In early 2026, the Greek property market was weeks away from a crisis. The deadline for legalizing unauthorized constructions under Law 4495/2017 was set to expire on 31 March 2026. An estimated hundreds of thousands of properties across Greece, many of them actively on the market, carried unauthorized elements that had not yet been regularized. Without an extension, those properties would have been legally frozen: unable to be sold, transferred, inherited or mortgaged. For a complete overview of how unauthorised constructions transfer liability to the buyer under Greek law, see our guide to illegal constructions in Greece.

Law 5270/2026 prevented that outcome. The deadline was extended by two years to 31 March 2028. The Greek real estate market exhaled.

What did not change is the liability structure. Unresolved unauthorised work remains an asset-level commercial and transfer risk after purchase, although criminal, administrative and payment liabilities require separate legal analysis. The 2028 extension gives sellers more time to regularize before transfer. It gives buyers no additional protection whatsoever if they purchase without an independent property inspection to identify what is unauthorized and what it will cost to resolve.

From Law 4495/2017 to the 2026 Planning Code

Greece has had unauthorized construction as a structural feature of its property market for decades. Building permits became mandatory in 1955. Enforcement was inconsistent for the following forty years, particularly in rural areas, on islands and in coastal zones. Extensions were added informally. Basement conversions were completed without permit amendments. Balconies were enclosed. Pools were built without updated permits. Additional floors were added above the approved height.

Law 4495/2017 created the modern classification and regularisation framework. In June 2026, its relevant planning provisions were codified in Law 5306/2026, the Spatial Planning–Urban Planning Code. Article 477 of the Code repealed the provisions incorporated into it. Current category rules sit in Code Article 383 and the filing deadline sits in Code Article 389; older Law 4495 article numbers remain useful only as legislative history.

The framework uses a critical cutoff: the general regularisation route concerns qualifying unauthorised works or changes of use completed by 28 July 2011. Post-cutoff works do not enter through that general route, but the exact legal consequence and any permit, restoration or demolition pathway must be assessed for the specific property.

What Law 5270/2026 Changed — and Where the Rule Sits Now

Article 43(4) of Law 5270/2026 extended the filing deadline for eligible Category 1–4 cases from 31 March 2026 to 31 March 2028. Since June 2026, that rule is codified in Article 389(1) of Law 5306/2026. It applies to qualifying unauthorised constructions or changes of use completed by 28 July 2011; it is not a blanket route for every infringement.

Timing-related uplifts, reductions, payment terms and professional fees may apply under the current Code, but they are not uniform across every declaration. The extension to March 2028 does not itself determine the amount payable. A licensed Greek engineer must calculate the applicable coefficients and current payment rules at the date of submission.

Category 5 covers cases outside Categories 1–4, subject to special Code rules and exceptions. Law 5270/2026 did not place Category 5 inside the general 2028 filing window. A property may nevertheless have a prior filing or a specific statutory route, so neither automatic regularisation nor automatic demolition should be assumed without reviewing the file under current law.

If a property you are evaluating may fall into this category, get an independent read before you commit: kgnordic.com/contact

The Five Categories Under Code Article 383

The category is a statutory classification, not a shorthand description invented by an inspector. Classification, eligibility and legal effect must be confirmed by a licensed Greek engineer against the current Code and the property file.

Category 1: Buildings Completed Before 9 June 1975

Category 1 concerns qualifying unauthorised construction completed before 9 June 1975. It is age-based; it does not mean “minor technical deviations.”

Category 2: Construction Before 1 January 1983

Category 2 concerns qualifying unauthorised construction existing before 1 January 1983. Later additions on the same property must be classified separately under the applicable category.

Category 3: Defined Minor Infringements

Category 3 is a statutory list of specified minor infringements, such as certain limited dimensional changes and other listed cases. It is not a general category for every small extension.

Category 4: Works Within Statutory Thresholds

Category 4 covers qualifying works within detailed thresholds for building coverage, floor area, height, use and other conditions. The Code includes multiple routes and exceptions; classification cannot be made from a listing description or a rough percentage alone.

