Renting Property in Greece

These values are read from the current Greece Country Passport. Facts marked under review remain visibly pending and are never presented as confirmed. The duration condition is kept separate from the universal minimum_rental_period field so the statutory less-than-60-day definition is not inverted into a 60-day minimum.

Long-term residential rental is generally permitted. Rental income earned by an individual is treated as income from immovable property and, from tax year 2026, is taxed under Greece's progressive property-income scale. The landlord must also comply with the normal Greek tax reporting framework for leases and rental income.

Long-term rental should not be confused with the separate Article 111 short-term-rental regime. See Property Taxes in Greece → for the current tax layer.

Article 111 of Law 4446/2016 defines short-term rental as the letting or subletting of qualifying immovable property for a specific duration of less than 60 days per rental, where no services are supplied other than the permitted basic provision such as bed linen.

This applies regardless of whether the booking was made through a sharing-economy platform. An Airbnb booking is not automatically STR merely because Airbnb was used, and a direct booking is not automatically outside the STR rules. The duration and nature of the accommodation matter.

This is not a 60-day minimum stay. OwnASea does not map the statutory threshold to minimum_rental_period = 60 days. The reusable duration condition is “less than 60 days per individual rental”; any universal minimum field remains N/A or pending where it cannot represent that condition faithfully.

Article 111 covers qualifying accommodation such as apartments, single-family dwellings within the statutory definition, other structurally and functionally separate dwellings and rooms within apartments or qualifying houses.

Satisfying the tax-law definition is no longer enough. Since 1 October 2025, STR properties must also comply with additional statutory property and safety standards.

These are STR operating standards, not general ownership requirements. A basement, converted storage space or technically problematic unit should not be evaluated only on projected Airbnb revenue.

Generally, yes. AADE requires an owner or manager operating within the normal STR regime to register the property in the Short-Term Stay Property Registry and obtain an AMA — Property Register Number. The AMA must be displayed on the digital platforms through which the property is offered.

The AMA is not a hotel licence. A simple qualifying STR operated under Article 111 is not automatically the same legal category as a hotel or licensed tourist accommodation business. The absence of an ordinary hotel licence does not mean the property is unregulated.

Yes. AADE requires a Short-Term Accommodation Declaration for each qualifying stay. Under the current process, the declaration is normally submitted by the 20th day of the month following the guest's departure, subject to the current AADE rules. AADE also requires annual finalisation of the Short-Term Stay Property Registry by the applicable February deadline. Cancellation payments can also create a declaration obligation.

Law 5170/2025 imposes minimum operational and safety standards on properties in the Short-Term Stay Property Registry. A qualifying STR property must, among other requirements:

• constitute legally qualifying main-use space;
• have natural lighting, ventilation and air conditioning;
• carry civil-liability insurance covering damage or accidents;
• have the required electrician declaration;
• have fire extinguishers, smoke detectors and electrical safety/leakage protection;
• display emergency-exit signage;
• have pest-control certification and a first-aid kit;
• provide emergency contact information.

The Ministry of Tourism and AADE can conduct compliance inspections. Verify that the specific property can legally and technically satisfy these requirements before purchase.

No. National STR rules coexist with location-specific restrictions. The Athens and Thessaloniki overrides are effective-date controlled and concern first/new registration, not a blanket prohibition with no time limit.

New registration restriction ≠ all Airbnb prohibited. Where a property in the affected Athens or Thessaloniki areas is transferred inter vivos, the official housing-policy rule states that the property is deleted from the STR Registry and cannot be re-registered while the restriction remains active.

First/new STR registration is prohibited in Athens Municipal Districts 1, 2 and 3 through 31 December 2026; this is not a blanket ban on existing registered STR operation.Verified It is not correctly summarised as “Airbnb is banned in central Athens”. Existing registration history and the effect of a sale must be checked separately.

If the property is not mapped to a verified municipal district, OwnASea does not infer the restriction from the city name alone. See the Athens Passport view →.

First/new STR registration is prohibited in Thessaloniki 1st Municipal Community from 1 July through 31 December 2026; this is not a blanket ban on existing registered STR operation.Verified Again, a new-registration restriction is not a closure of every existing STR.

Check the exact municipal community before relying on an Airbnb model. See the Thessaloniki Passport view →.

