Greece Looking to Add Restrictions to Airbnb-style Rentals

Lycabettus, Athens. Photo © Maria Theofanopoulou

In view of the soaring number of short-term home rentals made available in Greece, over the last two years, the Greek government is reportedly looking into ways to restrict the practice.

According to media reports, a committee made up of officials from the economy, finance, labor and tourism ministries, is planning to draw up a ministerial decision imposing restrictions on the number of nights and properties that individual operators/owners and/or management companies can lease in a given period.

It should be reminded that according to draft legislation covering home-sharing practices in place since 2016, a single operator can lease only two properties for no more than 90 days per year and in the case of small islands with a population under 10,000, for 60 days, and only operators with annual income from rentals under 12,000 euros, can lease their properties longer than the 90-day (60-day) quota.

The so-called Airbnb phenomenon has been a thorny issue for the Greek government, which seeks on the one hand to benefit from the resultant revenue and on the other maintain a balance with hospitality sector stakeholders who have repeatedly called for tighter measures particularly in terms of taxation.

According to cabinet meeting last week, turnover from home-sharing practices in 2018 in Greece reached 2 billion euros. At the same time, availability of long-term rentals has plunged, rents for long-term housing have soared, and aiming to benefit from the trend owners have moved ahead with evictions of tenants.