Category 5: Cases Outside Categories 1–4

Category 5 covers unauthorised construction or changes of use that do not fit Categories 1–4, subject to the Code’s special rules and exceptions. It is not synonymous with “no permit,” “coastal property” or automatic demolition. The general Category 1–4 filing window does not automatically open Category 5, but property-specific routes, prior filings and special cases must be checked under current law.

What the Extension Means for a Buyer in 2026

The 2028 extension creates a window of opportunity for sellers who have not yet regularized. It does not create any protection for buyers who purchase without checking.

The mechanism that creates buyer exposure has not changed. Unauthorized constructions transfer with ownership under Greek law. The seller’s engineer must certify at the notarial deed that the property is either free of unauthorized constructions or that existing ones have been regularized. That certificate is provided by the seller’s engineer. It is not an independent assessment. It reflects what has been declared, not necessarily what has been built.

A buyer who relies on the seller’s certificate without commissioning an independent technical check is trusting the selling party’s own engineer to identify problems that would complicate or delay the seller’s transaction. This is not a sound position. Seller-side documentation records declared status but does not, by itself, prove that an independent buyer-side measurement has reconciled every built element against the approved permit drawings. Undeclared discrepancies may therefore remain outside the file. Those elements, the ones that were never submitted for regularization and never appear in the documentation, are precisely what an independent physical inspection is designed to find.

The window until March 2028 means that a property acquired now with unregularized elements still needs those elements resolved before resale, inheritance or refinancing. In Crete specifically, coastal restrictions and enforcement exposure make property-level verification particularly important for buyers considering coastal assets. See the guide on property inspection Crete for the island-specific risk profile.

What Regularization Costs

Fine calculation under Law 4495/2017 and subsequent amendments depends on four factors: the category of the unauthorized construction, the tax zone value of the property’s location, the year of construction of the unauthorized element, and the type of use (residential attracts lower multipliers than commercial or tourist use).

There is no universal base range that can be applied mechanically to every property. Depending on affected area, zone value, use, age, permit status, infringement type and statutory coefficients, acquisition-risk exposure may be equivalent to a few hundred euros to roughly €2,000 per affected square metre. Minor cases may be lower; extensive, high-value or non-regularisable works may create substantially greater loss or demolition exposure.

For screening purposes, even a modest unauthorised enclosure can create exposure in the tens of thousands of euros once the statutory fine, engineer’s work, updated plans, filing, legal review and any remedial construction are combined. Larger deviations or high-value assets can reach six-figure exposure. These are risk scenarios, not a quotation: the property-specific amount and eligibility require a licensed Greek engineer’s calculation.

Where regularization is not available because the element breaches absolute planning limits, such as mandatory setback distances, coastal protection zones or areas with active construction freezes like Mykonos and Santorini under current restrictions, the exposure is a demolition order rather than a fine.

What Happens After March 2028

If an eligible Category 1–4 case has not been filed by 31 March 2028, the current general filing window closes unless legislation changes again. That can obstruct a later sale, financing or permit strategy, but inheritance follows a different legal route and the consequences are not identical for every property. The engineer and lawyer must identify the applicable restriction, any prior declaration, special route and enforcement exposure.

The commercial exposure remains attached to the asset even though criminal, administrative and payment liabilities require separate legal analysis. A buyer should therefore make unresolved work a pre-contract condition, a quantified price issue or a reason not to proceed.

BEFORE YOU COMMIT TO A PROPERTY IN GREECE

Send the permit file, Building Identity or listing documentation before signing anything.

We perform preliminary remote permit reviews for foreign buyers evaluating properties in Greece under the current regularisation window, extended to 2028 under Law 5270/2026.

This early-stage review identifies whether the property carries Category 1 to 4 or Category 5 unauthorised constructions, estimates regularisation exposure under current fine rates, and determines whether a full on-site inspection is warranted before the 2028 deadline becomes a factor in the acquisition.

