Greece updates debt settlement mechanism to protect primary residences

Greece has implemented a new functionality within its out-of-court debt settlement mechanism to protect primary residences from foreclosure. Effective as of September 21, the Ministry of National Economy and Finance has enabled debtors to separate their main home from other assets, such as secondary homes, plots, or estates.

Under this new regulation, debtors can consent to the liquidation of their non-primary properties through a simplified auction process in exchange for protecting their main residence. This separation allows the remaining debt to be capped at or below the value of the retained home, which can lead to larger debt write-offs and lower monthly installments compared to previous options.

Kyriakos Pierrakakis stated in Parliament that the mechanism is being transformed into a tool for protecting the primary residence. The service is accessible via the platform of the General Secretariat for the Financial Sector and Private Debt Management or through the official gov.gr portal.