Greece: Owner Occupancy Eviction.

Owner occupancy does not establish reasonable and lawful grounds for eviction.?

Prior to January 1st, 1997, L. 1703/ 1987 provided the ability to the landlord to recover possession of a leased property in order to use it as his/ her residence, however, this has been ceased to be valid ever since.

Post expiration of Law 1703/ 1987 and therefore, the consequent abolition of leases protection used as a prime residence, residential tenancies are now regulated by the provisions of the Greek Civil Code.

Ar. 2 par. 1 ch. a’ L. 1703/ 1987 (as amended by ar. 1 par. 5 of L.2235/ 1994), stipulating that a residential tenancy remains valid for a period of at least three (3)?years, remains in force by exception, post June 30th, 1997, even in the case an agreement has been made for a shorter period of time or on the contrary for an indefinite period.

In residential tenancies, owners can use owner occupancy as the Just Cause for eviction in cases where the owner of the property and/ or their spouse and/ or their children will utilize the property for business purposes.?

Similarly, in commercial tenancies, i.e. when the leased property accommodates a commercial enterprise, termination of the lease is allowed due to own use intentions.

Termination of the lease due to owner occupancy is permitted in commercial tenancies, in the context set by Precedential Decree 34/ 1995, as well as in residential tenancies, pursuant to L. 2235/ 1994.

With respect to the latter,?two (2) conditions must be met:??

1. Owner of the leased property intending to use it as business premises and;??
2. Owner of the leased property and/ or their spouse and/ or their children not having another property under their ownership in the same city or the suburb thereof, suitable to cover their housing or business activity needs.

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