Greece has launched a strict legislative crackdown on short-term rentals, implementing broad geographic freezes across Athens and Thessaloniki alongside a minimum €20,000 fine for landlords violating local restrictions. The draft bill, placed into public consultation by the Ministry of National Economy and Finance, marks a direct intervention aimed at increasing the availability of housing for long-term rentals.
The new measures target property owners and corporate managers who ignore localized freezes, introducing an administrative penalty equal to 50% of gross rental revenues with a €20,000 statutory floor. For a second infraction within the same tax year, the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) will double the fine to 100% of collected rents, carrying a minimum charge of €40,000. To prevent owners from bypassing the rules, a property’s short-term registry number will be automatically deleted upon sale, transfer, parental gift, or inheritance within restricted zones, blocking new buyers from re-listing the asset.
Central Athens and Thessaloniki Registry Frozen Through 2026
The geographic restrictions for new short-term rental listings are now codified across the country’s two largest urban centers, moving away from fragmented local rules into a unified regional strategy. In Athens, the ban on new registrations is extended until December 31, 2026, across the first, second, and third municipal districts, completely freezing new holiday-let supply in historic and commercial neighborhoods including Plaka, Kolonaki, Koukaki, Exarchia, Pagrati, Neos Kosmos, Petralona, Gazi, and Metaxourgeio. Meanwhile, Thessaloniki’s first municipal community will enter the restrictive regime for the first time, shutting down new registry entries across the northern co-capital’s waterfront and commercial center from July 1 until December 31, 2026.
Rent Subsidies Expanded for Urban Tenants and Regional Staff
To assist local tenants facing high urban living costs, the bill pairs these supply-side bans with immediate demand-side relief by lifting the annual net income limits for the state’s rent subsidy program. Single applicants can now qualify for state rental assistance with an income up to €25,000, while the ceiling for married couples rises to €35,000, plus a €5,000 allowance for each dependent child. Single-parent households will see their eligibility cap adjusted to €39,000.
Concurrently, the government is introducing a targeted financial buffer to address chronic public staffing shortages in regional pockets where seasonal tourism has hollowed out the local long-term rental market. Public school teachers, doctors, and nurses stationed outside the metropolitan boundaries of Attica and Thessaloniki will receive a specialized state allowance equivalent to two monthly rent payments per year, verified directly through the official lease data declared on the AADE digital platform.
Tax Breaks Approved for Institutional “Build-to-Rent” Developments
While the expanded subsidies aim to soften immediate cost pressures for civil servants and middle-income families, the bill shifts its long-term focus toward structural supply through the newly activated “Build-to-Rent” (Kataskevazo-Noikiazzo) framework. This program looks past individual retail landlords to incentivize large-scale real estate development and property management firms to invest in permanent residential housing.
The program grants a full corporate tax exemption on all income generated from leasing newly constructed residential buildings or commercial properties structurally converted into housing units. To secure and maintain this tax incentive, development firms must commit the assets exclusively to the traditional long-term market under a mandatory minimum contract duration of ten consecutive years.
