The Greek Ministry for the Environment has announced a number of amendments to the national building regulations. For starters they will be reducing the building potential for land plots outside of the central building zones by 10% and also completely removing the possibility to build on any land plots outside of the central building zone, which are under 4000m². In this case, the land plots to be most detrimentally affected are those between 750m² and 3999m² in size directly attached to a central road because until this announcement these plots have building value.

These new rules will not come into force overnight thankfully so owners of land in Halkidiki and in fact throughout Greece who have the intention to build something can do so under the current regulations and will have at least 6 years time to complete the work. To be specific, they have time over the next 2 years to obtain a building permission, which will be valid then for 4 years.

If a plot loses the possibility to build, in turn it has a lower value so owners of land in Halkidiki should not delay to act. Even though it will be an expense to apply for building permission, a plot of land in Halkidiki with a valid permit adds value and can always be sold on. On the other hand owners who for whatever personal reasons are not interested or able to acquire building permission within the 2 year transition period may regain the possibility to build in the future, as by 2028 the Ministry for the Environment aims to introduce local building plans throughout the country. Promisingly, they intend to prioritise the tourist areas such as Halkidiki. Of course there is no guarantee when the building regulations eventually become localised what land in Halkidiki might benefit. The alternative option is to sell as soon as possible to a buyer ready to build who can meet the deadline.

Another of the improvements scheduled will be the digitalisation and in turn speed of the building permissions process, which will be a blessing for the applicants and engineers alike as it will be possible to submit the necessary documents online and building permission will then be granted automatically. There will also be benefits including greater building potential for buildings, which are to have high energy saving standards.