Cadastral mapping at 99% as government targets digital urban planning platform

The Prime Minister referred to a project that for decades was considered extremely difficult to complete, noting that the country has now reached the point of closing a two-century-long pending issue concerning property rights protection and the functioning of public administration.

“We have now reached the point where we can say that a 200-year-long outstanding issue for the Greek state has finally been resolved,” he stated, stressing that the new framework provides greater legal certainty, transparency, and objectivity in the management of real estate.

According to Mr. Mitsotakis, the completion of the Cadastre forms part of a broader reform strategy concerning spatial organisation and the country’s spatial planning framework. As he explained, the government is simultaneously proceeding with the preparation of national, regional, and local spatial plans, aiming to clearly define permitted land uses in each area of the territory.

He placed particular emphasis on the creation of an integrated digital system for the management of real estate and construction. As he noted, the ultimate vision is the development of a unified digital map through which every citizen or investor will be able to immediately know what may be built on each property, while construction activity will be digitally monitored in order to limit instances of arbitrariness.

“The ultimate vision should be a large digital map, where for each Cadastral Code (KAEK) one will know exactly what can be built, what is permitted, and what is prohibited,” he stressed.

The Prime Minister linked the reform to the country’s development prospects, emphasizing that clear rules regarding property and construction are a fundamental prerequisite for attracting investment and for the more efficient utilisation of the building stock.

At the same time, he referred to the housing crisis facing the country, estimating that in the coming years significant developments will arise in relation to the need to utilise real estate assets and increase housing supply.

He also made special reference to the role of the Recovery and Resilience Facility, stressing that European funding has been decisive in the implementation of digital projects that enabled the completion of the Cadastre and the modernisation of critical public sector functions.

In conclusion, Mr. Mitsotakis reiterated that state reform and the elimination of public administration pathologies remain key objectives through to 2030, emphasizing that the creation of a state operating with transparency, speed, and efficiency remains another critical pending challenge which the government aims to complete in the coming years.

Modern digital tool

Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis described the current state of the Cadastre as the vindication of a long-standing effort, noting that the project is now moving “from the phase of continuous announcements to the phase of completion and operational deployment.”

He stated that during his tenure at the Ministry of Environment and Energy, cadastral mapping increased from 28% in the summer of 2019 to 65% by the end of 2020, while registered property rights more than tripled, from 2.1 million to 7.4 million. He also highlighted the completion of the posting of data in the Municipality of Athens in 2020, after twelve years of delays.

He further noted that the reform was accompanied by the transition of 392 former land registry offices into a new network of 79 modern cadastral offices, as well as the launch of a major digitisation project of land registry archives financed by the Recovery and Resilience Facility.

“By 2026 we will have full completion, creating security and clarity for property owners, professionals, and the state,” Mr. Hatzidakis stated.

Environment and Energy Minister Stathas Papastavrou linked the Cadastre with spatial planning and urban development, describing them as the three key pillars for the organisation of space and the utilisation of real estate assets.

He argued that Greece is no longer merely closing the European gap in this field but has advanced a reform that exceeds the European average. He also announced the establishment of the National Organisation for Cadastre and Building Control, which will function as a single point of contact for property and urban planning matters.

“We are essentially creating a one-stop shop, a ‘Gov.gr for urban planning’, which will ensure faster service, better workload distribution, and uniform application of legislation across the country,” he said.

He also placed particular emphasis on combating legislative complexity, noting that regulatory fragmentation acts as an “invisible tax” on property, investment, and productivity. In this context, he referred to the codification of urban planning and spatial legislation into a single code of 477 articles, replacing more than 180 separate legislative acts.

Digital transformation of the agency was highlighted by Minister of Digital Governance Dimitris Papastergiou, who presented the results of the technological upgrade of the Cadastre.

He noted that cadastral mapping has now reached 99% of the territory, compared with just 38% in 2019, and that every property now has a unique Cadastral Code (KAEK), strengthening legal certainty in transactions.

He also emphasized the digitisation of land registry archives, which includes 612 million pages and more than 300 terabytes of data. In addition, approximately 100 digital applications of the Cadastre have been migrated to the government cloud (G-Cloud), ensuring greater availability and faster service delivery.

The Minister also highlighted the role of Artificial Intelligence, noting that it is already being used to process and review complex legal documents, significantly reducing processing times.

“We are not here to celebrate, but to highlight the work that has been done and to agree on the next steps. We must complete the cadastre at 100% and ensure fully traceable procedures for every citizen,” he stressed.

The common message from government officials was that the completion of the Cadastre does not mark the end of a reform, but rather the beginning of a new era of digital management of property, construction, and spatial planning, aimed at improving the investment environment, strengthening legal certainty, and accelerating the country’s development trajectory.

Under the slogan “We said it, we did it,” Deputy Minister of Digital Governance Christos Dermetzopoulos presented the progress of the Hellenic Cadastre, describing it as the most complex and necessary administrative reform of recent decades.

He emphasized the significance of completing the project, which he described as a commitment judged in practice. “I believe the Cadastre falls into this category: a decades-long pending issue that held back the economy, created uncertainty for citizens, allowed arbitrariness and even phenomena of corruption, and an undignified reality, since in the 21st century our country was the only European state without a fully completed cadastre,” he stated.

He added that in 2019 the project stood at only 38% completion, while today it has reached 99% of cadastral mapping coverage.

As he explained, this achievement finally gives an identity to every parcel of land in the country, including the islands.