Greek real estate property inheritance disclaimers on rise due to tax, debt burden

The number of disclaimers of real estate property inheritance in Greece is on the rise in recent years of the debt crisis due to the tax and debt burden, according to a survey published on Sunday's Kathimerini newspaper.

Thousands of Greeks have opted to disclaim their inheritance in the past six years for being unable to bear the increased taxation of real estate property, to pay off debts inherited from their relatives and cover the cost of procedures concerning the acceptance of inheritance, the data gathered from district courts nationwide showed.

According to the report which was also submitted to the parliament, in the largest district court of the country in Athens, for instance, inheritance disclaimers in 2015 amounted to 9,566 persons from 6,079 in 2013.

Nationwide the number stood at 45,627 last year from 41,386 in 2014 and 29,200 in 2013.

For Greeks, to decide whether or not to accept the real estate property inheritance is more difficult given that such assets are not easy to sell in recent years, as the real estate market has also suffered greatly from the debt crisis.

Since the onset of the economic crisis in 2009, the value of houses in Greece has decreased by 41.3 percent overall, according to a central bank report. Endi