A new legislative initiative by the Ministry of Justice is set to modernize Greece’s co-ownership framework, which has remained virtually unchanged for a century. This is a reform that touches every Greek family. In Greece, co-ownership relations have been governed by a legislative framework established in 1929 — an era when apartment buildings were the exception rather than the rule. Today, however, the vast majority of citizens live or work in horizontally owned buildings, and the needs of modern society have changed dramatically. This reality has intensified the urgency, according to Ministry of Justice officials, for a sweeping overhaul of the existing regime.
Replacing a fragmented system
The Ministry of Justice’s new legislative initiative aims to replace a fragmented and outdated system with a unified, modern, and functional framework that meets the demands of the times. This is a reform that affects not only lawyers or engineers, but millions of property owners and every Greek family.
Current realities have exposed problems that existing law is unable to effectively address, as both Justice Minister Giorgos Floridis and Deputy Minister Ioannis Bougas have emphasized. The energy upgrading of buildings, the installation of solar panels or electric vehicle charging stations, the amendment of outdated apartment building regulations, the exercise of air rights, short-term rentals, and long-standing disputes between co-owners are all prime examples. In many cases, the requirement for unanimous consent or excessively high majority thresholds leads to complete deadlock, even for absolutely necessary maintenance work.
What’s set to change
The proposed reform seeks to deliver practical solutions. According to statements made by Minister Floridis and Deputy Minister Bougas, the initiative consolidates scattered provisions currently spread across dozens of legislative texts, aligns property law with the operations of the National Cadastre, accelerates the resolution of legal disputes, and streamlines decision-making in apartment buildings. It also addresses pending issues that complicate property transfers and enables better utilization of private assets, thereby contributing to tackling the housing crisis.
Also gaining particular importance are the institutional recognition of the building manager’s role, the creation of a more effective system for collecting common expenses, the introduction of mandatory reserve funds and building insurance, as well as the simplification of procedures for repairs and energy upgrades.
This reform is the natural continuation of the recent modernization of property transfer law and inheritance law, as the Ministry of Justice leadership emphasized, adding that the goal is not simply to replace an old law, but to create a stable and modern institutional framework — a reform with a meaningful social and developmental impact that brings one of the most important institutions in Greek property law into the 21st century.
Among the key changes, apartment building regulations will be modernized to allow — regardless of whether the existing building bylaws prohibit it — the subdivision or merger of individual apartments (horizontal properties), enabling large floor-level units to be put to better use and helping address the housing shortage in major cities.
In practice, this means that an apartment owner will be able to divide their unit in two, live in one half and rent out the other — something that is currently not provided for under Greek law.
The reform will also resolve the persistent problem of residents failing to pay their share of common building expenses. A dedicated fast-track procedure for collecting common charges will be introduced — including the option to obtain a payment order — along with mandatory provisions for a building reserve fund and compulsory building insurance.
Furthermore, expedited procedures will be available to recover unpaid common expenses from non-compliant residents. At the same time, the reform will unblock essential repair works and energy upgrades that are currently stalled due to a lack of quorum, by lowering the required voting threshold for decisions relating to repairs, maintenance, energy efficiency improvements, and other building matters.
