On a rural plot, the 2011 rescue in law 4495/2017 is tied to buildings that existed by 28 July 2011, so a unit describing a house that was never built is, at best, a share of land with an uncertain building right. Whether that house can still be built depends on the whole plot meeting today's rules and on the building coefficient not being used up. A lawyer and an engineer should both give a written view before any money moves.
How are common charges split in a Greek building or shared plot?
The regulation usually sets a table of thousandths, and each owner pays that share of maintenance, repairs and other common costs. Where there is no regulation, article 5 of law 3741/1929 makes each owner contribute in proportion to the value of their unit. On a shared rural plot the common costs are often a road, a gate, a garden or a pool.
How does the Greek Cadastre record a flat or a house on a shared plot?
The Hellenic Cadastre records each divided property as its own entry, with its area, floor, unit number and percentage of co-ownership in the plot, and its registrars check these against the deed. Mistakes happen, such as fewer units recorded than buildings on the ground. A buyer should compare the cadastral entry with the deed of establishment line by line.
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