Having approached the KEP in Platanias for advice on the problem of making a declaration of land clearance in the absence of a Land Registry code (KAEK) for the property, we were told that we could do so using the “x” and “y” coordinates from the topografiko of the property. This produced a partial solution, the steps of which are explained as follows.

On opening the site https://akatharista.apps.gov.gr, there is a choice of “Services for Citizens” and “Services for Municipalities”. Choose “Services for Citizens”.

The next page states: “Requires identification”. Tick the box for “I accept submitting identification” and click the green button (“Connect”)

You are then taken to the page for inserting your TAXISNET codes which has a button for English. Enter your codes and click “Login”.

The next page informs you that authentication will give the site access to your details on the Tax Register. Click “Continue” and “Send”.

You are then returned to the main site on a page entitled “Uncleared plots”, with the choice of registering a clearance, or denouncing the non-clearance of someone else’s plot. Click the left-hand button under “Declaration of property clearance” – “Continue”.

The next page is entitled “Submission of declaration of plot clearance”. Click the two buttons for “Owner of plot” and “Land coordinates (on the model of EGSA’87)”.

Scroll down the page past the map, which is not usable for this operation, and enter the “x” and “y” coordinates of the land from the topografiko, and click the left-hand button below them which says “The whole plot” (the right-hand one is labelled ‘vertical ownerships’, possibly for use in the case of flat owners).

Since, as we stated in our previous post, the registration of land in most of Crete west of Heraklion has not yet been completed, this throws up a prompt (top right) which says “The coordinates you have entered are for a plot which is not yet incorporated into the Hellenic Land Registry”.

At this point we paused, since our land has not yet been cleared and we did not wish to risk incurring a fine or imprisonment for submitting a false declaration. So we don’t yet know whether the system will in fact accept a declaration for a plot which is not on the Land Registry. Any further information received will be incorporated in an update of this page.