The review is independent, English-language and delivered directly to the buyer.

Submit the property details here: kgnordic.com/contact

How to Identify Unauthorized Constructions Before Signing

The full methodology for pre-purchase identification is covered in the guide on how to check for illegal constructions in Greece before you buy. In summary: obtain the approved building permit file and architectural drawings from the Urban Planning Office, compare against the E9 tax declaration, and commission a physical inspection by a technically qualified advisor who can walk the property with the drawings in hand and identify discrepancies between what is approved and what is built.

The seller’s Building Identity certificate records declared status. It is a starting point, not a conclusion. Independent physical verification is the only method that reliably identifies unauthorized elements before purchase.

For investors acquiring complex, multi-unit or commercial assets, and increasingly as value rises above €500,000, a technical due diligence mandate includes permit verification as a core component alongside structural assessment, mechanical systems review and a ten-year CapEx projection. The Greece property risk checklist covers the full range of technical risk categories that compound with unauthorized construction exposure.

The 2028 Window Is Not Your Protection

Law 5270/2026 is good news for the Greek property market. It prevented a liquidity freeze that would have affected buyers and sellers alike. It gives owners with regularizable unauthorized constructions two additional years to resolve their situation.

It changes nothing about the liability structure for buyers. The property you are considering right now may carry unauthorized constructions in Category 1, Category 2, Category 3, Category 4, or Category 5. The selling side’s documents do not replace buyer-side verification, and the seller-appointed engineer does not owe the buyer the same independent scope as the buyer’s own advisor. The asking price does not discount for unresolved regularization costs.

Buying Property in Greece Before the 2028 Deadline?

Before contracts are signed, we review permit compliance, Building Identity status, unauthorised construction category and regularisation cost exposure under the current Law 5306/2026 Code and the Law 5270/2026 deadline amendment.

For foreign buyers unable to assess the permit status locally, we provide independent permit reviews, remote document assessments and on-site property inspections across Greece. Findings delivered in English before you sign.

Submit the property address and permit documentation here: kgnordic.com/contact

An independent property inspection commissioned before contracts are signed identifies what is there, what it costs to resolve, and whether the deadline creates a specific urgency for the transaction you are considering. That information belongs in the negotiation, not in the discovery phase after the deed is signed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What does Article 43(4) of Law 5270/2026 change for property buyers in Greece?

Article 43(4) of Law 5270/2026 extended the relevant filing deadline to 31 March 2028 for eligible Categories 1–4. The rule is now codified in Article 389(1) of Law 5306/2026. It does not create a universal remedy for every unauthorised construction. Buyers must still verify category, eligibility, declaration status, payments and supporting plans for the property.

Q: Does the 2028 deadline mean it is safe to buy a property with illegal constructions?

No. The deadline only extends the filing window for eligible older Category 1–4 infringements. It does not make a non-compliant building compliant automatically. Buyers must verify the category, declaration status, supporting plans, payments and whether the physical building matches what was declared before signing.

Q: Which illegal constructions cannot be regularised under current Greek law?

The general extension does not create a universal regularisation route for Category 5. Category 5 is a statutory classification based principally on the scale and nature of planning or building-permit exceedances; it is not a synonym for coastal-zone construction. Separate exclusions can apply in protected or prohibited locations. Eligibility, transferability and demolition exposure must be determined from the property, construction date, location and current legislation by a licensed Greek engineer and lawyer.

Q: What is the cost of regularising an illegal construction in Greece in 2026?

There is no universal per-square-metre tariff. The statutory calculation can depend on affected area, zone value, use, age, permit status, infringement type and applicable timing adjustments. For acquisition-risk screening, an indicative exposure may span roughly €200 to €2,000 per affected square metre, while minor cases may be lower and extensive, high-value or non-regularisable works may create substantially greater financial or demolition exposure. A licensed Greek engineer must calculate the property-specific amount.