PERMITTED BUILD AREA

The area of the plot will have a direct relationship on the area of the building you will be permitted to construct/extend on the land, this is known as the plots ‘construction coefficient’, which will depend on whether the plot is located within, or outside, the town/village boundaries.    The following are intended as ‘General Notes’ only; Greek Law regarding permitted build areas is complex, and your Lawyer and Architect/Structural Engineer must be consulted to examine zoning and Building Regulation requirements affecting any specific plot.

Permitted Build Area (or Building Co-efficient)

If you are considering the construction of a new home on an undeveloped plot, you’re appointed Architect/Structural Engineer should investigate the building plots ‘Building Co-efficient’.

This ratio will determine the maximum permissible building area that may be constructed on any given plot, thus a plot with an area of (say) 350m2 and a ‘Building Co-efficient’ of 0.4, one may be able to construct a house with a maximum gross external floor area of 140m2.

Residential land is generally divided into four categories, and different rules apply according to its location:

1. Building land within a ‘town/urban plan’ or village boundary

Building plots with a minimum gross area of 1,000m2 may be considered eligible for development.  A building plot located within a ‘town/urban plan’ may have a Building Co-efficient ranging from 0.4 to 2.4, and must have access to and from a Municipal road.  This is not a meaningful ‘rule’, as there are of course numerous examples of building plots with a far lesser gross area being used for residential purposes. 

2. Building land outside the ‘town/urban plan’ or village boundary

Building plots with a gross area exceeding 4,000m2 may be considered eligible for development, subject to any possible Coastal, Archaeological, Agricultural and/or Forestry restrictions (exception can be made for plots covering a smaller area which adjoin a national or municipal road).

Permissible metric area of a house to be constructed on such plot is calculated in the following way:

• Plot area 4,000m2:  Gross building area of 200m2 may be permissible,
• Plot area 4,000 – 8,000m2:  Gross building area of 200m2 + (plot metric area less 4,000m2) x 0.02 may be permissible,
• Plot area over 8,000m2:  Gross building area of 280m2 + (plot metric area less 8,000m2) x 0.01 may be permissible

3. Building land within a village

Building plots located in villages with a population less than 2,000 persons

4. Protected building land

Building plots located within traditional and specially protected settlements