According to Greek Law, when a right
belongs jointly to more than one people, there is a “society of rights”. The
members of the society, i.e. the beneficiaries of the co-owned interest shares,
are the share-holders. Each share consists of a separate right, which can be
freely conveyed and interpreted to a respective share on the entire property
(undivided interest shares). In other words, the right of society is not
limited to any specific part of the joint property. A case of society of rights
is the joint ownership on real estate properties in Greece.
The society of rights on real estate properties creates rights and obligations
to the joint ownership in Greece, which are regulated by the Greek real estate
law. With regard to the joint ownership's rights, each co-owner has the right
to use freely the jointly owned property, provided that said use does not
exclude the rights of the other co-owners. Therefore, each co-owner has the
right to use the joint property in Greece freely, as long as the other
co-owners are not prohibited from using the property. Each co-owner has also
the right to convey his/her share on the joint ownership in Greece, without
requiring the consent of the other co-owners.
Joint ownership in Greece, creates not only rights among the joint owners but
obligations, as well. Such obligations are either specifically regulated by law
or by the principle of good faith. Therefore, joint ownership in Greece
involves obligations such as payment of debts arising from the joint property;
expenses for its maintenance; its management; and its usage. Each co-owner is
liable on these obligations up to his share on the joint property, i.e. up to
the percentage on the joint owned property that he owns.
The administration of the joint real estate property in Greece, belongs to
all the joint owners. The law provides that co-owners are liable to each other
for any fault performed with regard to the administration of the properties.
However, in cases of danger, each co-owner is allowed to take any necessary
actions, without waiting for the other co-owners' consent.
Due to the common and frequent disagreements among the co-owners, it is often
questioned how the management of the joint real estate property in Greece can
be achieved. Therefore, Greek law provides that, due to obvious difficulty of
achieving consent by all owners, the management and usage of the joint
ownership in Greece can be effected upon the relevant decision of the majority
of co-owners. If the decision is not taken upon the relevant agreement of all
co-owners or by the majority of them, each co-owner has the right to apply to
the Court in order to rule on the most appropriate way for the property's
management. The Court may also appoint an administrator of the joint ownership
in Greece.
Therefore, the majority of the co-owners have the primary role on the
administration of the joint ownership in Greece . The majority, however, does
not have the right to decide for the substantial alteration or disposal of the
joint real estate property and for any costly additions on same. Furthermore,
the majority can not request from the Court to rule on the above.
As already indicated, each co-owner can freely convey his/her share. However,
the conveyance of the entire property can only be affected through the relevant
decision of all co-owners and not just with the decision of the majority.
Each co-owner, regardless of his share on the property, can request the
dissolution of the society through the partition of the joint ownership from
the Greek Courts.
Greek real estate laws provide two means of distribution of the joint property;
extra judicial (voluntary) partition and judicial. Through the extra judicial
distribution, the co-owners can freely decide on their own, for the
distribution of the joint ownership, defining themselves the desirable way of
partition.
The competent Court in Greece for the partition of properties, is the Court of
the property' s location. The Jurisdiction of the Court is defined according to
the market value of the property
The Greek Court freely decides on the means of partition of the joint real
estate property in Greece. It is at the Court's discretion to rule on the most
appropriate means of partition, without being bound by the claims of each
party. The Court will have to examine whether the “actual” partition of the
property is feasible, i.e. the physical distribution of the property according
to the respective share, without reducing the value of the property. In case
that the above solution is not feasible (e.g. an apartment) or decreases
significantly the value of each co-owner's share, the Court may order the sale of
the property through a compulsory auction. The price received in the auction
shall be distributed among the joint owners, in proportion of each co-owner's
share.
All the above procedures for the protection of your Greek Property, can be
accomplished through a Limited Power of Attorney to a specialized lawyer in
Greece,
January 2020
“The content of this website do not constitute legal advice and under no circumstances should they be considered as such, until our office is retained and has reviewed the complete file of the client’s case”