The institution of emfytefsis (implantation), with traces surviving to this day, was extremely prevalent in the byzantine period. Emfytefsis was a legal act between divestment and rental, which concerned land or buildings. The property remained for many years, sometimes indefinitely, in the hands of the emfyteftis (implanter). However, the emfyteftis never acquired the ownership of the property,
... [Show full abstract] but was obliged to pay the landlord the agreed annual fee. Especially for ecclesiastical estates very strict restrictions were in place.
Rich information about the implementation of emfytefsis in the city of Thessaloniki can be drawn from documents preserved in the archives of the monasteries of Mount Athos. The documents mainly concern the purchase, selling or donation of real estate, which eventually ended in the ownership of the monasteries.
The most widespread form of emfytefsis was the concession of vacant land for the erection of buildings. In this way the monasteries received an annual rent ensuring a small income, as well as a percentage in case of transfers of the houses that were built. Finally, they had the great advantage of not permanently alienating themselves from their property.
In addition to the advantages for the monasteries themselves, there were significant consequences for the city's life. By deciding to grant a part of land the monastery made an intervention in the urban development itself. Pieces of land, often at vital points in Thessaloniki, were reintegrated into the urban fabric thus finding their physical function. Furthermore, the concession of urban plots by emfytefsis resulted in the facilitation of building activity by reducing the cost of erecting a house.
A widespread form of emfytefsis was the concession of already built residences or workshops, usually located in commercial areas of Thessaloniki. In this way the maintenance of the buildings was attained as the enhancement of the conceded property was an absolute condition for emfytefsis to remain in effect.
The institution of emfytefsis is therefore a parameter that must necessarily be taken into account in the attempt to understand how the real estate market was operating and the building activity in Thessaloniki was developing in the difficult and adventurous years before the city was definitively captured by the Turks.