A COUNTRY WITHOUT PROPERTY RIGHTS—GREECE.

A COUNTRY WITHOUT PROPERTY RIGHTS—GREECE. In this country, we take for granted public land records which record title to real property rights. This New York Times article by Suzanne Daley (May 26, 2013) describes how Greece, a member of the European Union,does not have effective registered ownership of property. Daley says that “…many experts cite the lack of a proper land registry as one of the biggest impediments to [Greek economic] progress.” Investors are discouraged, privatizing property is difficult, collecting taxes is difficult. Less than 7% of Greece has been “properly mapped”. Boundaries and zoning are unclear and there are multiple registered claims on property. Daley gives an example of a boundary which reads “three olive trees near the well”. She quotes the president of the national land registry authority: “If you calculated the total deeds that are registered,…the country would be twice as big as it is.”