Short-term rental in Greece has moved well beyond its original, loosely regulated sharing-economy model. By August 2026, operating an Airbnb legally requires compliance with five separate pieces of legislation at once — tax law, registration rules, mandatory safety standards, geographic restrictions, and, in some cases, urban planning conditions tied to how the property came to exist as housing at all.
This is a plain-language walkthrough of what a Greek planning lawyer identifies as the current legal stack, based on analysis published in August 2026.
What legally counts as a short-term rental in Greece?
Since 1 January 2024, a short-term rental is defined as any lease or sublease of a property for up to 59 days, where the property is furnished and no services beyond bed linen are provided.
The 59-day limit applies to each individual booking, not to the total number of days a property is let across the year. A property can be legally let short-term for 300 days spread across dozens of separate bookings, each under 60 days, and still fall entirely within the short-term rental regime. It is only when a single continuous booking reaches 60 days or more that it shifts into long-term lease rules instead. Whether the booking is arranged through Airbnb, Booking.com, another platform, or agreed directly between the parties makes no legal difference.
If services beyond accommodation and bed linen are provided — breakfast, regular cleaning during the stay, transfers — the activity is no longer simple short-term rental and is instead treated as a tourism business, with its own registration and tax obligations.
What is the core registration law?
The foundational law is Article 111 of Law 4446/2016, repeatedly amended since, which requires every property manager to register the property in AADE’s Short-Term Stay Property Registry, obtain a Property Registration Number (ΑΜΑ), and display that number on the listing across every platform and promotional material where the property appears.
Registration is required even when a booking is arranged outside any digital platform. After every stay, a Short-Term Stay Declaration must be filed by the 20th day of the month following the guest’s departure — including for cancelled bookings, if any payment was retained under the cancellation policy. Declarations can be amended up to 28 February of the year the income tax return is filed, before the Registry entry is finalised.
How does the number of properties change your tax treatment?
An individual letting up to two properties, providing only accommodation and bed linen, is taxed under property income rules and does not need to register a business for that reason alone. From three properties onward, AADE requires formal registration of a business activity, bringing VAT, the municipal accommodation tax (τέλος παρεπιδημούντων), the E3 form, and full Greek Accounting Standards obligations — including electronic reporting through myDATA — into play.
Legal entities and other legal structures are treated as a business regardless of how many properties they hold, even a single one.
Tax treatment by number of properties
| Situation | Tax treatment | Extra obligations |
|---|---|---|
| Individual, 1–2 properties, accommodation only | Property income (Articles 39–40, Income Tax Code) | None beyond standard property income filing |
| Individual, 3+ properties | Business income | VAT, accommodation tax, E3, Greek Accounting Standards, myDATA |
| Legal entity, any number of properties | Business income | Full business obligations regardless of property count |
What changed for VAT and income tax bands?
Individuals letting up to two properties under the simple short-term rental regime are exempt from VAT. Individuals with three or more properties are subject to 13% VAT on the entire activity. Legal entities are subject to standard VAT regardless of how many properties they hold.
From the 2026 tax year, the property income tax scale itself changed, with a new intermediate band introduced. Income up to €12,000 is taxed at 15%, the portion from €12,001 to €24,000 at 25% — a new bracket that did not exist under the scale applying through tax year 2025 — the portion from €24,000.01 to €36,000 at 35%, and anything above €36,000 at 45%.
What is the climate resilience levy, and who actually pays it?
The climate resilience levy applies to short-term rental properties at €8 per night of use from April to October and €2 per night from November to March, rising to €15 and €4 respectively for detached houses over 80 square metres. The levy is legally borne by the guest, is not subject to VAT, and must be remitted to the tax authority through a monthly declaration by the last day of the following month.
What are the mandatory property standards, and why do they matter more than they look?
The most significant operational change came from Article 3 of Law 5170/2025, in force since 1 October 2025: registration and tax compliance alone are no longer sufficient. The property itself must now meet minimum legal standards, and the most consequential of these is a planning-law requirement, not a checklist item.
Properties must be a legally designated primary-use space (χώρος κύριας χρήσης) under planning law, with natural lighting, ventilation and air conditioning. A liability insurance policy is required, along with a certified electrician’s declaration, fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, an earth-leakage or anti-electrocution circuit breaker, and emergency exit signage. Pest control certification, a first aid kit, and a guide with emergency phone numbers are also required.
