ECHR Admits Greek Builders’ Appeal on Controversial ‘Building Bonuses’

A green light has come from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg regarding the appeal filed by Greek construction companies over the controversial “building bonuses” of the New Building Code (NOK).

According to the legal representative of one of the companies, the ECHR confirmed that the case has cleared the first hurdle—the demanding admissibility stage. The company argues that its right to a fair trial was violated and is also seeking a retrial before Greece’s Council of State, claiming that the contested decision led to unequal treatment of building permits based on identical legal provisions.

In its ruling last year, the Council of State’s plenary had deemed the system of building incentives under the NOK unconstitutional. However, it made an exception for developers who had already begun construction works by December 11, 2024.

The appeal before the Strasbourg court contends that the Council of State’s decision breached Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which safeguards the right to a fair trial. The construction company is also demanding compensation for the loss of property rights stemming from the annulment of its building advantages.

This autumn, the Council of State is expected to return to the Environment and Energy Ministry (ΥΠΕΝ) the draft Presidential Decree (PD) defining what counts as the official “start of construction works” and setting the environmental offsets required for permits to remain valid.

Submitted for judicial review on June 2, 2025, the decree is meant to clarify how the government will comply with the annulment ruling while safeguarding a significant number of affected permits.

Yet the three-month delay in the Council’s response has fueled concerns among engineers, developers, and homeowners, who fear the judges may object to the government’s framework and alter the final text.

Further uncertainty stems from pending Council rulings on other NOK provisions that expand building rights, including basement enlargements, attic conversions, and semi-underground structures.

Meanwhile, dozens of cases are still pending before the Central Councils for Urban Planning and Architecture, involving developers who applied in mid-June to proceed with building permits. These concern projects that had used NOK bonuses and begun work before December 11, 2024, but were left unfinished when construction halted after annulment rulings and legal challenges.

Source: Tovima.com