Properties acquired under the relevant current Greek Golden Visa real-estate regime for the initial grant or renewal of the investor residence permit may not be rented or sublet as short-term accommodation within the sharing-economy framework.

This restriction follows the qualifying investment property. It does not mean STR is prohibited for Greek property generally, and it does not automatically apply identically to every property acquired under an earlier regime or transitional provision.

It should not be transformed into “Golden Visa holders cannot operate any Airbnb anywhere in Greece” or “STR is generally prohibited in Greece”. Earlier and transitional investments require their own current Fact Version. See Residency Through Property in Greece →.

The specific immigration restriction concerns short-term rental and sharing-economy use. It should not automatically be interpreted as a prohibition on ordinary long-term rental. The exact investor route, deed, use, building rules and current rental law still need to be checked.

For individuals, from tax year 2026, income from immovable property uses this progressive scale:

These are marginal bands. A landlord whose income reaches the highest band does not pay 45% on the entire amount.

Individual — up to two STR properties

From 1 January 2024, income earned by a natural person from short-term rental of up to two properties is treated as income from immovable property where the properties are furnished and no additional services are supplied apart from permitted bed linen.

Individual — three or more STR properties

If an individual operates three or more STR properties, the income is treated as business income. Additional services can also move activity into business-income treatment even below three properties.

Legal entity

Income earned by a legal person or legal entity from STR activity is treated as business income regardless of the number of properties.

One private apartment and a portfolio of six Airbnb units should not be modelled with the same tax assumptions. VAT is conditional according to the operator and activity; not every Airbnb stay is automatically subject to 13% VAT.

STR accommodation is covered by Greece's Climate Crisis Resilience Fee. It is separate from the owner's income tax. Current 2026 AADE material differentiates the fee by accommodation type, size and season.

Free stays are not subject to the fee under current guidance. It should not be displayed simply as “tourist tax = €8/night”.

Platform reporting exists separately from the owner's own Greek filing requirements. Greece implements the EU DAC7 platform-reporting framework, under which reporting operators have information-reporting and due-diligence obligations and information can be automatically exchanged between tax administrations.

DAC7 does not replace the owner's obligations to register the property where required, file Short-Term Accommodation Declarations, declare rental income or comply with other applicable taxes and fees.

Generally, yes. Foreign ownership does not itself prohibit rental. A foreign owner still has to comply with Greek rules on tax identification, rental reporting, Greek-source rental income, STR registration, local restrictions, property standards and Golden Visa restrictions where relevant.

Being tax resident outside Greece does not remove Greek-source property income from the Greek tax framework.

1. Location: is it in an area with a restriction on new AMA registrations?
2. Existing AMA: does the property genuinely have a valid registration, and will it survive the transaction?
3. Building legality: is the unit a legally qualifying main-use space?
4. Safety standards: can it comply with Law 5170/2025?
5. Golden Visa status: is it a qualifying investment property subject to the STR prohibition?
6. Tax structure: will the operation be property income, business income or VAT-liable activity?
7. Fee model: has the Climate Crisis Resilience Fee been included in the operating model?

A gross Airbnb revenue estimate without these checks can materially overstate investable rental income.

• Short-term rental remains legal in Greece, subject to conditions.
• A Greek STR is generally defined as a qualifying rental for less than 60 days per individual contract, not as a 60-day minimum stay.
• Normal STR operation requires the Short-Term Stay Property Registry, an AMA and accommodation declarations.
• Since 1 October 2025, STR properties must meet additional building, safety and insurance standards.
• Athens: First/new STR registration is prohibited in Athens Municipal Districts 1, 2 and 3 through 31 December 2026; this is not a blanket ban on existing registered STR operation.Verified Thessaloniki: First/new STR registration is prohibited in Thessaloniki 1st Municipal Community from 1 July through 31 December 2026; this is not a blanket ban on existing registered STR operation.Verified
• Current Golden Visa qualifying property can be subject to a separate nationwide prohibition on short-term rental.
• For individuals with up to two qualifying STR properties, income can remain property income; at three or more properties it becomes business income.
• The Climate Crisis Resilience Fee varies by accommodation type, size and season.

Use the Greece Country Passport for current national rules and the relevant Athens or Thessaloniki view for local overrides.

General information: The ability to operate a particular property as a short-term rental can depend on its location, registration history, legal building status, operator structure, Golden Visa status and current local restrictions. Verify significant legal or tax decisions with the appropriate professional or official authority.