Short term rental agreements regime in Greece

Greece has a straightforward and preferable legal and tax regime for short term house leasing under Airbnb business model.

Any property owner is able to lease any kind of residence (house or apartment) in any area of Greece, any time to any third party, Greek or foreigner, as a temporary residence or for holiday purposes.

In this case, if the property owner leases less than 4 residences does not need to:

• Acquire a special license issued by Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) as required in case of tourist accommodation and
• Proceed to a company start-up or be registered as tourism professional.

However, the property owner shall report the rental agreement at TaxisNet system (the electronic platform of the Ministry of Finance). This agreement includes necessarily the full details and the VAT number of the lessee. If the lessee has not a Greek VAT number, the owner should fill in 1) the passport number, 2) the address of permanent residence and 3) the country of origin of the foreigner.

The leased property should meet the following requirements:

• Have a minimum area of 9 sq.m., natural light, airing and heating system,
• Have a building permit in accordance with the relevant legal framework,
• Be furnished

The provision of any other service (such as breakfast or dinner), except clean bed linen, is prohibited under this model.

TAXATION:

1. Should the income be recognized as “Rental” is subject to tax on the basis of the following:

1. Should the income be recognized as “Entrepreneurial”, the profit is subject to tax on the basis of the following:

RECENT AND UPCOMING CHANGE: 

• The duration of the leasing alone does not affect the type of income
• Short term leasing may not be subjected to VAT
• Government has plans to raise a flat tax on short term rental agreements similar to the tax imposed to hotels.

For more information regarding properties visit www.goldgreece.com