At a time when finding affordable housing has become increasingly difficult for thousands of Greeks, the government is giving property owners strong tax incentives for putting their assets on the long-term rental market.
The new regulations introduced by the Finance Ministry seek to return closed or short-term rented homes to long-term rental. The main incentive is an exemption from income tax for three years, which, market experts report, will act as a catalyst following improvements made by the ministry and ratified by Parliament.
There are three conditions for the exemption:
1. It applies to owners who will rent out homes that have been vacant for at least three years, as well as homes that in previous years were put up for short-term rental. The maximum surface area is up to 120 square meters. If the tenant has more than two children, this limit will be increased by 20 sq.m. for each additional child.
2. The exemption applies if the tenants agree to a three-year lease agreement for their main residence. If the tenant leaves the residence, the exemption will continue until the completion of three years if within three months the owner concludes a single new three-year lease agreement for their main residence. If this lease is also terminated, the further tax exemption will also be lost.
3. The exemption will, however, apply to leases of at least six months for residences that will be rented to medical or nursing personnel employed by general government bodies, teachers of all levels of public education, as well as uniformed personnel of the Armed Forces and Security Forces. In this case, the owner will not lose the continuation of the tax exemption if, within six months, he or she concludes new lease agreements for a main residence, of at least six months or even three years.
The exemption applies to residences whose rental agreement as a main residence will be concluded until December 31, 2026, provided that they were closed for the previous three years.
