Cadastre. When we hear this word, we all think of the following: Queues, stacks of paper, decisions and pen-written proposals, delays and many mistakes. A few days ago, this timeless “pathogen” of the Greek state was highlighted by Microsoft in an international case study at the AI ​​Action Summit, the Paris Summit on Artificial Intelligence. But how did we get here? Let's start from the beginning.

December 1836. The term “cadastre” makes its first appearance in our country in article 1 of the Government's Paper 70/02-12-1836 published during the reign of Otto I of Greece. Yes, you read that correctly. The effort to compile a cadastre in our country was initiated by King Otto 189 years ago!

June 2023. On the 25th of the month, New Democracy, led by Kyriakos Mitsotakis, wins the parliamentary elections. Two days later, on June 27, Messrs. Papastergiou and Kyranakis arrive at the Ministry of Digital Governance as minister and deputy minister respectively. The challenge they face is enormous. They undertake the continuation of the work of Mr. Pierrakakis, one of the most successful ministers of Kyriakos Mitsotakis' first government cabinet. They roll up their sleeves and turn to the land registry (cadastre).

September 2023. The submission and decision process for a transfer to the Land Registry Offices was as follows:

  1. The citizen signs at the notary and a physical file is created.
  2. Then, they submit this file to the land registry office (in person and after a huge wait).
  3. The file ends up in a pile of unsorted files until it is handed over to the registry attorneys by the scans clerk.
  4. This is followed by the legal audit (in person and during the Public Office's opening hours), which is attached in paper form to the file.
  5. The next step is the supervisor's decision, which is also attached in paper form.
  6. Finally, the last registration is done manually, where the certificate is issued and the buyer is contacted to receive the final papers in person.

The result of this procedure? According to the ministry's data, the average productivity was below 3,750 decisions per week, while simultaneously new imports exceeded 8,000.

"At this rate, from September until now, another 300,000 pending cases would have been added to the Land Registry. To this number, if you add the 150,000 pending cases that we found and were constantly increasing and the more than 250,000 that we inherited from the Mortgage Registries that closed. We would end up having 700,000 pending cases to resolve. We would end up, ultimately, being indifferent to whether a deed is transcribed or not. It would be completely unsafe for anyone to buy property in Greece if we did not do something. A bomb that would bring about complete and universal legal uncertainty to real estate transactions," said Deputy Minister Mr. Kyranakis.

As you can see, it was imperative to create a new model that would utilize modern technologies and artificial intelligence (AI). This new model includes:

  1. Digital submission instead of queues.
  2. Readable PDFs instead of scanned hand-written documents.
  3. Crossfunction with other national databases.
  4. Digital AI contract management.
  5. Real-time updates for every step of the process.
  6. Rapid closure of all old Land Registry Offices and digitization of all old records.
  7. Individual productivity bonus to employees for measurable goals (e.g. issuing decisions/day).
  8. Elimination of bureaucratic steps.
  9. Uniform rules, accessible and understandable to all, instead of the different interpretations of customary law or the whims that prevailed in various regions of Greece.

February 2025. According to published data, since September 2024, when the artificial intelligence digital assistant was implemented in the Land Registry, the productivity of the system has more than doubled: 13,500 transactions are now processed on a weekly basis, while before the use of AI the corresponding performance was 5,500 legal checks per week. In addition, the processing time has been reduced by up to 90%, i.e. from 1-2 hours to just 10 minutes, while the cost has been reduced by 99%, from 15 euros to just 0.11 euros.

"We now have 250,000 pending cases, which will continuously decrease. The trend has now been reversed. We have an increase in decisions issued and a decrease in pending cases. The problem has not yet been solved. But every month there is and will be a noticeable and measurable improvement. At the end of 2025 we will have a complete and functional Land Registry," concludes Mr. Kyranakis, noting that the queues are now a thing of the past, the old file has already been digitized by 50% and 90% of the new deeds are digitally produced.

In closing, allow me to make a personal remark. The fact that Greece today is a leader in the use of artificial intelligence and is being highlighted by Microsoft as an international example of digital transformation, while 10 years ago it was the "black sheep of Europe", is not a coincidence. It is the result of proper organization and hard, work by the competent ministers and their collaborators.

Writer

  • Ο Κωνσταντίνος Στραβογιάννης είναι πεμπτοετής φοιτητής του τμήματος Κτηνιατρικής του Πανεπιστημίου Θεσσαλίας. Το 2019, σε ηλικία 17 ετών, συμμετείχε στις διεργασίες της ΚΔ' Συνόδου της Βουλής των Εφήβων ως Βουλευτής Επικρατείας. Συμμετείχε επίσης στις διεργασίες του 12ου και 13ου συνεδρίου της ΟΝΝΕΔ ως εκλεγμένος σύνεδρος.

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