Greece’s environment ministry posted studies for building coefficient receiving zones in Thessaloniki, East Attica, Kavala and Boeotia on 4 and 5 November 2026. Thirteen regional units, including Chania, Heraklion and the northern sector of Athens, now have such studies open for comment.
The Ministry of Environment and Energy (YPEN) posted the Thessaloniki, Kavala and Boeotia notices on 4 November and the East Attica notice on 5 November. Each study proposes receiving zones (zones ypodochis syntelesti domisis, ZYS) and is prepared under the “Konstantinos Doxiadis” urban planning reform programme. The notices do not list the municipalities covered; the study files sit in an online folder linked from each notice.
Studies for nine other regional units, Drama, Magnesia, Fthiotida, Chania, Argolida, the Northern Sector of Athens, Heraklion, Achaia and Kastoria, were posted on 3 November, as we reported.
What a receiving zone does
Under the Spatial Planning–Urban Planning Code (Law 5306/2026), a transfer of building coefficient moves buildable floor area from an “offer” property to a “receiving” property inside a receiving zone. Under article 128 of the Code, zones are approved by presidential decree on the proposal of the environment minister. The steps include a strategic environmental impact study, a special urban planning study, opinions from the municipal or regional councils and an opinion from the Central Council for Urban Planning Issues and Disputes.
Each study also sets the maximum floor area that can be transferred into its zone. The Code keeps zones out of places such as traditional settlements, archaeological sites, the first two blocks from the shoreline and blocks next to forest land.
How to comment
The consultation is on the strategic environmental impact study that comes with each zone study. Comments go in writing, adequately documented, to the ministry’s Directorate of Environmental Licensing at 11 Alexandras Avenue, Athens, or by email to sec.dipa@prv.ypeka.gr, within 60 days of each notice’s publication on the ministry website. The files can also be seen at the General Secretariat for Spatial Planning and Urban Environment, 17 Amaliados Street, Athens.
What it means for buyers
For buyers in Thessaloniki or East Attica, these studies are the first step towards zones where a plot could later carry more floor area, but only through transferred rights and only after a decree is issued. Until then, a plot’s current building terms apply. Whether a given street falls in a proposed zone is shown in the study files, not in the notices. Buyers should confirm how this applies to them with a Greek lawyer or a licensed engineer.
What happens next
After the consultation, each zone still needs the opinions set out in the Code and a presidential decree before it applies. The ministry’s consultation page lists all 13 notices.
Sources
- Ministry of Environment and Energy: receiving zone study, Thessaloniki (4 November 2026)
- Ministry of Environment and Energy: receiving zone study, East Attica (5 November 2026)
- Ministry of Environment and Energy: receiving zone study, Kavala (4 November 2026)
- Ministry of Environment and Energy: receiving zone study, Boeotia (4 November 2026)
- Ministry of Environment and Energy: public consultations
- Law 5306/2026, article 128 (receiving zones)
