Ministry expected to reduce penalties for some illegally-built homes

The Environment Ministry is expected to table during the summer a new law allowing homeowners to protect illegal buildings from demolition, Kathimerini understands.

The new legislation would change the scale for the charges that owners pay to the state in order to put their affairs in order. Sources said that the charges for homes at the lower end of the scale in terms of value would be reduced in a bid to encourage owners to come forward and register their property and pay the appropriate penalty.

The bill will also include other provisions, such as the speeding up of the process for issuing construction permits and assigning the review of applications to private inspectors.