Vacation rental

“Across Greece, a typical Airbnb host rents out a home for just 24 nights a year, and more than one in two report that the additional income from this activity helps them maintain their homes,” said Valentina Reino, Head of Public Policy for Southern Europe at Airbnb, in response to the government’s announcement of new regulations on short-term rentals in Greece.

In a bid to tackle the housing problem, the government has set the deadline for issuance of an AMA (Property Registration Number) for properties located in the first three districts of the Municipality of Athens on December 31, 2024.

From January 1, 2025, new restrictive measures for Airbnb properties will take effect (including a freeze on new licenses in Athens’ 1st, 2nd, and 3rd districts). The three-year tax exemption for closed properties, however, begins today and will be available until the end of the following year.

The government, not local municipalities, will decide whether to freeze or allow new short-term rental permits like Airbnb. This policy starts with three main districts of Athens (1st, 2nd, and 3rd), where new Property Registration Numbers (AMAs) will not be issued for at least one year.

Airbnb Regulations:

The government has rejected suggestions from agencies for planners on leasing days per year and is turning to temporary – mild – measures for “saturated” urban centers.

With double-digit growth rates following the upward rhythms recorded in the rest of Europe, short-term rentals in our country are “running” this year, according to the most… official bull, that of the major market players, Airbnb, Booking, Expedia Group and TripAdvisor.

Andreas Chiou, the president of the association of property managers, recounted an incident with a Chinese customer who rented an apartment through Airbnb and incurred €3,500 in phone charges from calls made via the internet. Speaking to ERT, Chiou explained that the client was an employee of a construction company and likely needed the phone for meetings.

An unbelievable phone bill of…3,500 euros was left for a Airbnb property owner to pay by a Chinese man ho stayed there for a week.

The urgent need to address the acute problem of homelessness is driving the government’s decisions from September onwards. The primary goal is to free up homes from Airbnb and incentivize long-term rentals to help young couples struggling to find accommodation.