Therefore, before we start answering such questions, let's talk a little about our time and the situations we are experiencing. We have gone through two difficult years of the pandemic which affected the economy and by extension the construction activity in our country, as well as throughout the world. A war followed which caused price appreciation and inflation. Nevertheless, in Crete and especially in Chania, the eco-structure, at the moment, continues at an upward rate. On the one hand, there are the Cretics who want to investtheir money, which comes to the place mainly from tourism, in properties intended for owner-occupation, long-term or short-term lease and on the other hand, foreign private individuals and investors, mainly from northern European countries, who recognize the Crete as a unique place to live but also as a profitable investment. By building a residence, they have a holiday home in the southernmost tip of Europe for their summer holidays, while the rest of the season they rent it out on platforms. At the same time, they acquire the residence that will offer them a better quality of life in retirement years. Whichever way you look at it, building in Crete is a very good idea.

But what happens when you go to put your thoughts into action? Let's start with how easy or hard it is. Even though the pandemic brought us closer to electronic transactions and made many things easier, in the "real estate" chapter things got worse and the bureaucracy monster got bigger.

So when someone owns a property and wishes to proceed with the design and licensing of a building or is interested in buys a property, the most important thing to do is to see if the plot is buildable and under what conditions.

Sometimes it is a clear question, especially in building within the plan, and the answer is given by the statement on the topographical diagram by the responsible engineer who prepares it. Many times, however, especially in non-residential properties, it is complex and an engineer does not take on the responsibility of answering this question. In the past, the answer was given through urban planning, with the attestation of building conditions issued to anyone who applied. Now, this is not done and this responsibility is transferred to private engineers who in turn do not take this responsibility. In order to give such an answer to a property outside the settlement, an extensive check must be done by a notary and a lawyer, specialized in such matters, to check the titles, what changes have been made to the contracts in the last 40 to 50 years, to check titles and shares in the mortgage registry, any expropriations by the corresponding office, the deviations to which it is subject, not subject, the type of roads it abuts and the distance that must be kept from the boundaries or axes of the roads and the boundaries of of tangential plots, if they are in zones of ΣΧΟΟΑΠ, ΠΕΑ, naval fort and many others that vary and must be taken into account. My experience as an engineer and always in collaboration with specialized surveyors, engineers, lawyers and notaries is that in the end urban planning often has an opposite point of view. So, the final answer treatment is given by the competent structure at the end during the edition of the building permit.

PROCEDURE FOR ISSUING A BUILDING PERMIT:

PART ONE

After the property has been checked by the mechanical surveyor, who is asked to draw up a survey with a clear statement that the plot is even and buildable as a rule or by exception and under what conditions, after having made the necessary checks, the architect proceeds with the study of the building, according to the needs, wants and aesthetics of the owner. During the study, which usually lasts two to four months, the architect simultaneously collects the necessary documents for the filing of a building permit. After the architectural study has been completed, which must be in accordance with the NEW BUILDING REGULATION (NOK) and a preliminary static and mechanical study has been carried out, it is submitted to the competent urban planning together with the necessary documents that the architect has taken care to collect from different services in collaboration with the employer

PART TWO

Now, all documents are uploaded by the license architect to the system electronically. The protocol number is immediately received and the issuance of the building permit begins. In the second part, we initially have the control of the topographical diagram in relation to the titles that will initially certify us that we can build on the plot and after this approval is obtained, the study proceeds to the control of the coverage diagram that is checked if it is allowed to build on the plot we have planned. After these are also completed, we have closed the first of the two chapters of the license and we have the building approval. The legislation stipulates that from the moment the permit is uploaded to the system, the competent YDOM has two months to check it, make the necessary corrections and a total of three months to issue the building approval. Otherwise the license is cancelled. But what happens in reality?

At this point we must mention that in the entire prefecture of Chanio, which is perhaps one of the prefectures with the greatest reconstruction in Greece, there is only one YDOM. And in this YDOM (Urban Planning of Chania) there are two employees who shoulder the burden of checking the survey. Two people, therefore, are the ones who must check when the permit is uploaded to the system and they are responsible for declaring with their signature that the plot is even and buildable, at the same time checking that all the required documents from the competent services have been uploaded to the system , to check each property from the beginning of its creation until today and what changes it has undergone, the roads, the required distances and everything that we mentioned above that the private engineer must check, to declare to the owner if the plot is even and buildable. So, when we file a building permit that has to do with the prefecture of Chania, at the moment we have a wait of six and eight months respectively for the two employees, to open the permit and do the first check. And as soon as the first check is done and the first mistake is found, such as a mistake in the title, a mistake in the topography, not the font you like, etc., an observation is made of the type "the topography does not comply with the specifications" and the application goes back to the bottom.

The architect is called upon to find out for himself what the observation means, to correct it and ask to return the topography to the engineer, to replace it with the new corrected one. It can take over a month for the employee to tap into the system to turn the document back. Even if the corrected document is uploaded on the same day, the employee will see it months later. And then, he'll make a new remark that he didn't ask for that correction, or he'll move on to the next mistake, ask for another correction, and this process will repeat itself. I can't understand why the audit isn't completed once it's started, any errors are accurately pointed out, corrected and replaced immediately, so that the file leaves the clerk's desk and unblocks the system; But it is something that would be of interest to all non-engineers and employers to clarify. Because this is neither due to overloading of projects nor understaffing of YDOM. After surveying is finished, which will last from ten to eighteen months, perhaps longer, the application proceeds to the coverage chart review. There again we have three employees available for this control. Things are clearer here, as we are dealing with typed regulations and the use of appointments and more immediate solutions are found. At this stage the delay is not so long, although there is sometimes a philosophy of observation on observation here. use. So if everything goes relatively well, the building permit will take more than a year

PART THREE

After we have the urban planning approval for what we want to build on the specific plot, the civil engineer and the mechanical engineer of the license file the necessary studies, the tax documents of the license, ANAKEM and other necessary documents and approvals of agencies are filed. At this stage, there are no delays, as the static and mechanical aspects are not controlled by YDOM and the rest of the approvals come immediately without delays. Within a maximum of three months, the third and last part of the application is completed and the CONSTRUCTION PERMIT is issued.

