The first disbursements to the fire victims within August

The first compensation to the fire victims will be paid within August, with Christos Staikouras stating that “the procedures will be fast for all the areas that will be judged as affected” and Theodoros Skylakakis assuring that the victims will receive the first money in in the next ten days or fortnight at the latest.

Government plan

Until Wednesday, August 18, after the issuance of the JMC that will determine the affected municipalities, the Independent Authority for State Proceeds (AADE) will open the special platform through the web portal arogi.gov.gr. The victims will enter this platform with their Taxisnet codes to submit only one responsible statement for each property and the extent of the damage it has suffered. At the stage of submitting the initial declaration there will be no check on whether the applicant has been harmed or not. The deposit calculation process will be done with a few clicks. The platform will be connected to the electronic property register of AADE so that the natural person or the company can automatically locate the property that has been destroyed or damaged and will declare the damage that has been suffered.

First phase

After the submission of the declaration and within 2-3 days, the advance payment will be made to the fire victims. The money can reach 20,000 euros for those who have suffered damage to homes or 22,000 euros for businesses and farmers that have suffered damage to a building and equipment. Particularly:

For houses, the deposit will be 14,000 euros if the damage is total, 12,000 euros if the house is uninhabitable and 5,000 euros if it has been severely damaged but is habitable.

For the household goods, 6,000 euros will be given in case of total destruction, 4,000 euros if the house is deemed uninhabitable, and 2,000 euros if the property is habitable. The compensation for the household goods will be taken by the owner if the property is used for own use or if it is available for a short-term lease and the tenant in case of a long-term lease. In total for the houses the first aid amounts to 5,000-20,000 euros (housing assistance and compensation for household goods).

For non-residential buildings (commercial properties), the deposit will amount to 14,000 euros for total damage, 8,000 euros if the property is deemed uninhabitable and 3,000 euros if deemed habitable.

For companies that have also suffered damage to equipment, an additional advance of 8,000 euros is provided for total destruction, 4,000 euros for serious losses that do not allow the continuation of business activity and 2,000 euros for other cases. These amounts will be taken by the farmers in case there are swine, livestock or poultry farms in the burned areas. The company that has damage to building and equipment will receive an advance of up to 22,000 euros.

Second phase

The Ministry of Infrastructure will assess the damage to each house and building, and depending on the magnitude of the disaster will come up with an estimate of how the housing assistance will be provided, which includes 80% free state aid and 20% interest-free loan guaranteed by the Greek State. The housing contribution amounts to up to 150,000 euros and is estimated at 1,000 euros for each square meter up to 150 sq.m. It concerns properties of natural and legal persons, as they have been declared in the last asset (form E9).

The payment of the remaining amount of the housing assistance for the residences will be made after the registration of the damages is completed by the competent services of the Ministry of Infrastructure and the file is examined, while in case no file is submitted or a lower amount of damage is determined compared to the advance, the difference will be accounted for by the tax authority as unduly paid.

Third phase

The assessment of companies and agricultural holdings will be done by the Regions, in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Rural Development and Agricultural Compensation Organization. The committees that will be set up will issue a first estimate based on which companies and farmers will receive 20% of the compensation, while the remaining amount of state aid will be paid with the final assessment of the file.

Auctions are freezing

Auctions and the payment of installments of loans for borrowers with real estate and businesses in the burned areas are frozen until February 2022. At the same time, banks are ready to implement permanent debt restructuring arrangements for those borrowers who can not afford to meet their obligations based on their new income statement. Those interested in joining these measures should contact their bank and submit a request.

Property Tax – waiving for those houses that have been destroyed or damaged

Exemption only for properties that have suffered total or partial damage from the fires and not for all the properties available in the affected areas are entitled to fire victims for the years 2021, 2022 and 2023. On the contrary, full exemption for all properties are entitled to this year the residents of the Municipalities of Mantoudi – Limni – Agia Anna and Istiaia – Edipsos of the Regional Unit of Evia. to