A new legislative framework aimed at providing an urban planning framework for settlements with fewer than 2,000 residents was presented during a meeting between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Environment & Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou on Tuesday.

The forthcoming legislation, set to be submitted to Parliament within the day, essentially preserves existing development boundaries in over nine out of ten small settlements. This move is designed to protect both property rights of landowners and the demographic sustainability of rural areas.

The regulation introduces two distinct urban planning tools. The first, called the Settlement Development Zone, targets communities with populations up to 700 residents, which constitute the vast majority of such settlements. This tool guarantees the right to build within current boundaries, effectively securing urban planning rights for all villages across the country and covering approximately 93% of settlements under 2,000 inhabitants.

The second tool, the Use Control Area, applies to settlements with populations between 701 and 2,000 residents. It offers more favorable provisions compared to the rules governing construction outside designated planning areas.

This legislative effort follows a period of urban planning uncertainty triggered by two rulings of the Council of State (2017 and 2019), which annulled boundaries previously established by prefectural decisions in 150 settlements in regions such as Rethymno, Crete and Pelion, Thessaly.

The annulments led to planning paralysis in those areas and raised broader concerns over urban planning security in all settlements below 2,000 inhabitants.

A Presidential Decree issued in April 2025 aimed to restore legal certainty regarding construction in these settlements. However, after the Council of State rejected the so-called “Building Zone,” questions remained about the status of peripheral parts of these communities.

The prime minister highlighted that this legislative initiative is part of a larger, ambitious plan to establish comprehensive spatial planning frameworks across Greece for the first time.

He noted that this “silent” reform would resolve lingering public concerns over settlement boundaries, clarifying misunderstandings about the recent Presidential Decree.

For the vast majority of settlements under 700 residents, the existing development boundaries, drawn decades ago, will remain unchanged, ensuring continuity and stability for local communities.