The primary-use requirement is the one owners most often overlook. Basements, storage areas, or any space not legally classified as a primary-use area cannot be used for short-term rental — regardless of whether the space already has an ΑΜΑ or has already been listed on a platform. This introduces genuine planning-law scrutiny into what was previously treated mainly as a tax compliance question.
What changed with the 2026 geographic restrictions?
Article 5 of Law 5313/2026 amended Article 111 of Law 4446/2016 again in 2026, formally allowing the suspension of new registrations in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Municipal Districts of Athens to continue, and separately barring any first-time registration of a property in the Α’ Municipal Community of Thessaloniki from 1 July 2026 to 31 December 2026.
Breaching these geographic restrictions carries a fine of 50% of the income generated from the illegal short-term rental, with a floor of €20,000. A repeat violation within the same tax year carries a fine equal to the rent collected between the two inspections, with a floor of €40,000.
What happens to the ΑΜΑ when a restricted-zone property is sold?
Law 5313/2026 also introduced a rule with lasting consequences for property values in restricted zones: a property in a restricted area that is transferred during the owner’s lifetime — whether by sale or by gift — is deregistered from the Short-Term Stay Registry and cannot be re-registered for as long as the ban on new registrations remains in force.
In these areas, an existing ΑΜΑ no longer travels with the property independently after a transfer. It effectively belongs to the current owner’s continued operation, not to the asset itself.
What is the new five-year ban on converted buildings?
The most recent and least-known development is Article 56 of Law 5322/2026, which amended Article 199 of the Spatial and Urban Planning Code, Law 5306/2026, to make it easier — under specific conditions — to convert existing non-residential buildings into housing.
The law simultaneously closed an obvious loophole: any dwelling created through this specific fast-track change-of-use process cannot be used for short-term rental for at least five years from the date the change of use is completed.
The logic is explicit rather than incidental. Making it easier to convert other building types into housing is intended to expand the long-term housing stock, not to seed a new pipeline of short-term rental supply. This is the first time Greek law has directly and deliberately linked a planning-law change-of-use process to a multi-year short-term rental ban.
Putting it together — what compliance actually requires today
As of August 2026, operating a short-term rental legally in Greece requires simultaneous compliance with Article 111 of Law 4446/2016 for registration, the applicable tax legislation, the property standards of Law 5170/2025, the geographic restrictions of Law 5313/2026, and — where the property resulted from a recent change of use — the planning rules introduced by Law 5306/2026 as amended by Law 5322/2026.
Short-term rental in Greece has moved from being primarily a tax registration exercise to a complete regulatory framework governing how a home may be used and exploited.
Frequently asked questions
What is the legal definition of a short-term rental in Greece?
A lease or sublease of a furnished property for up to 59 days, providing only accommodation and bed linen, with the 59-day limit applying per individual booking rather than to total annual days let.
How many properties can I let before I need to register a business in Greece?
Two. From the third property onward, or for any legal entity regardless of property count, business registration with VAT, accommodation tax and full accounting obligations is required.
What is the new income tax band for short-term rental income from 2026?
A new 25% bracket for income between €12,001 and €24,000, alongside 15% up to €12,000, 35% from €24,000.01 to €36,000, and 45% above that.
Can any room or space in a home be used for short-term rental in Greece?
No. Since October 2025, the space must be a legally designated primary-use area under planning law, meaning basements, storage rooms, and other non-primary spaces cannot legally be listed even if they already hold an ΑΜΑ.
Does an Airbnb licence transfer automatically when a restricted-zone property is sold?
No. Under Law 5313/2026, a property in a restricted area is deregistered on transfer, whether by sale or gift, and cannot be re-registered while the registration freeze remains in force.
Can a newly converted residential building be used for Airbnb immediately?
No, if it was converted from another use through the fast-track process introduced by Law 5322/2026 — short-term rental is banned for at least five years from the date the change of use is completed.
About this article
This article is based on a legal analysis published 17 August 2026 by Παναγιώτης Γαλάνης, a Greek planning law attorney and academic at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. It is general information, not legal advice, and Greek BnB Data is not a law firm. Confirm your specific situation with a Greek lawyer.
Related: How Airbnb Income Is Taxed in Greece, Airbnb Licence Transfer in Greece, Greece’s Tourism Spatial Framework.
Greek BnB Data provides insights for property owners and investors across Greece. Brothers Consulting manages short-term rental properties in Porto Heli, Ermionida, Argolida and Thessaloniki, Greece.