Plan to shield property owners from rent-shirking tenants

Seeking to encourage more owners to put their shuttered properties back onto the rental market, the government plans to set up a register of tenants who don't pay their rent.

This way landlords will be able to avoid bad debtors, particularly those who have no intention of paying their rent from the outset, as it will have a function similar to that of the Teiresias register for banks.

"The details of tenants and their profile will be included, so it will show whether they have left unpaid rent to the previous owner, or whether they have left unpaid bills, in order for landlords to avoid them," said Alex Patelis, chief economic adviser to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, speaking to Skai TV.

Based on Patelis' data, the number of closed/vacant homes is estimated at 700,000, while active short-term rental properties are seen at 100,000.

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