Greece’s Rooms to Let Eligible for Shoreline Use

An amendment to a shoreline use law now gives rooms to let the right to use the beach for the rental of sea sport equipment, placement of tables and chairs, umbrellas and recliners for public use without restrictions.

The revised law, which already applies to hotels, restaurants, cafes, campgrounds and leisure centers, now includes rooms to let which will be allowed to use beaches and shorelines in front of their businesses for a three-year period and with a 40 percent discount this year.

The government is also giving the owners of illegally constructed buildings on the shoreline the right to legalize these through to 2022. 

Environmental groups have been protesting against the repeatedly amended law which not only legalizes illegal dwellings on shorelines across the country but now also authorizes illegitimate fish farms. It also legalizes the extension of ski resorts constructed without permission from the forestry department.

The revision has been made only “for reasons of purely financial support of these businesses”, the government said.

It should be noted, that since 2019, the finance minister or a legally authorized body can grant concessions for the use of seashore, beach or river zone directly, quid pro quo.

Interested parties now have the right to proceed with direct leases (without an auction process) and without any legal restaurant concerning the maximum area of use.

In efforts to support ailing businesses hit by Covid-19, the government this year is offering a 40 percent discount on the lease for shoreline use. Of this sum, 70 percent will go towards the municipality and 30 percent to the state, it said.