Fines up to €40,000 for new Airbnb properties in central Athens

New tax bill provides strict fines for those who ignore the ruling, prohibiting the issuance of new permits for short-term rentals such as Airbnb V center of Athens for the whole of 2025.

Those who will be identified through the Short-Term Rentals Register or from data sent to AADE digital platforms Airbnb, Booking and Expedia Group/VRBO, or those found following cross-checks and AADE audits, will have to pay a fine of 50% of their turnover, with a minimum amount of €20,000. If they commit the same offense again, the fine will be 50% of their turnover up to that point, with a minimum amount of €40,000.

Specifically, the bill provides for the “suspension of the sale of new houses” for short-term rentals in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd communities of the Municipality of Athens for one year, from January 1 to December 31, 2025. During this period, it is not permitted to register new properties in the short-term housing register for these areas:

• In case of non-compliance with the law, there is a fine of 50% of income from short-term rentals, the minimum amount of which is 20,000 euros.
• In the event of a repeated violation within the same tax year, the fine will be equal to the amount of rent received, with a minimum of EUR 40,000.

Let us remind you that, according to the law, rental housing such as Airbnb is registered in the Register of Short-Term Rentals as follows:

• “Short-term occupancy declarations” are submitted by the 20th day of the month following the date the tenant leaves the property.
• Changes to the “Declaration of Short-Term Residence” can be made until February 28 of the year of filing the income tax return, before the completion of the register.
• In the event of a lease termination, if the tenant is required to pay an amount under the termination policy, the initial return must be filed by the 20th of the month following the termination of the lease.
• The short-term property register must be completed no later than February 28 of the year of filing the income tax return.

Another provision of the bill provides that those who remove real estate from short-term rentals and provide it for long-term rentals will be exempt from paying income taxes for 3 years. This measure also applies to those who open closed properties and make them available for traditional rentals.

In particular, the bill provides for a 3-year income tax exemption for rental properties that were previously declared vacant or short-term rentals. Terms include:

1. Residential property up to 120 sq.m.,
2. Contracts lasting at least three years, concluded between September 8, 2024 and December 31, 2025,
3. Residential properties that in 2022, 2023 and 2024 (or 2025 if a lease is entered into at that time) were declared vacant (Form E2) or were not declared as a rental, landlord's primary or secondary residence, owner or unit free use (forms E1 and E2), or was allocated exclusively for short-term rental with an application for concluding a rental agreement to the tax office.

Finally, another provision doubles the reduction ENFIA from 2025 (from 10% to 20%) for residences of individuals with a taxable value of up to 500,000 euros, which are insured against natural disasters (fire, earthquake, flood).

A prerequisite for receiving a discount is that insurance must be issued for the previous year and last for at least 3 months. If the insurance lasts less than a year, the discount is adjusted proportionally.

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