Private Urban Development
What is it?
A land area owned by one or more natural or legal persons, with a surface area of at least 50 hectares, located outside the city plan and settlement, may be developed for various land uses, such as general or pure housing, tourism-recreation, urban center, etc. This is the definition of private urbanization, which is a tool to achieve the inclusion of undeveloped areas in a town and country plan, as opposed to the established procedure through the municipalities, where more or less developed (unauthorized) areas are included.
The urbanization of areas by private initiative was introduced by law in 1991 and reformed according to the provision of Article 24 of the current housing law 2508/97.
The building cooperatives which have been in existence for decades also follow the same provision of Article 24 after 1997, so in this sense IP is a modernization of the status of the POs.
Who might be interested in Private Urbanization?
- Building cooperatives
- Owners of large areas of land
Also
- The land must be outside the town plan and outside the settlement
- There must be an interest in maximum economic return
- There must be the necessary patience
Then we can help you with the process of private urbanization of the land. This process is extremely complex, time-consuming and requires approvals from almost all services related to the site (Ministry of Environment, Forestry, Urban Planning, archaeological services of prehistoric, classical and modern times, etc.).
But that is why we are here to help you in this process. With extensive experience in Building Cooperatives and Private Urban Development and with staff dedicated exclusively to these matters, we can turn your large land into a very large asset.
In order to ensure the success of such a seemingly difficult attempt, we prepare a feasibility study of the urbanization of the land. This way you know with certainty the facts about the viability of such a project.
Requirements
The most basic requirement is that the site must be included in a provision for main or holiday homes.
This is achieved through land use plans which are the G.P.S. (General Urban Plans). G.P.S.’s are a land use plan for the entire administrative district of a municipality, defining land use, subdivision boundary, building conditions and restrictions.
It also identifies the areas to be protected (forest, archaeological, fragile ecosystems), as well as the areas to be developed. This procedure can therefore also be used to identify areas for private urbanization, following interest expressed by other owners.
Another way to develop PEPPO areas is through a General Directions Decision at the level of the Law. Already, areas have been designated by F.E.C. in eleven counties of the country on a general-purpose map (1:100000) that can be activated by owner-occupiers. The designation of PEPOs (Specially Regulated Urban Development Areas) in the periphery of a Prefecture constitutes spatial planning.
The other requirements relate to the land itself, which must not be forest, archaeological or land of high agricultural productivity. There is also a definition of streams, a beach, if required, a geological study, an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
Example: Land of 200 ha with 50% common-public spaces and a building factor of 0.40 will yield: S=200,000 x 0.40=40,000m2 of built-up area. The residential capacity will be 2000 x 4=8000 persons.
Finally, before the final approval (planning study), a special payment in cash (minimum 60,000 euros) is required.
The transfer of the plots to natural persons at the limit of incompleteness (e.g. 500 m2) can only take place after the execution of the basic infrastructure works (roads, water supply, electricity, etc. this is not established by a decision of the Prefectural Technical Services).
Private urbanisation procedure
- Preparation of a Housing Suitability File
- Preparation of an application by the private owner (or group of owners), or the public or private interest legal entity
- Questionnaire on the environment
- Checking of property titles
- Advice
- Archaeological services
- Forestry Services
- Directorate of Agriculture
- City Council
- Planning Office
- PPC
- OTE
- C.S.O.P.
- IOCC
- Athens Agency
- Urban Planning Study
- Determination of Beach Lines, Beach, Stream Boundaries
- Opinion of the Council of State
- Approval of the State Council of Greece (State Council of Greece)
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It would be good to have someone together who knows the boundaries of ownership. It will be useful to have old topographic diagrams and anything related to the property with you (contracts, building permit plans, expropriation plans, characterization deeds, cadastral diagrams, etc.). In case it is a large area, wear comfortable clothes and shoes because we will need to walk on its contour to find its limits.
