New Rules For Airbnb-style Accommodations

Although most people who frequent RS forums stay in hotels,

You might be surprised.

That aside, good regulation like this is long past due. They implemented a similar law here last year and while a lot of short term owners moaned because of the bureaucracy, most also recognized that it was needed. I think in the long term it will help sales. Well done Greece.

Interesting. I am not good at visualizing the long term implications, but the article seemed to outline restrictions on how the rental is constructed, and not on how often spaces can be rented short term. I guess the aim is that the safety codes will prohibit owners from short term rental because of implementation cost? And thus making the space available for long term rental without that cost?

I would have thought that cities like Athens and Thessaloniki would have issues with available housing. But I had a conversation about this with the intelligent young woman working the breakfast set up at the small hotel where I stay in Kastraki. It surprised me to learn that there is a shortage of apartments for residents even in this small town (although, yes, it is a tourism spot). The discussion was longer, but she and her boyfriend have to live in the slightly larger neighboring town in order to have an apartment.

The last few years I've been using mostly Airbnbs and even before that I was rarely staying at any hotel-type accommodations unless in Athens and even there the last two years were Airbnbs.

The majority of the Airbnbs and non-hotel places were clean, safe and I never felt in danger of any fires or lack of getting out in case of any emergency.

I'm sure there are places that could be not as safe or taken care of properly all over Greece and probably any other country.

It's up to the traveler to do as much research on a place you want to stay, ask questions and check out reviews although reviews could be "iffy" as how authentic they are and who is making the review.

As the old saying goes: "Buyer Beware"!

A few years ago the owner of the hotel we regularly stayed in, complained to us that Airbnb were under cutting clients because hotels had to operate with strict regulations and standards while Airbnb operations had no official controls or regulations.
It is probably a good thing that there are actual rules and regulations have been imposed.

In Greece, the theoretical annual rental limit for short term rentals is either 60 or 90 days depending on the property's location. These limits can be exceeded if rental income does not exceed a certain threshold in euro, but given that tax evasion is something of a national sport in Greece for historical reasons, some hosts may well exceed these legal limit... :-)

All Airbnbs must have a registration number listed in their description; however, it is impossible for an average traveler to verify whether this number is authentic.

I have noticed over the years that lockboxes are popping up like weeds in certain neighborhoods; sometimes there are more than 20 per apartment building entrance, too many short-term rentals indeed pose a problem of gentrification in certain areas, cause local businesses to disappear, replaced by shops catering to tourists, and drive up housing prices. This phenomenon is mainly due to the fact that professional real estate agencies have invaded the short-term rental market. In Athens, about thirty agencies rent out more than 30 Airbnbs each, with some renting out over 150. And that only covers the ones on Airbnb, there are other short-term rental properties listed on other websites.

Since last year, it has been forbidden to create new Airbnb accommodations in most of Athens' tourist neighborhoods. Therefore, an Airbnb in these areas that only has reviews from this year 2026 could be considered suspicious.

We always choose Airbnbs managed by private individuals, which must legally be stated in the listing (at least on the European versions of the website). Ever since Airbnb has existed, around 2008 I think, we have never stayed in hotels except when we are in Piraeus or Rafina to spend the night before taking the ferry. Every time it has been in accommodations with a fully equipped kitchen and a washing machine managed by individuals.
During our last 5 or 6 stays in Athens, except for once when the owner delegated it to a concierge service, they have always been present upon our arrival.

This phenomenon is mainly due to the fact that professional real estate agencies have invaded the short-term rental market. In Athens, about thirty agencies rent out more than 30 Airbnbs each, with some renting out over 150.

So you are saying that the real estate companies actually own the apartments? Thats interesting. Here in Budapest we have a few real estate companies that manage rentals, but arent the owners. They "rent them out" as you say, but not as owner's, as owners representative. Most of the owners here are Hungarians.

I only mention this because if what you say about Athens is correct, its maybe not the norm outside of Athens. Dont confuse "Host" with "Owner". Not the same thing. Last time I read the stats, worldwide the average number of units owned was significantly less than 2.

But the story is about management for safety and code compliance and to me at least its logical and in the public interest. I went through a similar process on two flats and was happy to see the concern for safety and transparency.

Don't confuse "Host" with "Owner."

Sorry, I don't see where in my text I said that real estate agencies (not companies) owned the Airbnbs.

The stats for Athens are easy to find:

https://insideairbnb.com/athens/

There are also stats for Budapest:

https://insideairbnb.com/budapest/

Where you can see that an entity using the name "Atos" (a large real estate and concierge firm), active on Airbnb since 2017, lists no fewer than 372 properties in Budapest.

