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On February 12, 2021, the forest maps for the entire Regional Unit of Rethymno, as well as it progressively happens in many other areas of Greece, are posted on the website of the Greek Land Registry. It is important to emphasize that the forest map concerns land, which is located outside of city plans and outside village building zones. The content of the Forest Charter refers to the character of the areas (forest / agricultural or not), which is determined in combination by the use/status it had in the past (1945) and by the form it has today (2007 or 2015).

Efstratios Psycharakis, topographic engineer NTUA and representative of TEE (Technical Chamber of Greece), Email epsycharakis@gmail.com ,  is giving some instructions to landlords in order to check the status of their land right after the maps have been published and secure them as non-forestry areas. The owners, using the website of the Greek cadaster, they should look for their respective property on the map to see the designation given. The user will be able to see different colors, depending on the designation, but also a pair of letters that will indicate exactly what applies to the property. It is necessary for the citizens to 'check' their property, even if they have a final decision of declassification for their area. In the case of an objection, they will have a deadline of 100 days and 125 days if they are residents abroad.

The procedure is mandatory and aims to clarify the use of land and ownership status of land in the countryside and outside the designated building zones.

The objections are submitted exclusively electronically through the internet application on the website of the Hellenic Land Registry. It should be noted here that for each independent area, a separate objection must be submitted. After the objection is submitted electronically and a protocol number is obtained, the citizen himself, or his appointed topographer engineer/or lawyer, should collect the necessary documents and studies documenting the objection and submit them to the Directorate of Forests. Objections may have to be subject to a fee, the amount of which depends on the area of the objection. For the above procedure, the contribution of an engineer and a lawyer is recommended so that the file of the objection is as thorough as possible.

Finally, the objection will be discussed in the competent EPEA. (Objections Review Committee), possibly in the presence of the citizen (or the authorized engineer and lawyer), to decide whether the objection is admissible or not.

This might sound a s a complicated procedure for landlords, but the aim is to clarify once and for good the use of land status countryside plots, the clean deeds ownership and the buildability of these lands and secure a safe transaction and use to future buyers, a step that is definitely to the right direction.