https://nyti.

ms/12WvKHs

EUROPE

WhoOwnsThisLand?InGreece,Who
Knows?
BySUZANNEDALEY MAY26,2013
ATHENSNotlongagoLeonidasHamodrakas,alawyerinAthens,decidedto
paycloserattentiontohisfamilyslandholdingssomefields,ascatteringof
buildingsandamassivestonetowerinMani,aruralregioninsouthern
Greece.

ButpropertyownershipinGreeceisoftenlessthanclearcut.SoMr.
Hamodrakasputapadlockonhisgateandwaitedtoseewhatwouldhappen.
Soonenough,heheardfromneighbors.Threeofthemclaimedthatthey,too,had
titletopartsoftheproperty.

Inthisageofsatelliteimagery,digitalrecordsandtheinstantaneous
exchangeofinformation,mostofGreeceslandtransactionrecordsarestill
handwritteninledgers,loggedinbylastnames.Nolotnumbers.Noclarityon
boundariesorzoning.Noobviouswaytotellwhethertwopeople,or10,have
registeredownershipofthesameproperty.

AsGreecetriestoclawitswayoutofaneconomiccrisisofhistoric
proportions,onethathasleft60percentofyoungpeoplewithoutjobs,many
expertscitethelackofaproperlandregistryasoneofthebiggestimpedimentsto
progress.Itscaresoffforeigninvestorsmakesithardforthestatetoprivatizeits
assets,asithaspromisedtodoinexchangeforbailoutmoneyandmakesit
virtuallyimpossibletocollectpropertytaxes.

Greecehasresortedtotaggingtaxduesontoelectricitybillsasawaytoflushout
owners.Ofcourse,thatmeansthatemptypropertyandfarmlandhasyettobe
taxed.
 Mr.Hamodrakasisfarfromresolvingthedisputewithhisneighbors.The
courtsinGreecearefloodedwithsuchcases.Thesethingstakeyears,hesaid,
maybeadecadetosettle.

ThisstateofaffairsisparticularlygallingbecauseGreecehasthrown
hundredsofmillionsofdollarsattheproblemoverthepasttwodecades,buthas
littletoshowforit.Atonepoint,intheearly1990s,Greecetookmorethan$100
millionfromtheEuropeanUniontobuildaregistry.Butafterseeingwhatwas
accomplished,theEuropeanUniondemandeditsmoneyback.

Sincethen,Greecehastried,andtriedagain.Butstill,lessthan7percentof
thecountryhasbeenproperlymapped,officialssay.Expertssaythateventhe
Balkanstates,recoveringfromyearsofCommunismandcivilwar,arefarahead
ofGreecewhenitcomestolandregistriesattachedtozoningmapsan
approachdevelopedbytheRomansandinwideuseinmuchofthedeveloped
worldsincethe1800s.

ButnotinGreece.Heretheextentofdisputedlandisenormous,expertssay.

Ifyoucalculatedthetotaldeedsthatareregistered,saidDimitris
Kaloudiotis,anengineerwhotookoveraspresidentofthenationallandregistry
authoritylastmonth,thecountrywouldbetwiceasbigasitis.

Someexpertswonderwhetherthereisreallythepoliticalwilltosortthings
out.Anarmyoflawyers,engineersandarchitectsmaketheirlivingsthroughthe
constanthagglingoverlandownershipandwhatkindofdevelopmentispossible
where.Andthelackofzoningmapshasprovedprofitableforsome.Researchers,
forinstance,havefoundthatenormousstretchesofprotectedforestlandhave
beendevelopedinrecentyearsafterwildfiresclearedtheland.

SpyrosSkouras,aneconomistattheAthensUniversityofEconomicsand
Business,whofoundthatthefiresincreasedsignificantlyduringelectionyears,
saysthatsettlinglandissuesonceandforallisdifficultpolitically.Any
governmentthatlocksinanoutcomewilldisappointsomeone,andno
governmenthaswantedtotakeresponsibility.

