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The Weekend Neos Kosmos : 28 March 2015
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BUSINESS 28 THE WEEKEND NEOS KOSMOS | SATURDAY 28 MARCH 2015 DIGITAL.NEOSKOSMOS.COM Action over autocracy for 50-year property battle BY ALEXANDRA MANATAKIS The 50-year property battle between 2,000 landowners and the state government at Ninety Mile Beach will be brought to a head this March, through a class action taken by the local Ninety Mile Beach Property Rights Action Group (PRAG) against state Labor member for Richmond, Richard Wynne. Under the leadership of new PRAG president Vassily Afcouliotis, action will be brought to the 50-year property rights battle between the state government and local Wellington Shire council, and landowners at Ninety Mile Beach. The class action will occur via two meetings in March that will bring the involved parties together for negotiation. The first will be held on March 22 at the Tooronga Village Community Centre and the second on March 29 at The Church of the Good Shepherd meeting room, 88 South Circular Drive Gladstone Park. Further meetings will also be considered in the following weeks at Altona and Cranbourne. Half a century in Ninety the government has chosen, through local department Wellington Shire Council, "to put restrictions on building rights, usage of land, and have brought down the Greens to further support prevention of the clearing of land". Wellington Shire Council is also charging residents rates, such as a $100 fire levy and additional costs, which landowners find outrageous on the basis of having to pay rates for land they have no claim of right on. According to PRAG, landowners are being continually tormented with land restrictions, overlays and more that has driven many owners to despair. Mile Beach should mark a milestone of existence for landowners. Instead, property owners, commonly migrants, who were lured into buying property on the stretch of beach under misinformed advertising, are facing constant battles for their land rights. Ange Kambouropoulos, the son of an 82-year-old Greek migrant and Ninety Mile Beach property owner, tells Neos Kosmos that "land at Ninety Mile Beach was sold to migrants in the ‘60s as an opportunity, like the Gold Coast, with a beautiful land and beach environment." Now Kambouropoulos feels as if landowners are "being taking advantage of by bullying tactics of the local council". Furthermore, Mr Afcouliotis tells Neos Kosmos that One of the most recent issues faced by Ninety Mile Beach landowners is the devaluation of their land, with the local council taking land valued between $70,000$75,000 and deeming it worth $500. In order to further actualise its claim, local council has also introduced a buy-back scheme to buy owners out and claim back land for virtually nothing. Whilst the ongoing issues may still be the same, PRAG president Mr Afcouliotis raises urgency for change to be brought to the situation, affirming fervently and with conviction that the issue will endure "no more waiting, no more nothing. We are either going to hang onto our land and tell everybody to go for a swim with the sharks or, [local council will] pay us a proper compensation and we will hand over our land. That's it". Active hopes from PRAG and landowners are doused with realism, however, as Mr Afcouliotis affirms that whilst a call to action may not entirely solve the issue, the issue will be brought to a negotiation that will have the parties meet in the middle. "I anticipate that there will be negotiating for a settlement of compensation." Mr Kambouropolous further cites hopes for "fairness and fair rights for land owners". The negotiation will bring active status to a stagnant 50-year battle, where PRAG will fight its absolute best for the equal rights of all involved. Any contact about the issue should be made directly to Vassily Afcouliotis on 5991 4961. The changing landscape of property ownership in Greece Electronic Building ID Code (Ilektroniki Taftotita Ktiriou) KATERINA SIROUNI As outlined throughout this series, the laws relative to property ownership in Greece have been changing considerably over the past several years. Illegal Structures, Energy Performance Certificates and the Hellenic Cadastre are all part of these changes. However, all these laws ultimately lead up to the final topic in this series, the Electronic Building ID Code (Illektroniki Taftotita Ktiriou). The Electronic Building ID Code is a new type of certi- fication that will modify the Greek real estate market as we know it today. All real private and public property will be recorded online on a complete and reliable property database. This new certification describes the ‘as-built status’ of property, meaning what has actually been built, in terms of area and use. Pertinent documentation such as permits, drawings, Legal and Energy Certificates (discussed in Part II and III), Cadastre Details (Part IV), will all be registered electronically and each property will then be assigned a unique Building ID Code by the Ministry of Environment. The way the system works today, it is impossible for the Greek government to keep track of all existing built property. Through this new regulation, however, all information will be monitored and electronically linked to public entities engaged with property ownership, such as the Ministry of Finance, the Hellenic Cadastre and the Public Power Corporation; all will have access to the same registered details. This of course requires that all buildings comply with their legally issued permits. Owners holding property with any type of violations will not be able to apply for an Electronic ID Code, eventually losing their entitlement to sell, rent, transfer to family, or even inherit property. Nonetheless, owners still have time to take advantage of the grace period for compliance, effective until February 2016, and conduct an on-site ‘legal check’ of their property. As announced by the Greek government this past month, this new requirement will come into effect in 2015. Building owners with declared property through the two major amnesty laws since 2010, Laws No. 3843/10 and 4178/13, are subject to register within the next five years and all others will gradually follow. New buildings or extensions to existing buildings as well as buildings issuing renovation and repair permits will also be among the first required to apply. All unregistered property will automatically be considered ‘illegal’ and subject to extremely high fines. Once the Building ID Code is in effect, certificates required today when conveying real property will be replaced by the Certificate of Completion, valid for a certain num- ber of years depending on the building type and use. In an effort to eliminate the longlasting phenomenon of illegal undeclared property and to improve the Greek real estate market, property owners will be required to re-issue these certificates after periodical on-site inspections by certified architects. Without a doubt, the Electronic Building ID Code is the most important of all ‘fast-tracking’ of new laws. Future property transactions, and even title searches for possible inheritance, will be simpler, faster and most importantly, more transparent. Once completed and fully implemented, it will be the key tool in the Greek real estate market, providing accurate information with a click. Property ownership in Greece will finally be pro- tected for every single land and building owner, as well as for their inheritors. * Katerina Sirouni was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. She is an architect- engineer and received her degree from the National Technical University of Athens in Greece. A licensed architect, she is a member of the National Technical Chamber in Greece, the Association of Architects in Greece, and the Hellenic Energy Inspectorate. Katerina will soon be presenting workshops in Chicago, with more tips to help Greek Americans navigate these new laws and regulations. Visit her website for details, and for more info on Greek property laws: www. ksirouni.com
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