Buyer's due diligence checklist for Greece
Buyer's due diligence checklistΈλεγχος ακινήτου πριν από την αγορά
The documents and checks a buyer of a Greek home should get before paying earnest or signing the deed: seller and title in the Cadastre, charges, building legality through the Electronic Building Identity, energy certificate, taxes, the building's common charges and any tenants.
Use it from the first serious viewing until the final deed. Many documents now reach the notary through the digital transfer file on akinita.gov.gr, which pulls data from AADE, the Cadastre, e-EFKA and the Technical Chamber. You still need your own lawyer and, for an older or altered building, your own engineer, because the seller's engineer and the notary do not act for you.
Reviewed October 28, 2026. Not legal advice. Have a notary or lawyer check your case before you sign.
Key facts
- Applies to
- Whole country
- Building legality
- Every transfer needs the Building Identity completeness certificate. It replaced the engineer's certificate of art. 83 of law 4495/2017.
- Energy certificate (ΠΕΑ)
- Valid 10 years. Needed for a sale. Missing it can bring a fine of €200 to €10,000 (law 4122/2013, art. 20).
- ENFIA certificate
- Shows the property is in the seller's ENFIA property tax returns. Attached to the deed (Tax Procedure Code, law 5104/2024, art. 60).
- Municipal ΤΑΠ certificate
- No longer needed for a transfer since 13 December 2023 (law 5076/2023, art. 33).
- Transfer tax
- 3% of the taxable value, paid by the buyer on myPROPERTY before the deed, plus 3% of the tax for municipalities (law 5219/2025, art. 27).
- VAT on new buildings
- A new building sold by its builder carries VAT, unless the builder suspended VAT until 31 December 2026 (law 5000/2022, art. 9).
- VAT suspended
- When the builder suspended VAT, the 3% transfer tax applies instead.
- Cadastre registration
- The notary lodges the deed online via akinita.gov.gr. The Cadastre registers it in about one working day if nothing earlier is pending.
The checklist
Seller and title
Identity, tax number and marital status of every owner, and a power of attorney for anyone who signs for another.Ταυτότητα, ΑΦΜ, πληρεξούσιο
Every registered owner must sign. A missing co-owner or heir blocks the deed.
The seller's title deed with proof of its registration.Τίτλος κτήσης, πιστοποιητικό μεταγραφής
Cadastre sheet and extract of the Cadastre diagram, checked against the title and the property on site.Κτηματολογικό φύλλο, απόσπασμα κτηματολογικού διαγράμματος, ΚΑΕΚ
Search for mortgages, pre-notations of mortgage, seizures, lawsuits and claims on the property.Πιστοποιητικό βαρών, υποθήκη, προσημείωση, κατάσχεση, διεκδικήσεις
If the seller inherited or received the property as a gift, the certificate that no inheritance or gift tax is owed.Πιστοποιητικό μη οφειλής φόρου κληρονομιάς ή δωρεάς
Building legality and condition
Electronic Building Identity and its completeness certificate, issued by the seller's engineer for this transfer.Ηλεκτρονική Ταυτότητα Κτιρίου, πιστοποιητικό πληρότητας
Building permit, approved plans and any declarations that regularised unauthorised works.Οικοδομική άδεια, κατόψεις, δήλωση αυθαιρέτων (ν. 4495/2017)
Compare them with the property. Works that are neither permitted nor regularised block the sale.
Energy performance certificate: class, issue date and recommendations.Πιστοποιητικό Ενεργειακής Απόδοσης (ΠΕΑ)
For a plot or a detached house, a topographic survey. For rural land, the forest maps and zoning.Τοπογραφικό διάγραμμα, δασικοί χάρτες
Your own engineer's survey for an older or altered building.Αυτοψία μηχανικού
The completeness certificate covers legality, not structural condition or hidden defects.
Taxes and clearances
ENFIA certificate for the property.Πιστοποιητικό ΕΝΦΙΑ
Seller's tax clearance for the transfer and, where it applies, social security clearance.Φορολογική ενημερότητα για μεταβίβαση ακινήτου, ασφαλιστική ενημερότητα e-ΕΦΚΑ
Your transfer tax or VAT position, and any first-home exemption you can claim.Φόρος μεταβίβασης ακινήτου (ΦΜΑ), ΦΠΑ, απαλλαγή πρώτης κατοικίας
Resales carry 3% transfer tax. New buildings may carry VAT instead. Exemptions need extra proof.
