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You can keep a Greek home for family use, let it long term or let it short term while you live abroad, but the filings stay in the owner’s name. A long-term lease is declared to the tax authority (AADE) by the end of the month after it starts; a short-term let needs a registry number (AMA), minimum safety standards and civil liability insurance. A relative or a property manager can do the legwork under a written authorisation or a power of attorney.
Last verified: 28 October 2026An owner abroad usually keeps the home for family use, lets it to a tenant for 60 days or more, or lets it to guests for shorter stays. Each option follows a different set of rules and creates different paperwork.
Many diaspora owners hold a family flat in Athens or a village house they inherited, often with siblings or cousins as co-owners. Co-ownership matters: every co-owner is named in a lease declaration, and AADE’s guidance assesses the short-term rental position of each co-owner separately.
| Option | Main filings | Points to note |
|---|---|---|
| Family use or kept empty | E9 property return kept up to date; annual property tax (ENFIA) | Bills, building charges and upkeep continue with no income to offset them |
| Long-term lease (60 days or more) | Lease declaration to AADE; rent on the annual Greek tax return | A home that was empty may qualify for a 36-month income tax exemption |
| Short-term rental (under 60 days) | AMA registration; a declaration for each stay; climate resilience fee returns | Minimum standards and insurance; new registrations frozen in central Athens and central Thessaloniki to 31 December 2026 |
Owners abroad need a Greek tax number (AFM) and access to AADE’s online services for any of these routes. See our guide to the Greek tax number (AFM). If you inherited the home, start with inherited property in Greece.
Every long-term lease is declared on AADE’s online lease service by the end of the month after the lease starts or is amended. The tenant and any co-owners then confirm it online.
A lease of a home “is valid for at least three years, even if a shorter or indefinite term was agreed”, under Article 2(1) of Law 1703/1987 as replaced by Law 2235/1994. Whether the rule also covers a second or holiday home depends on case law; confirm how this applies to you with a Greek lawyer or accountant.
A short-term rental is a lease of under 60 days with no services beyond accommodation and bed linen. The property must be entered in AADE’s Short-Term Stay Property Registry and its registry number (AMA) shown on every listing and advert.
The rules are in Article 111 of Law 4446/2016, as amended. The main duties are:
| Climate resilience fee (AADE decision A.1202/2024) | April to October | November to March |
|---|---|---|
| Short-term rental flat or room, per night | €8 | €2 |
| Detached house over 80 m², per night | €15 | €4 |
The registered manager can be the owner, a usufructuary or a sub-lessor, according to AADE’s questions and answers of September 2025. Third parties named include estate administrators, executors and guardians, and AADE’s answers confirm that a company or other legal entity can be the registered manager, acting through its legal representative or an authorised accountant. An owner who hands management to someone else files a lease declaration naming that manager, or is treated as the manager (Article 111(4)). Where one co-owner manages a jointly owned home under a lease from the other co-owners with the right to sub-let, AADE treats only that co-owner as the short-term manager and the others as long-term lessors.
Since 1 October 2025, Article 3 of Law 5170/2025 (Government Gazette A’ 6/20.01.2025) requires every short-term rental to have:
Ministry of Tourism inspectors can fine a manager €5,000 for a breach or for refusing entry. A repeat breach found within a year doubles the fine, and each further identical breach carries four times the original amount.
New registrations are banned in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd municipal districts of Athens until 31 December 2026, under paragraph 2A of Article 111, extended by joint ministerial decision 225563 ΕΞ 2025 (Government Gazette B’ 7200/31.12.2025). The same ban applies to the 1st Municipal Community of Thessaloniki from 1 July 2026 to 31 December 2026 (paragraph 2B). The law allows further extensions by ministerial decision; none had been published on the government’s housing policy portal by 28 October 2026.
In these areas, a property transferred during the owner’s lifetime, for payment or free of charge, is removed from the registry and cannot be registered again while the restriction lasts (paragraph 2C). Letting there in breach of the ban costs 50% of the short-term rental income, with a minimum of €20,000; a repeat breach in the same tax year costs the full rent collected, with a minimum of €40,000 (paragraphs 2A and 2B). Elsewhere, failing to register carries an annual fine of 50% of the year’s gross income, with a minimum of €5,000 (paragraph 5(a)). Full details are in our guide to short-term rental rules in Greece.
Rent from Greek property is taxed in Greece wherever the owner lives. From tax year 2026 it is taxed on its own scale: 15% up to €12,000, 25% to €24,000, 35% to €36,000 and 45% above (Article 40(4) of the Income Tax Code, as rewritten by Law 5246/2025).
For an individual who lets up to two properties short term, the income is property income on the same scale and is exempt from VAT, according to AADE. With three or more properties it becomes business income and 13% VAT applies. The full rules, deductions and worked examples are on our page on Greek property taxes for owners abroad and in our guide to rental income tax for owners abroad. How your country of residence taxes the same rent is a separate matter.
Rent from a home that had stood empty is exempt from Greek income tax for 36 months if it is let for at least three years. The lease must be signed between 8 September 2024 and 31 December 2026. A bill tabled in Parliament on 3 November 2026 would extend that date to 31 December 2027; it is not yet law.
