Jungle maps: how to save possessions if deadlines are missed

The final choices that property owners now have to secure their property and the information required to navigate safely through the new environment created

Landlords who have not had time to file an objection to the forest maps can apply for repair of the approved forest map to the relevant forestry directorate, while if the objection is not accepted, the parties concerned have the right to apply for annulment before the State Council.

With forest maps published and approved prior to completion, TA NEA offers the final choices that property owners now have for securing their properties, but also all the information required in order to move safely through the new environment that has been shaped.

So far, according to data from the Ministry of the Interior, forest maps have been published for 95% of the lands (excluding areas within city and settlement plans), while the approval rate has exceeded 92%.

Meanwhile, 340,018 objections were filed against forest maps, while requests to correct obvious errors totaled 88,594. In particular, according to sources familiar with the matter, by 2020, 24,905 applications (for earlier publications) had been examined by the old objection examination committees, and by July 30, 2022, a total of 19,800 decisions had been issued by the objection committees. From July 2022 through today, another 60,000 objections have been processed, according to the State Department.

“Now there is the possibility of exploiting the land with rules and conditions. Forest maps are a tool for spatial planning and development,” notes, among others, Deputy Minister of Energy and Environment Giorgos Amiras. The publication of forest maps raised the rug and exposed the problems that had plagued forests, citizens and public administration for 50 years. We are now running objection examination committees so that they can decide as quickly as possible on citizens’ objections.”

All you need to know in 12 Q&A

What alternative is available to owners who do not object within the specified deadlines?

Interested parties may submit an application to fix the map of sanctioned forests to the relevant forestry directorate stating the addition or deletion of areas that are subject to or cease to be subject to the relevant law in accordance with the forest legislation and court decisions on the ownership issue of grassy areas, the administrative works to be included in the forest map during preparing it and not clarifying it or correcting obvious errors.

What management actions and obvious mistakes can reshape the jungle map?

The administration acts that can reconfigure the forest map are, among others, approved town planning plans, decisions to describe a settlement as pre-existing in 1923, delimitation acts, agricultural plot concessions, etc. Obvious errors in the process of mapping a forest are defined as, among others, the incorrect artistic presentation of boundary lines on pictorial backgrounds, the incorrect depiction of a rural area as a forest, and the occasional omission of clearly drawn cartography. A forested area within another, wider form (rural, etc.) and vice versa.

What happens if the citizen’s objection is not accepted by the Competent Objection Examination Committee (EPEA)?

The citizen has the right to apply for settling before the State Council against the Forest Map Sanctions Act for that part of the objection that was not accepted by EPEA.

How is the objection process expedited and when is the process expected to be completed?

To date, 135 committees have been formed to examine objections. Financial incentives were also provided with an increase in monthly compensation, which is not paid unless the committee meets 4 times a month and examines 25 cases at each meeting (a total of 100 cases per month). In addition, additional compensation is offered for examining more than 100 cases per month. The goal is to complete the work of the EPEAs within the next two years by examining 20,000 objections per month from at least 200 EPEAs.

How were property problems resolved?

In areas where the presumption of ownership in favor of the state does not apply, the Ministry of the Interior has recognized that for these areas (Ionian Islands, Crete, Lesbos, Samos, Chios, Cyclades, Kythira, Antikythera, Dodecanese and Mani) the state does not claim property rights in forests and woodland unless He did not have title deeds.

What solution was offered to the arbitrariness of the forest?

Homeowners in forests and wooded areas were given the opportunity to declare, by paying a fee of €250, their homes on the Land Registry’s online platform, in order to suspend demolition procedures and fines for 30 years. Then, once the permit data has been collected, a Republican decree will be issued that will set conditions for the maintenance or demolition of the declared homes. The above excludes buildings that are not residential in nature, constructed after July 28, 2011, and located in areas to which special protective provisions apply.

What happens in areas where the jungle map has not been published?

For areas within city and settlement schemes, the FCO plans to publish a forest map within 2023. Until then, the allotment deed issuance process applies to classifying an area as subject to or not subject to the provisions of forest legislation (forest, woodland or grassland) by a competent forester or forest manager.

What solution was offered to the problem that arose with property inheritance payments?

The procedure for accepting the inheritance was exempted from the obligation to attach a certificate on the nature of the forests in the area.

What is the case with transfers in an area that is classified as forest on a published forest map, but that has been contested by the Intercept Examination Committee?

Until the disputed part of the forest map has been certified, a copy of the EPEA decision is attached to the relevant contract with the online publication number (ADA) of “Diaygeia” and with a topographical diagram attached to it confirming that the property is this, from where it was accepted objections.

How is the nature of the area proven for any legal use/transaction with a government instrument/notary after the forest maps are certified?

After the forest map has been certified, any change in the real rights to forest land must be accompanied by a relevant certificate from the relevant forestry directorate. If the area does not have a forest character, a responsible declaration on the topographic map accompanied by the relevant notary deed will suffice, stating that the specific property does not have a forest character.

When a part of the property is classified as a forest, can the agricultural part of it be transferred?

The Ministry of Environment and Energy, through legislation, has granted the right to real estate that includes forest and agricultural land that can be transferred, in terms of the non-forest part, without being considered a subdivision.

Is it possible to issue a building permit in a partly forested area and partly in another type?

As long as the part of the plot that is not subject to the provisions of the forestry legislation meets the conditions for its sufficiency, a building permit is issued.