Arbitrarily: This is how complaints from citizens will be made with a fee of 300 euros – 2024-03-05 18:43:07

In a double chokehold, the government aspires to “trap” the arbitrary. First of all, special teams will carry out more intensive checks, on the ground and from the air, using drones, in order to detect urban planning illegalities. At the same time, a new digital platform will register urban planning illegalities, which will result from citizen complaints.

The submission of a complaint for arbitrariness in the electronic system that will be made by the TEE will be done by name and with a fee of 300 euros, in order to exclude malicious … clashes between neighbors. The “guarantee” will be returned to the complainant if the information is verified by the building inspectors. These are provided for in the provisions of the multi-law bill of the Ministry of Environment and Energy, which is expected to be submitted to public consultation in the near future.

How will abusers be identified and complaints made

First, an online platform will be created to detect intruders using satellite images and drones. In particular, the Technical Chamber of Greece (TEE) will create an online cartographic information system for the geolocation of unauthorized buildings, in which every new building outside the plan will be periodically mapped and located, as well as a Unified Electronic Complaint System, which will be interconnected with other electronic services such as is the system for issuing electronic permits “e-Permits” etc.

The complaints platform, one month after the adoption of the new regulations, will start its trial operation for two months and a month later it will start its normal operation. Complaints will be submitted electronically by the interested party, their attorney or an authorized engineer using a relevant standard complaint form that will include the details of the complainant (name, surname, identity number, VAT number, residential address, etc.), information on the spatial location of the complainant property and its owner (if known) and the data that will support the validity of the reported arbitrariness.

For the submission of the complaint, a fee of 300 euros will be paid to the “Green Fund”, unless the complainant is a public body. The proceeds will be used to pay the compensation and expenses of the building inspectors who will conduct the inspections. The fee will be refunded in case of even partial success of the complaint. In case the complaint is rejected, archived, or the interested party withdraws from the complaint, the fee will be forfeited to the Green Fund. The competent service for the evaluation (based on the size of the arbitrariness, dangerousness, etc.) and management of the complaints will be the Department of Implementation of Planning and Control of the Built Environment of the Ministry of the Interior.

In any case, all control and sanctioning responsibilities for arbitrary construction with the new regulations pass from the urban planners to the “Rambos” of the Ministry of Environment and Energy, that is to the General Directorate of the Corps of Inspectors and Auditors. They will constitute the special control and autopsy levels, consisting of at least two people, while the controls can also be carried out by private building inspectors of the special register kept at the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Possibility of appeals

Against the autopsy report, the interested party will be able to appeal to the Central Council for Town Planning Issues and Disputes B’ within ten days of the autopsy report being affixed to the property. The possibility of appeal will not be given if during the inspection it is found that construction work is being carried out (on its own) and there is no valid sign of the project, if it is arbitrary in forests, on public lands, on the seashore, in the beach zone, in the A zone of the archaeological site , in a historical place, traditional settlement, etc. The appeal must be accompanied by proof of payment in favor of the “Green Fund” fee:

• 200 euros for surface violations up to 30 sq.m.,
• 500 euros for surface violations up to 80 sq.m. and
• 1,000 euros for violations of an area of ​​more than 80 sq.m.,

The decision on the appeal will be issued within one month of its submission. The fee will be returned to the appellant if the appeal is accepted, in whole or in part. In case of rejection of the appeal or the expiry of the deadline for its exercise, the autopsy report will become final. The final autopsy report is a declaration of violations, on the basis of which arbitrary buildings or constructions are immediately demolished and attract penalties.

Demolitions and penalties

The arbitrator will have 10 days from the moment the autopsy is done to prove the legality of the construction. Otherwise the Ministry of Infrastructure will have to demolish it in a month. However, it will be possible to appeal against the demolition protocol to the appeals court, which will have to consider the case and issue a decision within two and a half months. In addition to demolition, fines for construction and untimely demolition, criminal penalties, suspension of the economic activity license and interruption of electricity supply will also be imposed.

However, in the event of voluntary demolition, 50% of the construction fine will be waived and the criminal prosecution will cease. In the event that the owner proceeds with the demolition of the unauthorized constructions after the deadline, the construction fines will be reduced depending on when the demolition will take place. The reduction of fines will not be applied in the cases of arbitrary actions in forests, forested and reforested areas, on the seashore, the beach, etc., in Natura protected areas and in cases of work carried out independently.

If the owner legalizes the unauthorized constructions, a fine equal to 50% of the construction fine will be imposed, as well as a fine for non-compliance with the demolition obligation, from the detection of the unauthorized construction to the date of issuance of the building permit. In buildings that have a building permit, operate industrial and craft uses and have been exceeded in height up to two meters, a fine equal to 30% of the construction fine and non-compliance with the demolition obligation will be imposed.

If the demolition process is undertaken by the Greek State and it is found that the contractors refuse to execute demolition contracts, the Secretary of the Decentralized Administration may, by his decision, impose a fine from 6,000 euros to 10,000 euros, depending on the severity of the violation, based on which demolition is required.

The proposed regulations provide that all new unlicensed illegal structures built after January 1, 2024 will be demolished with absolute priority. Demolition protocols issued by the time the proposed regulations come into force will be executed based on the chronological order of installation of illegal structures , until 31-12-2024.

The fines

Construction fines will be calculated based on the value of the arbitrariness multiplied by the environmental burden factor. The value of the arbitrariness will be calculated as the product of its surface, multiplied by the zone value of the area of ​​the property, while the environmental burden factor will be set at 1.2 for serious arbitrariness (within Natura areas, forests, streams, beaches, etc. ) and to 1 for the remaining arbitrary cases. The minimum amount of the construction fine starts from 250 to 1,500 euros depending on the case.

From the walling of the autopsy report to the demolition or legalization of the trespassers, if provided for, a fine for untimely demolition, which will be equal to 50% of the construction fine, may be imposed for each year of non-restoration of the trespass. The unauthorized construction fines will be paid in 30 equal monthly installments and the untimely demolition fines in 12 monthly installments.

If the fine due is paid in full within the first month from the certification of the fine to the competent financial service, a 30% discount will be granted. The imposed fines will be attributed by 75% to the “Green Fund” for actions to control and suppress arbitrary construction, as well as environmental balance and by 25% to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport for carrying out the demolitions.

Criminal penalties and blackout

The owners, those ordering the construction, installation of arbitrary constructions or changes of use and the contractors will be punished with a prison sentence of at least two years and a fine of between 12,600 euros and up to 54,000 euros. The engineers who prepared the studies or are in charge of the project will be punished with the same penalty.

If it is an arbitrary space, which is used for the exercise of an economic activity, a temporary withdrawal of the license or operating approval will be imposed and the space and equipment will be sealed. At the same time as the sanctions, a power cut may be imposed following a relevant request of the General Directorate of the Corps of Inspectors and Auditors to the DEDDIE.