Ask a Lawyer: What is the Role of a Notary in Greece?

What is the Role of the Notary in Greece?

The notary has a more passive role in the real estate transaction when compared to notaries in other countries; they are the person from the Greek government who makes sure that the transaction happens as required by Greek law.

The notary in Greece advises the parties involved in the property transfer, he helps calculate the objective value of the property, he maintains the public real estate registers, calculates the taxes, passes the deed, and provides the official copies to the parties. The notary’s role in Greece is more coordinating than executive.

How Does the Role of a Greek Notary Differ from Other Countries?

The role of a Greek notary in real estate transactions is different from the role of a notary in most West European countries. It is not the task of the Greek notary to receive the purchase amount, to pay the seller and the real estate agent, or to pay taxes. The buyer himself and their lawyer are responsible for these tasks.

Notaries and Transfer of Payment

In most European countries, when the payment for a property is made, you typically transfer money to the escrow account of a Notary before the deed is signed. In the next days after the purchase deed is signed, the Notary transfers the purchase sum to the seller.

In Greece, notaries do not hold escrow accounts and are not allowed to receive the purchase sum on their bank account. Therefore, a different procedure needs to be followed to ensure payments are processed safely and effectively.

Typically, when both seller and buyer are Greek, the transfer sum is transferred directly from the buyer's Greek bank account to the seller's Greek bank account during their appointment at the notary's office. Alternatively, the buyer can issue a guaranteed bank cheque from a Greek bank that he hands over to the seller on the day the purchase deed is signed. The seller then can cash this cheque with his own Greek bank.

Since most of our clients do not live in Greece and don't hold a bank account with a Greek bank, meaning that the transferred funds will not be directly visible on the seller's bank account, we use a different payment method to ensure a smooth transfer of funds to pay for the property. The purchase deed contains special conditions granting the buyer a number of days to pay the purchase sum to the seller. When the amount is paid, a discharge deed is signed with the notary as proof of payment, in order to complete the transfer.

If the buyer fails to make the payment, the discharge deed will not be signed and the seller has the right to reverse the sale and take back ownership of the property.

Notaries and Property Registration

Since 2023, due to updates in the Greek law, notaries in Greece now have a more active role in property registration.

In the past, the property registration process could take months or even up to two years, because many documents were submitted in person. However, the Greek government started a new program in 2023 called the "Property Digital Folder," where the notary can submit documents digitally and complete the registration of a property deed in as little as one day.

Notaries and Tax Debts

In Greece, notaries also have the ability to check if someone has tax debts. They have no insight into the amount of any debts, but they can see whether or not someone still owes taxes.

Notaries and Tax Calculations

In Greece, the transfer tax which you pay when purchasing a property is 3.09%. This percentage is taxed on either the purchase price or the ‘objective value’ of the property, if this value is higher than the purchase price. Think you can guess who does calculations for the objective value of a property? That's right - the notary. He submits these documents to the Greek tax authorities for approval, before the transfer tax is paid.

Can You Explain, in More Detail, a Process Involving a Greek Notary?

Preparing the Notary Purchase Deed

When selling a home in Greece, you need a notary purchase deed. In this process, an engineer of the seller creates an electronic building ID (E-ID) of the property that's being sold, which has all the necessary data about the property.

In parallel, the notary, in cooperation with the seller’s accountant, updates the E-9 tax form of the seller to reflect any changes.

The notary also often checks at this point whether or not the seller has any debts to the state.

Signing the Final Papers

The notary leads the process of getting a property transfer tax declaration ready, and submits it to the tax office. Once the buyer pays the transfer tax, the final contract can be signed. At the meeting for the final signing, you’ll need to be there in person or send a legal representative in your place, whom you must have authorised by a power of attorney.

How Much Does it Cost to Use a Notary in Greece?

For home sales in Greece, the minimum notaries’ fees are defined by Greek Law. Notaries normally charge between 1.5 and 2% (with VAT included) of the sales price, or the objective tax value of the property, whichever is higher.

The cost to sign a POA (Power of Attorney) at a notary in Greece is about 100 to 150 euros. The exact price depends on the notary.

A POA can also be drafted by a foreign notary. In this case, an official Greek translation is needed.

What Else Can a Notary Do in Greece?

Notaries and E-Auctions

Besides the above abilities, notaries in Greece can also manage online auctions for homes. We won't cover this in detail, because it's not relevant to most real estate transactions in Greece.

Notaries and Establishing a Company

Notaries in Greece can also establish companies for an individual.

Notaries and Paying Taxes

Finally, do you remember when we said that notaries don't pay taxes in Greece? There is one specific situation where a notary can pay taxes on behalf of the seller of a home in Greece: when the seller has a debt to the Greek state.

In this case, on the day of the signing, buyers transfer the amount corresponding to sellers' debt to the notary's bank account, and the notaries has a deadline of three days to transfer this debt to the Greek state

Notaries and Acceptance of Inheritance

In Greece, real estate property has to be passed to the heirs by means of a notarial deed of inheritance acceptance. Since 2024 in Greece, lawyers are also allowed to do the process, but this is rare and acceptance of inheritance mostly still happens though a notary.

The process:

1. The heirs of the deceased declare the death to the tax service.

2. The heirs apply in a Greek court for a Death Certificate.

3. The heirs visit the notary with the necessary documents, including the Death Certificate and the Certificate of Inheritance of Rights.

4. The Notary files an Inheritance Tax Declaration, and the Taxation Office calculates the inheritance tax.

5. The Deed is signed.

What if the Heirs Live Abroad?

If the heirs live abroad, they also have to provide to the Greek notary a Death Certificate, as well as a Certificate of Inheritance Rights, drawn up by a public notary in the State of the nationality of the deceased, bearing an Apostille stamp, in an official translation in Greek.

What if I Want to Sell the Inherited Home?

If you want to sell the inherited home at some point in the future, you should have an engineer check the house to confirm its square meters. Otherwise, if you later decide to sell, and the specifications of the home do not match the square meters from the Deed of Acceptance and the Tax Declaration, you may incur fines.

Notaries and Parental Donations

The purpose of a parental donation is the immediate delivery of property from one individual (usually a parent to a child or to other family member).

The process is treated favorably under Greek tax law, because you do NOT need to pay the 3.09% tax which is normal for property transfers in Greece. The nontaxable limit for donations is 800,000 Euros. Usually, parental donations use a usufruct structure.

The process with a Greek Notary for parental donations is the same as Notary process for buying a home in Greece, with the notary fee and the land registry costs calculated on the objective value of the property.

What Services Does Elxis Provide?

If you choose to use the legal services of Elxis for your purchase of a property in Greece, our lawyers provide all documents and statements to the notary that need to be submitted on behalf of buyers.

Our lawyers draw up the deed of sale together with the notary.

Our lawyers sign the purchase deed, topographical plans, floor plans, and other related documents, on your behalf (this requires a Power of Attorney).

Our lawyers draw up the deed of discharge together with the notary after payment of the purchase price.