PLANNING
RULES
Clearly,
the most important factor is to establish that you will be able
to build on a plot you may be interested in. Naturally, you should
get your solicitor to confirm this BEFORE committing yourself to
a purchase.
Size of plot
If
the plot lies within the boundary of a village, there is little
restriction on the size of plot required, and the size of house
which may be built. You will nevertheless need to get your solicitor
to confirm the size of the plot, that it IS INDEED within the village,
and how many square metres you can build.
OUTSIDE
the village, however, you will require 4000 square metres or more
to be permitted to build (unless the plot lies on an established
road in which case 2000 square metres may suffice). The size you
can build is proportional to the size of the plot, and on 4000 square
metres you can build a house of about 200 square metres. Having
4000 square metres is no guarantee that you will get permission,
however (see below).
Furthermore,
there has been much discussion recently about increasing the minimum
required to 8000 square metres, though at the time of writing no
such change has taken place. Fortunately, the proposals as currently
framed are such that purchasers of 4000 square metres while the
current rules apply would still be permitted to build even after
the rule change... but once again it is vital that your solicitor
check all these things prior to purchase.
Forest, and
sites of archaeological interest
Certain
areas of Kefalonia are designated as 'forest land' (although by
appearance it may not seem so!), and building is not permitted on
such land. Nor are you allowed to build on land which is considered
to be of archaeological interest. Fortunately there are few such
sites on Kefalonia, but nevertheless, it is important to get written
confirmation from the forestry office and the archaeological office.
Your solicitor can arrange this.
Other rules
There
are various other rules governing such things as the position of
the building on the plot, which are too complex to detail here.
It is worth noting, however, that outside a village boundary, you
may not build within 15 metres of the boundary of the plot. |