Your own Greek tax number and TAXISnet codes.ΑΦΜ, κωδικοί TAXISnet
You must accept the transfer tax return and authorise the notary on akinita.gov.gr online.
Building, use and occupation
Building regulation and the share of the flat in the building.Κανονισμός πολυκατοικίας, πράξη σύστασης οριζοντίου ιδιοκτησίας, χιλιοστά
They set your share of common charges and any limits on use, pets or short-term letting.
A statement from the building manager of unpaid common charges and voted works.Βεβαίωση διαχειριστή για κοινόχρηστα
It shows debts and planned costs before you commit.
Any lease of the property, with its AADE lease declaration.Μισθωτήριο, δήλωση πληροφοριακών στοιχείων μίσθωσης
A residential lease lasts at least 3 years. The declaration shows its declared start, term and rent.
Formalities
A due diligence list is a checklist by nature.
- You do not sign this checklist. The seller pays for and supplies most documents.
- The notary attaches the Building Identity completeness certificate, the energy performance certificate and the ENFIA certificate to the deed.
- Before the deed, the notary files the transfer tax return on myPROPERTY.
- Both parties accept the return online with TAXISnet codes, and the buyer pays the tax.
- After the signing, the notary lodges the deed with the Cadastre through akinita.gov.gr.
- The buyer pays the Cadastre fees online.
Common mistakes
- Relying on the listing's area. The area in the old title, in the seller's E9 tax return and on site often differ. Fixing it can take months.
- Assuming an enclosed balcony, a loft or an extra room is legal. Unregularised works block the completeness certificate and so the sale.
- Skipping your own Cadastre check because the notary will look. The notary checks what the transfer needs. Your lawyer checks claims and pending lawsuits.
- Buying a flat without a statement of common charges from the building manager. Unpaid charges and voted works cause disputes after the sale.
- Ignoring a sitting tenant. A residential lease runs at least 3 years, and a buyer takes over a lease proved by a document of certain date (Civil Code art. 614).
- Buying a let home without seeing the lease. Get it, and agree vacant delivery in writing if you need it.
- Buying rural land without checking the forest maps and the zoning. A plot classed as forest may be unbuildable.
Legal basis
- Ν. 4495/2017, art. 83 (engineer's certificate for transfers, now replaced by the completeness certificate)
- Ν. 4495/2017, art. 54 (Electronic Building Identity)
- Ν. 4122/2013 (ΦΕΚ Α' 42/19.2.2013) on the energy performance of buildings
- Αστικός Κώδικας (Civil Code), arts. 369 and 1033 (notarial deed and registration to transfer ownership) and art. 614 (a buyer takes over a lease proved by a document of certain date)
- Ν. 5104/2024 (Tax Procedure Code), art. 60 (ENFIA certificate needed for a transfer)
- Ν. 5219/2025 (Κώδικας Φορολογίας Περιουσίας, ΦΕΚ Α' 130/18.7.2025), art. 27 paras. 1 and 5 (3% transfer tax and 3% surcharge for municipalities) and art. 29 (payment). The Code replaced arts. 1 to 20 of law 1587/1950 (art. 123).
Sources
- Μεταβίβαση ακινήτου
- Ψηφιακός Φάκελος Μεταβίβασης Ακινήτου: γονικές παροχές, δωρεές και κληρονομιές στο akinita.gov.gr
- Δικαιολογητικά μεταβίβασης ακινήτου 2026
- Ηλεκτρονική Ταυτότητα Κτιρίου: εγκύκλιοι για το πιστοποιητικό πληρότητας
- Ταυτότητα Κτιρίου - ΠΕΑ
- Φορολογία Μεταβίβασης Ακινήτων (ΦΜΑ)
- Αναστολή ΦΠΑ σε νέες οικοδομές
- Ν. 5076/2023: κατάργηση βεβαίωσης ΤΑΠ (άρθρο 33)
- Σχέδιο νόμου εξαγγελιών ΔΕΘ 2026: τι αλλάζει σε ΕΝΦΙΑ, μεταβιβάσεις, κενά ακίνητα, ενοίκια και οικοδομές