How to Rent Out your Flat on Airbnb in Greece

Greek parliament passes bill for short-term rentals

Those interested in renting out their properties, homes or flats in Greece for the short-term through online platforms such as Airbnb and others, must now meet a series of requirements as set out by a new law that was voted in parliament in December. The law, prepared by the Finance Ministry in cooperation with the Tourism Ministry, aims to regulate an ever-growing shadow economy in Greece.

According to the law, the owner of the property must be an individual taxpayer and not an enterprise and must be listed in the Short-Term Lease Property Register at the General Secretariat for Public Revenue of the Finance Ministry. It is prohibited for an individual to rent out more than two properties for the short-term (only two properties per VAT Registration Number are allowed to be leased).

The law also underlines that the leased property must have a minimum area of nine square meters, natural light, windows, heating, be fully furnished and supply only the service of bedding.

Moreover, properties can be leased for a period of up to 90 days per year and on islands with fewer than 10,000 residents for 60 days with the exception of proprietors declaring less than 12,000 euros annual income (from leases), who will be allowed to exceed this quota.

Derived income from short-term property rentals will be taxed under the provisions of rental taxation. However, rentals will be exempt from value-added tax (VAT).

Short-term leases that do not fulfill all the requirements in the law will be considered legitimate only if they concern any form of tourism accommodation that has the special accommodation seal (ESL) provided by the Greek National Tourism Organization, according to law 4276/2014.

Individuals found renting properties to tourists illegally will be slapped with a fine of 5,000 euros (minimum).