Small-scale building works: what they are, how long they last and which are declared in 2026
The small-scale works approval is the most frequent act of the planning authorities: from 1 January to 27 October 2026, 101,671 were issued, almost 2 in 3 acts of the Technical Chamber of Greece (TEE). What it is, how it is issued, and what it shows about crews' work.
What it is
The small-scale building works approval is provided for in article 29 of Law 4495/2017. It covers works that do not need a full building permit, such as:
- interior alterations
- roof repairs
- work on facades using scaffolding
- external thermal insulation
- lifts in existing buildings
- photovoltaics
- pergolas and small swimming pools
The works are in a standardised catalogue. Each work has a code made of letters (a, v, … ith, … mg), shown on the approval form; these are Greek-alphabet letters, written here in Latin letters. The details are set by ministerial decision YPEN/DAOKA/43266/1174/2020 (Government Gazette B 1843), as amended.
How it is issued, what it costs, how long it is valid
- Who submits it: an engineer, electronically, in the e-Adeies system of the TEE. The approval is issued automatically on submission and posted on Diavgeia.
- Budget limit: €25,000 per property. The limit does not apply to certain categories of works.
- Cost: TEE fee €10–20, plus the engineer's fee (mitos.gov.gr).
- Validity: 1 year, with the possibility of an extension for 1 more year (article 42 of Law 4495/2017).
In 2026 the Code of Spatial and Urban Planning (Law 5306/2026) was ratified, which gathers the urban-planning legislation into one text. For citations, always check the current text or ask your engineer.
Why it matters to crews
The approval is issued before the work is done, and is valid for one year. So each act shows a job about to be done in a specific building: a scaffold about to go up, external wall insulation, a bathroom to be redone. The owner has already paid an engineer, so the decision is serious.
- In 91% of the 2026 approvals a private individual is among the owners. They are mainly homes and apartment buildings, not commercial buildings.
- 60% of the approvals have a single work and 28% two. The rest have three or more, e.g. scaffolding, external wall insulation and new openings together.
- Since issuance is automatic, 7% are issued on a Saturday or Sunday.
Which works were declared in 2026
The 20 most frequent works in the catalogue, from 1 January to 27 October, compared with the same period of 2025:
| Code and work | 2026 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| (ith) External wall insulation and passive solar | 43,237 | 25,934 | +67% |
| (iz) Interior alterations and change of use | 27,012 | 25,135 | +7% |
| (th) Scaffolding | 20,425 | 13,533 | +51% |
| (iv) Painting or repairs with scaffolding | 14,454 | 12,072 | +20% |
| (lv) Facade alterations and new openings | 11,600 | 9,671 | +20% |
| (l) Autonomous heating system | 5,310 | 3,446 | +54% |
| (k) Roof maintenance and repair with scaffolding | 4,128 | 3,433 | +20% |
| (lst) Division of horizontal properties | 3,711 | 3,414 | +9% |
| (la) Canopies and awnings | 2,814 | 2,389 | +18% |
| (id) Pergola construction | 2,755 | 2,461 | +12% |
| (kst) Roof reconstruction | 1,823 | 1,819 | 0% |
| (z) Tree felling | 1,690 | 1,557 | +9% |
| (ig) Facade cladding and curtain wall replacement | 1,559 | 1,233 | +26% |
| (ie) Swimming pool up to 50 m² | 1,422 | 1,398 | +2% |
| (kv) Temporary fence inside the town plan | 1,322 | 1,292 | +2% |
| (kz) Merging of spaces | 1,195 | 1,217 | −2% |
| (ld) Photovoltaic systems | 998 | 2,077 | −52% |
| (a) Test soil sections and excavations | 869 | 1,195 | −27% |
| (ka) Boundary wall or fence outside the town plan | 651 | 849 | −23% |
| (st) Lift installation | 609 | 439 | +39% |
An approval with more than one work counts in each of them. We count the 94,594 approvals of 2026 whose form was read (93%).
What changes this year
- External wall insulation and scaffolding. External thermal insulation is now the most frequent work, by a wide margin: +67%. Scaffolding rises with it (+51%), because external wall insulation almost always needs scaffolding. More in the article on Exoikonomo and insulation (Exoikonomo is the subsidy programme for home energy upgrades).
- Autonomous heating +54%. This is the second biggest increase, in 5,310 approvals.
- Photovoltaics halved. Approvals for photovoltaics fell 52%. The acts do not show the reason.
- Lifts +39%. The number is small (609), but each one is a big project for lift companies.
How to use them
In xtizetai Pro you see the approvals by work and municipality, with the area of the building. To find an act yourself on Diavgeia, see the search guide.
How we count
Source: the "Small-Scale Building Works Approval" acts of the TEE on Diavgeia, with issue dates up to 27 October 2026, as they stood on 29 October 2026; acts posted late may change the numbers slightly. We read the works from the standardised catalogue on the form. An approval does not mean the work was done or commissioned. The legal part is a summary of the sources we cite, not legal advice.