Works for which no Building Permit or Approval of Small Scale Works are required are now carried out with an Engineer’s Certificate, in accordance with the amendment of article 30 of Law 4495/17 with Law 4759/20 (Government Gazette 245/A/9.12.2020) .However, in many areas such as the Cyclades, Pelion, the islands and other protected areas, traditional settlements and historical places, special urban planning ordinances apply and for this the approval of the competent services is required before the work is carried out.For this reason, citizens in the event that they want to do a minor repair or renovation, should be very careful and contact the competent engineer to be sure that the work they will do is completely legal.What are the works that do not require a building permit or minor works permit and an engineer’s certificate must be issued?a) interior painting work, small door and window repairs or individual repairs for reasons of use and hygieneb) small-scale internal repairs or alterations that do not change the load-bearing construction of the building, as well as constructions required for the movement or any form of service for people with disabilities or people with disabilitiesc) external painting or replacement of railings or repair of coatings or repair of facades without the use of scaffoldingd) maintenance, repair, modification or partial replacement of buildings’ facilities and ductse) replacement of internal or external frames and glass panes in the same openingf) maintenance and repair of roofs or roofs without the use of scaffoldingg) small ground formations up to plus/minus 0.80 m from the natural groundh) installation of air conditioners and wall-mounted gas boilers for heating and hot water production in existing buildings, installation of an array of wall-mounted gas boilers for heatingi) installation of solar water heatersj) installation works of passive solar systems or replacement of external frames or installation or replacement of chimneys on the external faces of existing buildings, without the use of scaffolding, within the framework of the “Home Savings” program, as well as works of installation of passive solar systems or replacement of external frames or installation or replacing chimneys on the exteriors of existing buildings without the use of scaffoldingk) placement or installation of equipment in buildings, such as closets, statues, fountains, iconostasis, benches and tables, or temporary animal shelters of up to three (3) square meters. in uncovered areas of plots and fieldsl) construction of stoves, ovens and fireplaces with their chimneys in uncovered areas of plots or fieldsm) construction of a pergola with or without a temporary surface shade up to fifty (50) m2, as long as it is not prohibited by special regulations in force in the arean) constructions, such as stairs, inclined levels (ramps), struts and terraces in uncovered areas of plots and fieldso) installation of temporary shades, blinds, sheds and awningsp) laying the floor of an uncovered space, provided that it does not exceed one third (1/3) of the uncovered spaceq) ground formation up to 0.80 m from the natural groundr) constructions within the plot-field to create entrance areas to the plots and fields, up to two and a half (2.50) m high, up to two and a half (2.50) m wide, up to one (1.00) m deep.s) constructions for the installation of electricity metersk) photovoltaic systems on buildings and for system power up to 100kW.k) constructions of underground bases made of reinforced concrete for the installation of electromechanical equipmentkv) constructions for the installation of infrastructure and installation of electric vehicle charging devices, without requiring the installation of a new transformer in the internal electrical installation.What exactly is this electronic certificate about?Before the execution of the above works, an electronic certificate from a competent engineer, issued by the information system of the Technical Chamber of Greece (T.E.E.), must be drawn up, that in the area of the property for the above works no approval is required from any body.What happens when approvals are required from other agencies?In case approvals are required from other agencies or collective bodies (Architecture Council, Ephorate of Antiquities, Forestry, etc.) a file is updated with the above approvals. The engineer undertakes the processing of the process of obtaining said approvals as well as any studies required to be drawn up.In other words, who are the bodies that must give an opinion before each work?
The agencies that must issue an opinion on a case-by-case basis are: the Architecture Council, Archaeology, the Forestry Department and others.
But the matter mainly concerns the opinion of the Architectural Council for the following cases:
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- For any construction work on buildings, plots or fields, located in traditional parts of cities, in traditional settlements, in historical sites, archaeological sites, in areas of special natural beauty.
- For any construction work in buildings or spaces whose declaration process has already been started or completed as conservation by decision of the competent Minister as the case may be, as well as in buildings or fields adjacent to them or in front of them.
- For works that differentiate the building from the morphological elements and the typology imposed by special provisions established by area, protected or not.
- For any construction work at a distance of less than one hundred meters from the beach line or facing main traffic axes (Primary-Secondary-Tertiary National Road Network and Primary Provincial Road Network).
- For all insular areas under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Shipping and Insular Policy, the Architecture Councils, in addition to the above cases, are responsible for approving architectural studies for any construction work on properties, texts outside settlement boundaries or in settlements with less than 2,000 inhabitants.
- What should we pay attention to so that constructions are not arbitrary?
a) all the work carried out should not affect the structure of the building and should not create problems in its stability.
b) The issuance of a Small Scale License is required for the following cases:
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- When we carry out interior renovation or interior repairs or alterations
- For exterior painting or railing replacement or coating repair or facade repair, which we do using scaffolding.
- When we replace exterior frames and glass panes in different openings
- For the maintenance and repair of roofs or roofs using scaffolding.
- Land formations above one meter above the natural ground require a permit.
- For the installation of thermal insulation, the installation of passive solar systems or the replacement of external frames or the installation or replacement of chimneys on the external faces of existing buildings, using scaffolding, as part of the “Home Savings” program, as well as for the installation of passive solar systems or replacement works external frames or installing or replacing chimneys on the external faces of existing buildings using scaffolding.
- For the construction of pergola surface more than fifty (50) sqm, in open spaces, landscapes and ground terraces, as well as in roofs and balconies regardless of area.
What about the insurance contributions (official IKA) and the management of bases?
For all construction work, whether it is work for which a permit or a small-scale permit is required or not, an inventory of the construction work should be made in the EFKA by presenting a relevant table, listing all the work to be done for the payment of the corresponding contributions.
In addition, in case of construction waste, a contract is concluded between the project owner and an alternative excavation, construction and demolition waste management company, based on the Waste Management Plan drawn up by the engineer. At the end of the work, the owner receives from the company the Receipt Certificate which certifies the correct waste management procedure.
By GRAMMATIS BAKLATSI, surveyor – urban planning engineer, baklatsi@yahoo.gr
