Airbnb Hosts in Greece to Face Hefty Fines for Failure to Enroll in Registry

Hosts leasing out their properties through sharing economy platforms are now required by law to enroll in an electronic registry or face fines of up to 5,000 euros, according to a decision signed by George Pitsilis, the head of Greece’s Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE).

The law goes into effect on 1 January 2018 for all short-term leases through online platforms. Income earned in 2017, will be declared accumulatively in the income tax return forms of the year.

More specifically, Airbnb-style hosts, defined as “operators”, will be required to enter the AADE registry, submit a short-term residence declaration for each tenant, enroll in the short-term residential property data system, inform the Deposits and Loans Fund for income attributable to unknown beneficiaries as well as provide information on tenants and duration of stay. According to the decision, there can only be one operator per property.

Properties can be leased out for a total of 90 days per year in urban and popular tourist areas and for 50 days at smaller destinations. Hosts will be taxed at a progressive rate of 15-45 percent for each transaction to be submitted to authorities each quarter.

Violations facing penalties include failure to register in the Short Term Residence Registry, incorrect or unclear inclusion of registry number in online listings, not displaying the legal operation label in online listings.