Greece Moves Ahead with Rules for Airbnb-type Rentals

The rules property owners in Greece need to follow in order to legally rent out their homes or apartments for the short-term were officially made public on Monday.

The relevant decision, signed by the head of Greece’s Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE), George Pitsilis, was published in the Government Gazette.

The decision notes that the phrase “short-term lease” in the context of the “sharing economy” is defined as the lease of a “property” through digital platforms for a certain period of time, less than a year. Also, the decision defines the “sharing economy” as any model whereby digital platforms create an open market for the temporary use of goods or services that are often provided by individuals.

According to the decision, the rules concern all properties rented for the short-term through online platforms as of January 1, 2018. Income earned from short-term rental activity in 2017, will be declared accumulatively in the income tax return forms of the year.

Rules and fines

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. The decision underlined that there can only be one “operator” per property.

Violations facing penalties of up to 5,000 euros include failure to register in the Short Term Residence Registry and providing an incorrect or unclear registry number in online listings.

To see the whole decision (in Greek) as published in the Government Gazette, press here.