There’ll be more to come, this went to court last week & the Airbnb concerned is now banned from operating. Any other apartment buildings with a similar clause in the management rules will be looking at challenging any short term let on various platforms, not just Airbnb. I know some of the complaints in the article from residents are the same as made some years back in areas like Koukaki (south of the Acropolis), residents were complaining that it was like living in a hotel with constant changes every few days or so & their sense of community was lost. We will see if it sparks other complaints, especially in the areas where they’ve been taken over with less & less permanent residents remaining.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/real-estate/1309709/court-bans-short-term-rental-use-of-athens-apartment-over-building-rules/

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/30/travel/rick-steves-europe-tours.html
"When you go to Europe, you can consume in a way that doesn't
dislocate pensioners and ruin neighborhoods. Landlords anywhere in the
world can make more money renting to short-term tourists than
long-term local people," Rick Steves told The New York Times. "So, if
you complain that a city is too touristy and you're staying in an
Airbnb — well, you're part of the problem."

JoLui, sorry, I wasn’t trying to argue with you. My apologies if I came across that way. Your initial link was facinating. I was happy to see it. I hope its the start of a movement. Thank you for that.

To your comments. The links in your “insideairbnb” Budapest post does show "Hosts" with multiple units. That’s fine and that’s truthful. I am certain you know but was making sure that others realize that the Host is not necessarily the Owner.

An Airbnb Host of 150 flats most likely means that as many as 150 Owner’s have hired a property management company to serve the role of Host.

My perception is based on antidotal evidence. I don’t claim to know more than I do. But everyone I know in Budapest that rents out a short-term flat uses a Hungarian management company like I did in Budapest for 15+ years; and most of the owners I've met over the last 20+ years are Hungarian; but not all. The “insideairbnb” link doesn’t answer either of those questions.

The data in the Budapest link is glaringly outdated. If you live here, you could look at the picture and know why I say that. So, I would want to verify everything they post. But the Budapest link does show that the names of the Hosts are all pretty much Hungarian which supports my perception of reality here (mostly Hungarian citizens using Hungarian management companies).

The link claims “adding data to the debate” but first leaves the false impression that Host and Owner are one and the same; when I believe know better. Then says if someone owns multiple units, they are prone to be dishonest … with no data. This could be ideology posing as data.

Once again, I am onboard with regulating short-term rentals, the Hungarians do it. It will reduce the number, but quantity should win out over safety and being obedient to the law.

The Hungarians banned short-term rentals in one district of Budapest. Those buildings are now being converted to hotels. Do I agree? Really doesn't matter. I am not going to insult them by pretending a few years here makes me an expert in their culture or their values or housing costs vs income or any of the hundreds of other factors at play.

I may want to bring back the quaint old streets for my pleasure but only citizens have the right to weigh the pros and cons through their democratic processes. My job is to stay out of the process; then respect and obey their decisions.

I am certain you know but was making sure that others realize that
the Host is not necessarily the Owner.

All the hosts we have met were individuals and the owners of the property, it was the only accommodation they rented out short-term.

That is why I mentioned the possibility of seeing on the accommodation listing whether the host is a business or an individual by selecting an appropriate version on the Airbnb website. I haven't tried it recently, but at one time the American and Canadian English versions didn't show this, the only English-language version that allowed you to see it was the Irish version (because of European laws).

In Athens, about 75% of short-term accommodations are managed by real estate professionals, but on our end, whether in Greece or another country, we have always made sure to use Airbnb (or other equivalent platforms) the way it was originally designed, that is allowing individuals to earn supplemental income by making their home available to travelers for a few weeks a year, which falls under the traditional collaborative economy rather than exploitation by investors.

As a result, we don't wonder whether the owner is a real estate agency, a company, or whatever structure, and this has allowed us to meet interesting people from time to time, university professors, designers, historians, artists, and so on.

Since my initial message was purely informative, and even though discussions on this topic could be interesting, I wouldn't want it to turn into an endless debate on the impact of short-term rentals on tourism, locals, or a country's economy.

Since my initial message was purely informative, and even though discussions on this topic could be interesting, I wouldn't want it to turn into an endless debate on the impact of short-term rentals on tourism, locals, or a country's economy.

We are in complete agreement. And you and i have only disagreed on a definition.

And there was the ruling by a judge this week: https://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2026/07/21/greek-court-rules-airbnb-cant-operate-in-apartment-blocks/

Nicksy, I love it. Democracy in action.