Landdisputesarelessacuteinurbancenters,wheresidewalks,streetsand
buildingwallshelpclarifyboundaries.Butinthecountryside,deedsreflect
anotherera.Boundariescanbethethreeolivetreesnearthewellorthespot
whereyoucanhearadonkeyonthepath.

Youhadguyswhohadneverbeentoschoolwhohad100sheepand
theywouldthrowarockacertaindistanceandsay:O.K.,thatsmine,saidMr.
Hamodrakas,whoinadditiontohisownproblemshashandledmany
landownershipcasesforclients.Thedocumentsmightsayfromthetreetothe
stream.Itisveryhardtoknowwhattheyaretalkingabout.

Hisowndispute,hesaid,arisesfromthelanguagerelatedtoasalethattook
placelongago.Thepaperssaythatmygreatgrandfatherboughtthethreshing
floorandthelandaroundit.Butdidthatmean50feetaroundthethreshing
flooror5,000?

Ingeneral,expertssay,Greeksareremarkablyateasewithalevelof
irregularitywhenitcomestorealestate.SteliosPatsoumas,anarchitectin
Athens,saysthatmosthousesthererunafoulofregulations.Thebuildinglaws
aresotangled,contradictoryandoutdatedthatitisvirtuallyimpossibletobuild
withoutviolatingoneregulationoranother.Recently,forinstance,hesaidhewas
askedtobuildasummercampforchildren.Thelawdemandedthatthetoilet
facilitiesbe50yardsawayfromthesleepingquarters,arelicfromthedaysof
outhouses.

Mostpeopleinvolvedintherealestatebusinesssaythisstateofaffairsis
rootedinthecountrystangledhistory.Greecehasweatheredalongseriesof
occupationsandwars,aswellaswavesofemigrationormigrationwithinthe
countrytowardthecities.Thismeansthatlandwaswidelyabandoned,atleast
foratime.Oneoftheproblemsindeterminingwhoownswhatisthatinmany
cases,useofthelandfor20yearsentitlesyoutoownership.

GreecescreditorstheEuropeanCommission,theInternationalMonetary
FundandtheEuropeanCentralBankhavemadeitclearthattheywantthe
developmentofalandregistryandazoningmap,calledacadastre,spedup.
InternationalexpertshavebeenvisitingGreeceinthepastyear,offeringadvice.

Theyconcludedthatthemostrecentsetbacksstemmedfromaverypoor
tenderingprocess,whichresultedinexpensiveandinefficientcontracts.Julius
Ernst,oneoftheexpertsfromAustriawhoparticipatedinafactfindingmission,
saidthegovernmenthadnotbeenclearenoughindefiningwhatitwanteddone
 andhow.Therehasbeenalotofmoneyspent,andnooneknowswhereitwent,
Mr.Ernstsaid.

Thegoalnowistofinishby2020,thoughGreekofficialscallthisoptimistic.
Intheend,theysaid,Greecewillprobablyspend$1.5billionstraighteningthings
out.

TheonlypartsofGreecethathavehadalandregistryandcadastrearethe
DodecaneseIslands,becausetheywereoccupiedbytheItaliansfrom1912tothe
endofWorldWarII.Landuseontheislands,whichincludeRhodesandKos,is
stillguidedbyItalianlaw.

Butthereareproblemseventhere.Thecadastremapshaveneverbeen
updated.Lotsincludebeachfrontthathaslongsinceerodedandpaths,onceused
bydonkeys,thathavelongsincedisappeared.Nevertheless,residentssaytheyare
gratefulfortheregistry,whichstillincludesthegiganticgreenbookstheItalians
usedtologdeeds.

Youhavetounderstand,saidAfroditiBilliri,alawyerwhoworksonKos
andhandlesmanylandissues.Thisiscuttingedgecomparedtotherestof
Greece.

DimitrisBouniascontributedreporting.

AversionofthisarticleappearsinprintonMay27,2013,onPageA1oftheNewYorkeditionwiththe
headline:WhoOwnsThisLand?InGreece,WhoKnows?.

2017TheNewYorkTimesCompany