"Partitioning": the solutions for arrangement and transfer of an apartment

"Partitioning", when the common boundary between neighboring apartments differs from that defined in the establishment of horizontal ownership, is considered arbitrariness. A fine and settlement is imposed and it causes the transfer to be blocked because it requires the amendment of the property constitution with the signature of all the owners of the apartment building. What are the solutions?

Owners of mainly apartments, while they consider that they have a legal property, since they have not committed any arbitrariness, are faced with arbitrariness because the contractor during the construction did not apply the approved plans of the building permit submitted to the urban planning.

The cases of one-story apartments are also very common, where it is found that the common border between neighboring apartments differs from that defined in the establishment of horizontal ownership.

This difference is called "partitioning" and is considered arbitrariness, which must be settled by paying a fine of 250 euros plus the engineer's costs.

What's the problem with partitioning?

The problem, however, is not only the fine and the settlement process by the owners, but the blocking of the transfer, because it is necessary to amend the property constitution with the signature of all the owners of the apartment building, which in practice was unfeasible. Thus, in the twelve years that the process of settling arbitrary, which took place before 2011, tens of thousands of arbitrary, while they have been urbanized, are held hostage because they cannot be transferred.

What is the case today?

In order to unblock the transfers, the state recently passed a legislative regulation (article 230 of Law 5037/23.3.2023), according to which it is now allowed to unilaterally modify the composition of the horizontal ownership of apartment buildings ONLY by the owners of the neighboring apartments on the floor, which have this problem, no longer requiring the cooperation of all co-owners of the building.

That is: in order to transfer the property, the recommendation must first be corrected with the simultaneous signature of the owners concerned by the change of square meters on the floor.

What are the obligations for both or more affected properties for the unilateral amendment?

1. Submission to Law 4495/17 in order to declare all arbitrary constructions in their entirety by mapping the apartments and drawing up new floor plans.

2. Payment of any fines arising from these statements and completion of the process of being subject to Law 4495/17.

3. Issuance of energy efficiency certificates, completion of an electronic identity card for each apartment and drawing up of a certificate of occupancy.

4. Issuance of cadastral chart excerpts (for each apartment)

5. Application to the Municipality for the granting of a TAP non-debt certificate for these apartments

6. EN.F.I.A. certificates for all affected owners.

7. Tax and Insurance awareness similarly for everyone

What are the problems that can make unilateral amendment of the constitution impossible?

There are really difficult cases, when the neighbor is not alive and the heirs have not accepted the inheritance, or the neighbor has closed his apartment and lives in Australia, or there is a conflict with the neighbor and he does not give his consent. There is also the case that the neighbor wishes to settle the partition, but has other major violations with increased fines, which he cannot pay or even cannot settle, e.g. it is category 5 that has stopped being settled by the state.

In this case the transfer of the apartment is impossible since unilateral modification will not be possible.

What happens when partitioning involves multiple apartments?

The problem of compartmentalization becomes more complicated when the properties involved are more than two, because there are cases when the change of the common boundary is carried over – it extends to other apartments and we have compartmentalization over a larger area of the floor. In these cases unilateral modification with the cooperation of all affected owners becomes extremely difficult and until the transfer is achieved it is impossible.

Why can't I fix my own squares?

In subdivision as we understand it, some square footage is removed from one property and added to the adjacent one. Therefore, if the recommendation is corrected only for one property, then the square meters that will be removed from one apartment should be added to the adjacent one, otherwise the percentage of the properties of the apartment building will not be closed and the registration will not be made in the land register.

ears ago I renovated the interior of the apartment and changed its layout. Is this partitioning and do I have to declare it?

No, it's not partitioning. The different layout of an independent horizontal or vertical property than that provided for in the approved plans of the building permit, does not constitute an arbitrary construction and does not have an obligation to be subject to the law, but an update should be made to the Electronic identity of the building.

I myself have two independent apartments. In the construction phase I merged the apartments into one. Is this partitioning and declared?

It does not matter that the adjoining apartments belong to the same owner. Settlement should be made and the €250 fine paid and then the recommendation amended.

One floor has three apartments and the A1 apartment has grown by 5 sq.m. to the detriment of apartment A2, while A3 is fine. The above change of sq.m. is considered as arbitrariness, and needs regularization as a different compartmentalization?

Since the boundaries of properties A1 and A2 have been changed, it is subdivision. The affiliation is made per floor and the application can be made by one of the two owners. Subjection to the arbitrary law covers both. So it's good - if they both agree to the settlement - that they share the costs and that both owners get a copy of the completed assignment.

In an apartment building, the town planning plans are different from reality. But the designs of the composition of the horizontal property and the commons are the real ones. Is it subdivision and does the consent of the neighboring owner also need to be obtained?

Yes, this case also belongs to the category of compartmentalization and is settled. Now if the actual situation is like the recommendation, there is no need for consent as in essence the owners consented when signing the contracts.

I closed the hallway and enlarged the apartment by two square meters. Can I legitimize it?

Yes. This, however, is an excess of construction and is settled with other conditions. But not as partitioning. The stairwell, the corridors and the open space are shared and therefore there is no partitioning.