Building permits to be issued through the new EOKED – Major reform in Land Registry and Ur
Source: Tornos News
The legislative initiative of the Ministries of Environment and Energy, Digital Governance, and Interior for the transformation of the Cadastre into the National Organization for Cadastre and Building Control (EOKED)—the national digital authority created through the consolidation of the responsibilities of the Hellenic Cadastre and part of the responsibilities previously exercised by the Building Services (Y.DOM.) of the Municipalities—was presented to the Cabinet.
With this reform, the foundations are laid for the creation of a digital “one stop shop” for real estate, meaning a single point of reference that provides uniform application of the law, simplification, transparency, speed, and efficiency.
By unifying the functions of the Cadastre and the Building Services, the State acquires, for the first time, a unified overview of “where, what, and how construction takes place.”
- What is achieved by the new reform that transforms the Cadastre into a National Organization for Cadastre and Building Control (EOKED)?
The new reform leads to faster service and more efficient workload distribution, uniform application of legislation nationwide, digitization, interoperability, and simplification of procedures, gradual elimination of local residency requirements, and the possibility of remote service. Most importantly, through the new organizational system of the Construction Centers, equal building rights are provided to all, regardless of which service they approach, while transparency is ensured through the use of modern digital tools and artificial intelligence in the review of building permits, for the first time in the country. At the same time, the reform will strengthen the reliability of state institutions.
- How is the citizen benefited by the creation of a unified authority?
With the new Organization, the citizen is served by one administrative point for all matters related to their real estate: faster issuance of building permits, equal treatment regardless of the property’s location, transparency, and fully digital services. The citizen will now enjoy legal certainty and equal access to universal building services.
- Why was reform of the Building Services necessary?
The basis of the reform is the need for a complete licensing and construction control mechanism, utilizing digital tools, uniform standards, and common procedures nationwide. Data from previous years highlight the priority of this organizational unification. Specifically:
- The current framework shows variations in the application of procedures and the availability of digital tools between different regions.
- In a nationwide evaluation by the Ministry of Interior (05/2025), Building Services (Y.DOM) scored an average of 3.4/10, indicating strong public demand for efficiency, simplification, and digitization.
- In 23% of Y.DOM the average time for issuing a building permit exceeds 3 months. In complex cases, issuance has exceeded 5 years.
- Of the 332 municipalities, only 185 currently have a Y.DOM (around 56%).
- 147 municipalities lack a Y.DOM, including 28 municipalities with over 100,000 inhabitants and 14 municipalities with over 40,000 inhabitants.
- Around 35% of Y.DOM operate with two or fewer engineers, insufficient to cover all specialties required by planning legislation.
- Some Y.DOM serve multiple neighboring municipalities, in some cases up to 8–9 municipalities.
All these findings demonstrated the need for a unified national authority.
- What is the National Organization for Cadastre and Building Control (EOKED), and what are its responsibilities?
EOKED is the unified national digital authority created by combining the responsibilities of the Hellenic Cadastre and part of the responsibilities previously exercised by Municipal Building Services (Y.DOM).
It constitutes the first comprehensive and extensive reform of this sector since 2015, concerning the restructuring of building services. With its establishment, a single service point (“one-stop-shop”) is created for all matters related to real estate, aimed at improving the organization of services linked to property and construction.
The new authority undertakes:
recording, documenting, and guaranteeing property
issuing building permits and related acts (zoning certificates, pre-approvals)
construction inspections
enforcing planning legislation
Its goal is to provide integrated and coherent information to citizens, engineers, legal professionals, and investors by creating, for the first time in Greece, a modern and fully digital authority that unifies all functions related to property and the oversight of the built environment.
- Are all related responsibilities removed from the Municipalities?
No. Municipalities retain key responsibilities in local urban planning, including:
- preparation and monitoring of planning studies, redevelopment projects, and city plan expansions
- management of public and communal spaces
- participation in decisions on spatial planning, land use, and Local Urban Plans
- drafting implementation diagrams, handling consolidation, allocation, and registration processes
- proposing expropriation lifts or zoning inconsistencies
- urban and topographical applications
Municipalities remain the “guardians” of planning in their areas, while the issuance of building permits and control of the built environment is transferred to the new Organization.
Currently, 245 Local and Special Urban Plans covering 831 of the 1,035 municipal units are nearing completion.