Therefore, the total duration for the completion of a license in Chania usually lasts no less than sixteen months. During this time, the essential work of the engineers is the first two to four months and another two months after the construction approval. During the rest of the period, the license engineer is asked to do a not so pleasant job, which includes conflicts with employees of various services, quarrels with employers who cannot understand the chaos that prevails in this process, especially if they come from foreign countries that are impossible for them to understand, endless man hours wasted without any meaning, hours on hold on phones that are never answered, months of waiting for the single responsible caseworker to come back from vacation and push a button to send back a document for modification, hours of discussions with supervisors and managers who don't they can help, hours of meetings with competent bodies, such as the TEE or the deputy mayor in charge of YDOM, who are also unable to find a solution to the problem, hunting mayors for certificates, waiting months for the Council of Architecture or an archeology autopsy, etc. According to the head of YDOM Chania, Mr. Stroggylo, the above situation is the fault of all involved comers The ministry for understaffing the department and the engineers for omissions and coercion to many give and take of each application. The greater part of in the opinion of Mr. Strongylos, however, he has the service (YDOM Chania) and specific people who they refuse to follow orders he has given them on how to handle cases. These specific officials, either out of ignorance or out of responsibility, cause the greatest congestion in the service and always interpret the legislation taking the worst case scenario. They also cause delay with very general comments in observations, without specific guidance on how to solve the problem, leaving engineers to "hunt" to buy time.

The statistics from the YDOM of Chania are that of the 1.006 pending cases that the service currently has, approximately 500 concern permits outside the plan. In order to reach the requirements of the prefecture of Chania, the surveying department should manage 12-18 cases every day and the reality is that it manages just five.

CONCLUSIONS

• If someone wants to see if the land they are going to buy can be built on, they cannot know for sure before the permit is issued.

• If someone decides to build on the plot of land he owns and has found a mechanic, to get the permit in his hands, it will realistically take two years, so to enter his house, at least three years.

• If an investor wants to invest in our country, he should calculate the payback of the investment for at least one year.

• When an engineer wants to bid for a license to a client, he has to calculate that he will pay for the license study in two years and the supervision in three or more years and that he will have a lot of extra "work" .

• An engineer who issues a permit, should be ready to accept insults and exemplary disregard from service employees and agencies, to plead with each competent person to do their job as well as to accept that the completion of the project will be delayed his and his repayment, without any substantial reason, that it is beyond his power to do anything and no one is going to help him.

RESULTS

• Skyrocketing the cost of building permits due to the time required.

• Architects and engineers, people scientists with years of study, with years of recognized career or who want and fight to have a brilliant career, are the burden of employees and secretaries of services and institutions and their credibility depends on them, not being able to mind their work.

• Many engineers lose a job they have taken because the employer is unable to understand why their license is delayed or because the engineer before entering into the partnership said it would take up to two years for the license to come out.

• Many engineers lose their jobs, because the offices they work in are unable to meet their financial obligations.

• Many reputable architectural offices drop the quality of their work or even close permanently, as in their effort to cope financially, they deal with tasks they did not undertake, such as settlements-legalizations, renovations, surveying, etc. affecting at the same time the engineers who deal exclusively with these sectors or because the price of the license they have given to the client is not responds to the work and the time required.

• Several projects and investments are canceled due to delay, especially foreigners who were going to create a residence in Chania, turn to other prefectures or islands.

• Large investments (groups or hotels) are delayed, with the result that this money is invested in other sectors or other countries.

EFFECT ON

THE CURRENT PERIOD

Many properties that build in deviation, are at risk of losing their buildability due to the law that will come into force on December 10, 2022. If this actually happens, we will see many lawsuits against all those responsible who have been unable all this time to solve the problem and the employees who ignored orders and delayed the issuance of permits with specific procedures.

The delay in the issuance of the permit led to the cancellation of projects, due to the price increases that came in the construction sector. Large sums were not allocated to the sector and the place, manufacturers canceled deals and lost projects, foreign and local investors turned to other countries and other sectors.

The delays and difficulties in issuing permits in combination with the accuracy of the last months and the application of the new law on non-building plots, I personally estimate that it will lead to a deep crisis and inflation in our country.

Really, where does this whole situation come from? Who or who is to blame? What can and should change, but most importantly, who should start moving the strings? Which people should sit around a table and discuss and what possible solutions are there? Why is this not happening so that immediate solutions are given?

Speaking as a relatively young engineer, taking on the part- responsibility of my industry, there should perhaps be a training and continuous information, perhaps even mandatory, for all engineers who undertake the issuance of permits, which has to do with both the NOK and the more general manipulations that are necessary in issuing a permit. An engineer is not taught the above anywhere and is called upon to find the edge in every case, which turns out to be a process of special demands and surprises! If there is an organization or an office that will train him and give answers to questions, maybe the urban planning department will be relieved of the appointments that usually have to do with such matters and delays caused by mistakes on the part of engineers will be avoided.