The exemption is in Article 72(91) of the Income Tax Code, added by Article 9 of Law 5162/2024 and amended by Article 9 of Law 5246/2025, as AADE set out in a reply to Parliament on 25 May 2026. The main conditions are:
If the home falls vacant during the three years, the exemption ends from that tax year; if it is switched to short-term letting, the exemption is lost from the first year of the lease, according to AADE.
Status: in force for leases signed by 31 December 2026. Article 13 of a bill tabled in Parliament on 3 November 2026, after public consultation from 18 October to 1 November 2026, would move the end date to 31 December 2027; it is not yet law. Any change will appear in our regulation tracker. Confirm how this applies to you with a Greek lawyer or accountant.
An apartment comes with a share of the building’s running costs, the common charges (κοινόχρηστα), and with its own utility contracts. Both keep running whether or not anyone lives there.
Most apartment blocks have a building administrator (διαχειριστής) who prepares the common charges statement for heating, lift, cleaning and repairs. An owner abroad can receive the statement by email and pay by bank transfer, and a relative or manager can follow the general meetings of owners. When the home is let, the lease sets out who pays the common charges and the utilities.
Electricity, water, gas and telephone are contracts with each supplier. Keeping them in the owner’s name, or moving them to the tenant’s name, is arranged with the supplier, and a relative or manager can handle it with the owner’s authorisation.
Civil liability insurance is compulsory for every short-term rental under Law 5170/2025. The mandatory natural-disaster insurance in Law 5116/2024 applies to businesses, not to private homes.
Article 5 of Law 5116/2024 requires businesses with gross revenue above €500,000 in the previous tax year to insure their buildings and other assets against forest fire, flood and earthquake, covering at least 70% of their value. An individual letting a family home does not meet that description. Building and contents cover for a home that is not let short term is not required by either of these laws. Confirm how this applies to you with a Greek lawyer or accountant.
Owners abroad keep their property return (E9) accurate and pay the annual property tax (ENFIA) through AADE. The electronic property identity matters when you sell, gift or carry out building works.
A relative or manager can act for you in Greece if you give them written authority. The two common routes are a power of attorney signed at a Greek consulate and an electronic authorisation on gov.gr.
At a Greek consulate: the Consulate General in London explains that the text is usually drafted by a Greek lawyer or notary and sent to the consulate in Word format. You sign at an appointment. The original stays in the consulate’s archive and you receive an exact copy to send to Greece, which needs no further certification. If you do not fully understand Greek, a certified translator or interpreter co-signs. The fee depends on the length of the document.
On gov.gr: the electronic authorisation service (έκδοση εξουσιοδότησης) issues an authorisation online. You log in with your personal TAXISnet or web banking credentials; TAXISnet users must first register and confirm a mobile number in the National Contact Registry (ΕΜΕπ) to receive the SMS code.
Whether a task such as signing a lease, registering an AMA or dealing with suppliers needs a consular power of attorney or a gov.gr authorisation depends on who will accept it. Confirm which form a specific act needs with a Greek lawyer or accountant.
A property manager is your local contact: finding tenants or guests, collecting rent, handling repairs and dealing with the building. The legal and tax duties stay with the owner.
A typical service covers:
For short-term lets, a management contract either leaves the owner as the registered manager under the owner’s own AMA, with the firm working under a service contract, or makes the firm a sub-lessor; AADE’s guidance treats the two set-ups differently. Management fees are agreed with each firm. Our guide to property management in Athens lists what to check in a management contract.
Work through these steps before you let the property or leave it for a long period. Several depend on having a Greek tax number and online access first.
Yes. Owners abroad can let a Greek home long term or short term. A long-term lease is declared to AADE by the end of the month after it starts, and the rent is taxed in Greece. A short-term let needs a registry number (AMA), minimum safety standards and civil liability insurance.
You need to register the property in AADE’s Short-Term Stay Property Registry and show its registry number (AMA) on every listing. Since 1 October 2025 the property must also meet minimum standards under Law 5170/2025, including civil liability insurance, smoke detectors and fire extinguishers.
Not in the 1st, 2nd or 3rd municipal districts of Athens, where new registrations are frozen until 31 December 2026. The same freeze covers the 1st Municipal Community of Thessaloniki from 1 July to 31 December 2026. The law allows further extensions by ministerial decision.
Under Article 2(1) of Law 1703/1987, as replaced by Law 2235/1994, a lease of a home is valid for at least three years even if a shorter term was agreed. Its application to second or holiday homes depends on case law. A lease of under 60 days with only accommodation and linen is a short-term rental.
Yes, with written authority. Common routes are a power of attorney signed at a Greek consulate, whose copy needs no further certification in Greece, or an electronic authorisation issued on gov.gr with your TAXISnet or web banking credentials. The owner’s tax duties stay with the owner.
Yes. Rent from a home of up to 120 m² that was declared vacant, and not let, owner-used or provided free, in the three previous tax years is exempt from income tax for 36 months if the lease runs at least three years and is signed between 8 September 2024 and 31 December 2026. A bill tabled in Parliament on 3 November 2026 would extend the signing date to 31 December 2027; it is not yet law.
