Last reviewed 17 October 2026 · Demetre E. Katsouris, Managing Partner
In a nutshell. Construction disputes in Greece are won on evidence assembled early — the specification, the stage certificates, the engineer’s reports, the correspondence — and decided by the civil courts or, where the contract so provides, by arbitrators, with a court-appointed engineer as expert in most cases. The remedies are rectification, price reduction, termination and damages under the Civil Code, within a limitation period of ten years from acceptance for buildings (Civil Code art. 693). Katsouris Law Firm, whose practice has centred on construction since 1985, acts for landowners, buyers, developers and contractors.
Which construction disputes reach the courts?
The firm’s page on defects and warranties sets out the substantive law and the contractual safeguards. The disputes that proceed to litigation or arbitration are typically:
- Defects after delivery that the contractor disputes or will not rectify, including defects discovered years after acceptance.
- Delay beyond the contractual completion date, where liquidated damages are contested or the delay has caused the buyer a tax or financing loss.
- Antiparochi default: the developer fails to deliver the landowner’s units, delivers them defective, or sells more than the agreed share; the landowner enforces the staged-transfer and security provisions or terminates.
- Payment disputes: the contractor’s claims for variations and unpaid stages; the employer’s retention and set-off.
- Developer insolvency mid-project: buyers and landowners asserting registered rights against the plot, and recovering deposits.
- Engineer and architect liability for design error, defective supervision or an incorrect certificate.
- Damage to neighbours from excavation, demolition or works, and disputes within a building under its regulation.
How is a construction case conducted?
- Evidence preserved. An independent engineer’s report on the defects or the state of the works, photographs, and the complete contractual file, before any remedial work alters the evidence.
- Formal notice served by bailiff, specifying the defects, the remedy demanded and the time allowed; the notice fixes dates for limitation and for default.
- Interim measures where needed: a judicial inspection of the site to record its condition, an order suspending works, a prohibition on the developer alienating units, or a prenotation of mortgage securing the claim.
- Mediation or arbitration under the contract’s clause, or the mandatory initial mediation session where the law requires it; technical disputes before an engineer-lawyer panel are commonly resolved faster than in court.
- The action, with a court-appointed expert engineer whose report is usually decisive; judgment; enforcement against the contractor’s assets or the developer’s unsold units.
What is different about antiparochi disputes?
The landowner has transferred a share of the plot and holds the developer’s promise of finished apartments. If the developer defaults, the landowner’s remedies depend on what was written into the notarial agreement: staged transfer of plot shares against stage completion, a prohibition on selling the landowner’s units, a prenotation of mortgage or bank guarantee, and a termination clause with reconveyance. The firm’s antiparochi page explains how these are drafted; this page is where they are enforced. Where the developer is insolvent, the landowner’s registered rights determine whether the units are recovered or only a claim is proved.
Frequently asked questions
The contractor denies the defects are his. Who decides? The court or tribunal, almost always on the report of an engineer it appoints; your own engineer’s early report frames the questions put to that expert.
Can we stop the works while the dispute runs? Yes, by interim measures, where continuing the works would destroy evidence or cause irreparable harm; the court weighs the harm to both sides.
How long do we have to sue for a defect? Ten years from acceptance for buildings and other immovable installations, six months for other works (Civil Code art. 693, as replaced by Law 4967/2022); the formal notice should be served as soon as the defect is found.
Our contract has an arbitration clause. Must we arbitrate? Yes, as to the disputes the clause covers; interim measures remain available from the court.
Related Insights
- Legal foresight in construction
- Buying off-plan from a small developer: twelve checks
- Antiparochi: giving your plot to a developer in exchange for apartments
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This page is general information and does not constitute legal advice. It reflects the law as at the date shown and may change.
