Clarifications in relation to the new legislation that provides urban planning security to settlements With fewer than 2,000 inhabitants today (1.7.2025) published the Ministry of Environment and Energy.
It is recalled that with the new regulation of the Ministry of Finance. Environment and energy are essentially maintained by existing limits in more than 9 in 10 small settlements, protecting both the property rights of the owners and the demographic perspective of the Region.
The arrangement provides for two new urban tools:
- The first, the settlement development zone, concerns communities with a population of up to 700 inhabitants, which are the very vast majority, and ensures the possibility of building up to the current boundaries. In this way, all villages of the territory are planted and about 93% of the settlements below 2,000 inhabitants.
- The second tool, the usage control area, will cover settlements of 701 to 2,000 inhabitants and provides more favorable provisions than off -plan construction. It is recalled that in about 150 settlements, in Rethymnon and Pelion, the Council of State canceled the limits that had previously been established by prefects decisions.
Questions and answers for legislation on settlements
1. What problem has arisen with the settlements?
The Council of State canceled -with a series of its decisions in 2017, 2019 and 2022 -the boundaries of settlements in Lasithi, Pelion and Paros, which were determined by decisions of the Prefectures. Specifically, the CoE judged the prefects unauthorized and inadequate the following demarcation criteria.
These decisions, on the one hand, led the specific settlements to a building inactivity, as there was not a single building permit for many years and to date, on the other hand, it potentially questioned the demarcation of the rest of the 12,000 settlements under 2,000 inhabitants, but not by the Greek residents.
2. What provided for the Presidential Decree (PD) proposed by the Ministry of Environment and Energy?
The PD defined the criteria and methodology for the demarcation of settlements before 1983 and below 2,000 inhabitants. These must take into account scholars in the delineation of settlements, either in the preparation of local and special planning plans, or with independent demarcation studies across the country.
For the first time, the fragmentary legislation was unified, updated and became a coherent legislation on the one hand for settlements before 1923 and on the other for settlements below 2,000 inhabitants.
For this reason, the new PD restored the value of the properties and contained the security of law in our country’s settlements. In addition, the signature of the PD was absolutely necessary in order for the studies to be delayed and to ensure the implementation of the “Constantine Doxiadis” flagship program.
3. Do the PD concern all the settlements of the country?
No, from the scope of PD are excluded:
- The settlements of over 2000 inhabitants
- The new settlements after 1983
- The coastal settlements that are included in residential control zones (ZOEs), in specific regional units such as Attica, Euboea, Corinth, Thessaloniki, Pieria and Halkidiki.
4. What is the issue that arose during the processing of the PD in the Council of State?
The issue arose following the rejection by the CoE of Zone C (within the outer boundaries of the settlement that were bounded) and concerned solely unstructured real estate in this zone, the settlements of less than 2,000 inhabitants and only the cases in which prefectural decisions did not meet the required criteria.
5. What is the solution that the Ministry of Environment and Energy prefer?
The Ministry of Environment and Energy comes to resolve this pending, with the introduction of two new urban tools:
- the settlement development zone and
- The area of special uses, based on the demographic challenge faced by these settlements, the protection of bona fusers acquired, as well as the stability of the state-political relationship.
With these two tools, we resolve regulatory ambiguity, reinforce the perspective of small settlements, with respect to the identity and historical heritage of each place, for a Greece spatial, developmentally strong, priority in decentralization and support of demographics.
6. What do the two new urban tools predict?
The Settlement Development Zone (ZAO) is a new urban tool to support and strengthen the regional settlement network, in the context of the treatment of demographic and reinforcement of decentralization. It is located in the settlement and resembles its B1 zone.
It concerns settlements of up to 700 inhabitants. Through this tool, it is projected to expand their limit beyond Zone B1, in the framework of the Constantine Doxiadis program, up to the present boundary of the settlement, following special documentation.
In ZAO The plots with a minimum area of excellence from 500 sq.m. up to 2,000 sq.m. and a minimum of 10 m long on a communal road. The area of integrity and the minimum length of face on a communal path are specialized by the demarcation of the settlement. For other sizes, conditions and constraints, the B1 zone applies. Land uses permitted can be those permitted in zones B and B1, after documentation.
The Special Uses Area (PEX). It is a urban tool for settlements with a population of 701 – 2000 inhabitants.
In these settlements, it is introduced in the framework of the “Constantine Doxiadis” program to be defined as BC. The area that extends beyond Zone B1 and reaches the current boundary of the settlement.
In the BC, the stadiums will be considered with a minimum area of excellence of 2,000 sq.m. up to 4,000 sq.m. and a 15 -meter -long person on a shared street. Land uses permitted can be those permitted in zones B and B1, after documentation, based on the specific characteristics of this area, in order to avoid possible conflicts and uncontrolled consumption of natural resources.
7. Why does the ministry introduce this arrangement now?
The immediate signing of the PD was a prerequisite for the required directions to the scholars of local and special planning plans and, in this way, to ensure the implementation of the flagship program “Constantine Doxiadis”, the largest Greek reform.
In the preparation of the local urban planning plans (ICTs) and the Special Pacific Plans (EPS), the scholars start from the core of the settlement and gradually expand their study to the exterior zones of the settlements.
Consequently, any delay in the approval of the PD would endanger the whole program “Konstantinos Doxiadis”, which is a milestone of the recovery and durability fund. At the same time, it is introduced with a view to decentralization and response to demographic challenge.
8. Is this legislative intervention or part of a wider urban reform?
There is currently an essential urban reform in our country, which has been made for over 100 years. The Ministry of Environment and Energy is coding urban planning legislation and is preparing the iconic planning program “Constantine Doxiadis” for the whole territory.
For the first time, it enters the space with clear rules, with a budget that reaches one billion euros and relates to resources of the recovery and resilience fund. Includes:
– 227 Local Town Plans for 731 Municipal Units
– 18 Special Urban Plans for 99 Municipal Units
– 12 Autonomous Settlement Destruction Studies
– Independent study for Construction Factor Reception Zones (ZYS) and
– Independent study study of municipal roads.