Property disputes in Greece for owners abroad

Short answer

Greek law gives an owner or possessor court actions to stop interference and recover possession, interim measures that let a court regulate possession provisionally, and, for occupied homes, a criminal complaint, which must be filed within three months of learning of the act and the offender. Co-owners decide ordinary management by majority calculated on the size of their shares, and any co-owner can ask a court to partition the property. Boundary disputes go to court or, for cadastral errors, to the Cadastre or a correction action. Act early: possession claims expire one year after the interference, and someone who possesses a property as owner can, if the legal conditions are met, acquire it by acquisitive prescription after ten years (with a lawful title and good faith) or twenty years (otherwise).

Someone is occupying your house or land

Greek law protects possession separately from ownership. If you are disturbed in your possession, or put out of it, unlawfully and against your will, you can claim that the disturbance stop and not be repeated, or that possession be returned to you, and you can also claim damages. The person who took possession cannot defend himself by pointing to a right over the property, unless that right has been recognised by a final judgment between you.

These possession claims are time-limited: they become time-barred one year after the dispossession or disturbance. For an owner who visits rarely, the first step is therefore to establish when the occupation began and to act within that year.

Separately, an owner can bring an ownership action (διεκδικητική αγωγή) against whoever possesses or holds the property, asking the court to recognise the ownership and order the property returned. Where speed matters, a court can also order interim measures in possession disputes; under the rules as rewritten in 2024, which we confirm for each case, it may allow or forbid acts of possession, or award possession provisionally to one party, with or without security.

Where someone has entered or stays in a home, a workplace or an enclosed space against the will of the person entitled, that is a criminal offence (διατάραξη οικιακής ειρήνης), prosecuted only on a complaint by the victim; the complaint must be filed within three months of the day the victim learned of the act and of the offender, or the offence can no longer be prosecuted. Taking the property back by force yourself is lawful only at the moment you are put out of it or straight after, without any delay; later, use the courts, because enforcing a claim arbitrarily can itself be an offence.

Why an absent owner should not wait

A person who possesses a property as if he were its owner can acquire ownership by acquisitive prescription (χρησικτησία): after ten years if he has a lawful title and acted in good faith, and after twenty years in any case. Time can be counted together with the time of the person he took possession from.

Bringing an ownership action against the possessor interrupts prescription, and the time already run no longer counts. Losing possession also interrupts it, unless the possessor regains possession within a year or by an action filed within that year. In areas covered by the Cadastre, an inaccurate first registration must be challenged within a deadline set by law that depends on the area and is strict; check it with a lawyer as soon as you see the error. After it, the registration becomes final and the true owner is left with a money claim.

Disputes between co-owners

Where a property belongs to several people in undivided shares, the rules on co-ownership apply; if the shares are not specified, they are presumed equal. Each co-owner may use the property as long as this does not prevent the others from using it too, and each is entitled to a share of its income in proportion to his share.

Management belongs to all the co-owners together, but the majority can decide how the property is ordinarily managed and used, with the majority calculated on the size of the shares, not the number of people. In an emergency any co-owner may take the measures needed to preserve the property without the others' consent.

Any co-owner can at any time demand that the co-ownership end, unless this has been excluded by agreement, which can be for at most ten years, or by the property's dedication to a lasting purpose. If the co-owners cannot agree on a partition, any of them can ask the court for judicial partition. The court divides the property in kind if it can be split into similar parts matching the shares without loss of value; otherwise it orders a sale by auction and the proceeds are divided. Inherited property shared among heirs has some additional rules, explained in our guide on co-owned inherited property.

Boundaries, encroachment and neighbours

If the boundary between two plots is unclear, a court can fix it. If the true boundary cannot be established, the court follows the existing state of possession; if that cannot be established either, the disputed strip is divided equally. An owner can also require the neighbouring owner to set fixed boundary markers jointly and at shared cost, or to restore markers that were moved or damaged.

Where a neighbour interferes with your ownership in a way other than taking the property, for example by building over the line or using your land, you can claim that the interference be removed and not repeated, and damages where the conditions are met. An owner must tolerate smoke, noise and similar effects from a neighbouring property only if they do not substantially harm the use of his own property or come from a use that is usual in the area.

Many boundary problems first appear in the Cadastre. The head of the cadastral office can correct obvious errors in an entry, and geometric errors on an application with a topographic diagram of the change; where the correction affects a neighbouring property, that owner must be notified or consent in writing. A disputed first registration is corrected by a court action filed within the legal deadline; separately, before the hearing, the claimant must invite the defendants to a mediation session, or the action is inadmissible. Arranging mediation is not a reason to delay filing. Our guide on cadastral mediation explains that step.

What we need from you

To assess a dispute and choose the right route, we usually ask for the following. Copies by email are enough to begin.

Your title deed or other title (purchase contract, acceptance of inheritance, court decision) and its registration;
The cadastral extract and the cadastral diagram for the property, or the property's KAEK number if you have it;
Any topographic diagram, building permit or survey of the property;
When you, or someone on your behalf, last visited or used the property, and any evidence of that use (utility bills, tax returns listing the property, photographs);
When you learned of the occupation or encroachment, who is involved and what they have said or done;
For co-ownership: the names and shares of the other co-owners, and any agreement between you on use or management.

How we work with owners abroad

Most of this work can be done without you travelling to Greece. You can sign a power of attorney at a Greek consulate, or before a notary where you live with an apostille under the 1961 Hague Convention (or with consular legalisation if your country is not a party to it), and a lawyer then acts for you in Greece. We tell you the exact wording the power of attorney needs for your matter before you sign it. In property disputes the power of attorney should allow your lawyer to file lawsuits, applications for interim measures and criminal complaints on your behalf.

We meet by video call, work in English and Greek, and exchange documents by email. The site also has pages in Turkish (latsoudislaw.com/tr/) and Arabic (latsoudislaw.com/ar/).

Questions clients ask

Someone has moved into my holiday house while I was abroad. Can I just change the locks?

Taking a property back by force is lawful only at the moment you are put out of it or straight after, without any delay. After that, use the court routes: a possession action, an application for interim measures, an ownership action and, for a home or enclosed space, a criminal complaint, filed within three months of learning of the act and the offender.

Can someone become the owner of my land just by using it?

Yes, in principle. A person who possesses a property as owner for twenty years can acquire it by acquisitive prescription, and for ten years if he has a lawful title and acted in good faith. Whether the conditions are met depends on the facts, and an ownership action against him interrupts that period.

My co-owners outvote me on how the property is used. Is that allowed?

For ordinary management and use, yes: the majority decides, calculated on the size of the shares. If you no longer want to stay in the co-ownership, you can ask the court for partition, unless it was excluded by agreement for a set period.

The Cadastre shows part of my plot as belonging to my neighbour. What can I do?

If it is an obvious or geometric error, an application to the cadastral office may be enough, with the neighbour notified or consenting. If the first registration itself is wrong, it is corrected by a court action filed within the legal deadline for that area; before the hearing you must invite the other side to a mediation session. Do not delay filing to arrange mediation.

Sources

This page is general information, not legal advice; the answer in any real case depends on its facts and documents.

L+A advises owners of property in Greece who live abroad, from the first document review to court.

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What can I do from abroad if someone occupies my property in Greece, a co-owner will not cooperate, or a neighbour encroaches on my land?