Is the issuance of building permits a responsibility of Central Government?
According to a recent Council of State ruling (CoS 1728/2025), clear boundaries between the responsibilities of municipalities and the State are established. Based on jurisprudence, the issuance of building permits falls under central government responsibility.
However, municipalities remain responsible for urban planning matters related to city plans.
What will be the structure of the new Organization?
The reform introduces:
a Governor as head of the Organization
a Deputy Governor for Cadastre
a Deputy Governor for Building Control
Under the new General Directorate of Building, there will be:
- 20 Regional Building Centers (PKD)
- 77 Local Building Centers (TKD)
- These will utilize existing Cadastre Offices, forming a modern national network of building services.
What is the role of independent building inspectors?
For the first time in Greece, a Registry of Independent Building Inspectors is created. They will be assigned, by random draw, the mandatory pre-construction review of all permits. If issues with the application of planning law arise, final inspection is carried out by the General Directorate of Building.
This strengthens the integrity and reliability of building permits.
When will the initial implementation take place, and when will the new Organization be established?
Transition timeline:
- End of Q1 2026: Passage of legislative framework
- June 2026: Initial operation in 3 Regional and 3 Local Centers
- Early 2027: Full operation of EOKED and all PKD & TKD
Personnel transition will ensure employment continuity.
- How will EOKED support overall spatial organization?
The reform is part of a broader national strategy for space management and aligns with the new institutional and digital framework, which includes:
- Codification of planning legislation into 477 articles, created for the first time as a unified body of regulations.
- Simplification and restructuring of the New Building Code for clarity and uniformity.
- New digital licensing framework with dual inspections and enhanced legal certainty.
- A Unified Digital Map consolidating all planning, spatial, and environmental data.
- Integration of Cadastre and Building data, providing the State with a unified view of land use and construction.
EOKED thus becomes not only an organizational change but the authority ensuring the transition to a modern, digital, coherent spatial governance system.
What is the role of the Cadastre within EOKED?
The Hellenic Cadastre forms the core of EOKED.
With the reform, the Cadastre:
- compiles and guarantees property ownership with complete digital documentation
- provides the unified digital framework that supports all building procedures
- ensures interoperability between property registers and construction data
- supports the development of the digital one-stop-shop for real estate
- converts existing Cadastre Offices into a national service network for property and construction
In essence, the Cadastre becomes the backbone unifying ownership – licensing – inspection in a single system.
- How will the integration of Y.DOM into the Cadastre be made more functional?
Integration is achieved through the creation of EOKED, in which:
Y.DOM responsibilities transferred include:
- building permits
- pre-approvals and zoning certificates
- construction inspections
- enforcement of planning legislation
- A new Deputy Governorship for Building Centers is created, overseeing:
- the General Directorate of Building
- all PKD and TKD
- Personnel from Y.DOM is transferred with full employment continuity
- Procedures are unified through:
- common workflows
- uniform digital tools
- central coordination
- complete interoperability with Cadastre data
- This is not a simple transfer but a true organizational and digital integration.
Will Y.DOM be relocated, and where will citizens be served?
Yes, but not as Y.DOM.
Y.DOM is abolished as an independent municipal service.
Its functions and staff are incorporated into the 20 PKD and 77 TKD of EOKED.
Where will these Centers operate?
In existing Cadastre Offices, leveraging their national coverage.
Where will citizens be served?
At a single service point per area: either a PKD or TKD
Through fully digital services, without local residency requirements
With uniform procedures nationwide
With direct access to all property and building services in one physical and digital location
Service shifts from municipalities to the national EOKED system.
- What does “smart permit control with artificial intelligence” mean, and how will it function?
The goal is to establish, for the first time, systematic AI-assisted control of building permits so that inspections are more targeted and effective.
Instead of random checks, the system will identify cases more likely to include issues (e.g., areas with frequent violations, protected zones, or highly complex projects).
Using AI:
- About 30% of permits will be checked, but not randomly
- The system will analyze data to flag “high-risk” applications
- Sensitive areas (historical sites, protected zones, areas with past violations) will receive greater scrutiny
In simple terms: the State will use an “intelligent filter” to highlight permits requiring priority inspection, enabling early detection of problems before construction begins and strengthening environmental and spatial protection.
The original article: belongs to Tornos News .
