Concerns over Greek ‘amnesty laws’ for structures without permit
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The devastating earthquakes that hit both Turkey and Syria have turned renewed attention to hundreds of thousands of structures legalized after the fact in Greece and how structurally sound they are.
Since 1974, the Greek state has voted nine “amnesty laws” for over 2 million structures, including about 530,000 built without any permit or seriously deviating from building guidelines.
The laws aimed at revenue through the limited fines paid, and, while an engineer’s report on the structure’s static adequacy is mandated, there is no way to know how many such reports have been submitted and, in any case, a damning report does not affect the building’s legal status.
