A state-funded initiative in underway in Greece to launch and operate a more expansive credit bureau to monitor and record more types of private debt, an effort aimed to better protect property owners from so-called “rent deadbeats”, an increasingly frequent phenomenon in the country of late.
Under the expanded credit bureau system, individuals’ obligations such as rent payment, utility bills and loans will be recorded in a new database. This means that prior to renting out property to a new tenant, the owner will have the ability to check their credit history.
A credit bureau agency, with stakeholders being the commercial banks in the country, called “Tiresias“, has been in operation for more than three decades.
Specifically, the property owner will have access to data regarding on individuals’ past leasing history and credit-worthiness.
The state-affiliated Information Society S.A. has already initiated an international electronic tender for the project entitled “Development of a Private Debt Monitoring Registry Information System”, funded under the Recovery and Resilience Fund “Greece 2.0,” with a budget of 1.145 million euros.
The project involves the development and operation of an information system for the Private Debt Monitoring Registry.
This system will enable the collection of data from public and private sector creditors regarding existing debt and allow for the processing of this data, helping to provide a comprehensive view of an individual’s financial obligations.
This new private debt monitoring system in Greece aims not only to pinpoint the ‘black hole’ of private debt, but also to closely track its progression over time.
