New property transfer platform launched
Authorities promise buying and selling transactions within a day, but questions linger
The much-touted “digital property transfer file,” through which the Ministry of Digital Governance promises purchases and sales in 24 hours, was launched on Wednesday.
However, questions have been raised as to why authorities chose to create a new platform instead of upgrading an already existing one with which notaries submit digital contracts.
In comments to Kathimerini, Stelios Sakaretsios, the president of the Hellenic Cadastre, told Kathimerini that “the existing platform has outdated technologies,” even though it was built by the land registry services less than five years earlier – and upgraded since then.
As a result, there will now be two platforms for notaries that have exactly the same objective (digital contract submission), which will operate in parallel, and it will be up to the notaries to choose the one they prefer.
The platform’s launch is taking place in the midst of an abstention of lawyers and notaries in protest against the new tax bill.
According to the Hellenic Cadastre, the new platform will allow property transactions to be carried out quickly. This will apply only for buying and selling between natural people and for 42% of the country where the cadastre is fully operational.
The new site, aimed exclusively at notaries, can be found at akinita.gov.gr.
The notary begins the process by inputting the tax numbers (AFM) of the buyer and seller of the property. Both parties are then notified via email and smartphone notification to enter the application utilizing their Taxis codes and by giving their consent.
From that point on, the notary has access to a number of state digital databases in order to obtain the necessary supporting papers (e.g., property ID from the land register, E9, insurance information).
Notaries can then upload the contract as it is already drafted to the platform if they utilize special software for generating contracts (currently only for one company, with a second one on the way).
Otherwise, they must draft it from scratch. The payment form is automatically alerted upon submission, and once paid (by card or web banking), the document is forwarded for legal review.
