Restrictions on short-term leases

Government moving to provide order to the rapidly growing market for Airbnb rentals

The government is moving toward a clear distinction between small owners who rent their property for a few days a year to foreign or Greek visitors and owners or companies who rent a larger number of properties systematically under the short-term rental scheme.

In order to be able to continue this activity, the latter will be subject to the provisions on commercial activity – i.e. the rentals will be subject to VAT, among other things.

The supply of services such as cleaning is being explored, provided the services offered are in conformity with labor legislation and people employed in these establishments are registered and insured the same as all employees. This is especially important in the case of entire blocks of apartments and buildings whose rooms are offered as short-term rentals and are supervised by vested interests, constituting a hotel activity.

Furthermore, it is being examined whether it should be explicitly stated for apartment blocks that if the entire unit or apartment complex is rented out on short-term leases, it will be considered tourist accommodation and will need to be licensed appropriately.

The VAT exemption on collected rent will be reserved only if the income beneficiary is an individual and has registered up to a certain number of properties in his/her VAT number on the Independent Public Revenue Authority (AADE) platform. It has not yet been determined whether it will be two or three properties, of which one must be used for owner-occupation.