The Panhellenic Federation of Property Owners (POMIDA) expresses its strong protest and complete opposition to the provision of paragraph 2C of Article 5 of the draft bill under consultation, which provides for the automatic removal of properties from the Short-Term Rental Registry in the event of their transfer, even if this occurs due to the death of the owner or their transfer to family members through parental gift or donation, within areas where a temporary restriction is in effect.
The relevant announcement notes that this regulation, from a social perspective, constitutes an unprecedented attack on the Greek family and its property, with literally disastrous consequences since it even encompasses parental gifts and inheritances (!) while, from an economic standpoint, it introduces an unprecedented distortion into the Greek real estate market, which undermines the very core of citizens’ legally acquired property rights and requires immediate revision for the following reasons:
- Arbitrary depreciation of private property value: The commercial and utility value of a property is inextricably linked to its lawful uses. For the state to suddenly deprive a property of an existing, entirely lawful, and productive economic activity simply because the owner has changed constitutes an indirect but clear restriction on the right to property (Article 17 of the Constitution) and unjustifiably diminishes the value of the citizen’s property during the sale process.
- Social and economic injustice in family transfers: It is socially unthinkable to penalize a Greek family when it chooses to transfer its property to its children through a parental gift, or when an heir acquires the property due to the loss of a relative. The automatic revocation of the right to lease deprives the household of a previously budgeted and vital source of supplemental income, causing sudden financial instability for the family, which has typically invested not only money but also effort and care to establish this business.
- Disruption of administrative continuity and predictability: The lease permit (AMA) is issued for the property itself and its specifications, not for the owner as an individual. Terminating its validity due to a change in ownership status violates the principle of administrative continuity and creates an uncertain regulatory environment that stifles mobility in the real estate market.
- An unjustified and ineffective attack on the institution of Short-Term Leasing, which will have no beneficial effect whatsoever on the long-term leasing market, just like any other measure of a similar nature. We recall that this measure was enacted in Portugal as part of the Mais Habitação (2023) package, which imposed heavy restrictions on short-term rentals (Alojamento Local – AL) in the hope that the supply of housing for long-term rental would increase.
- However, since nothing of the sort happened, in 2024 the new government repealed most of these measures through Legislative Decree 76/2024 of October 2024. It repealed the suspension on issuing new permits, repealed the mandatory expiration of permits after 5 years, repealed the non-transferability of the permit in the event of a property sale (no prohibition was provided for parental gifts and inheritances), and abolished the additional tax burdens that had been imposed specifically on short-term leases
- The Mais Habitação measures were repealed en masse because they were deemed excessive and detrimental to tourism and the economy, but also because there were strong reactions from professionals, property owners, and even local authorities.
POMIDA calls for the withdrawal of this unacceptable and destructive regulation regarding the removal of transferred properties from the Short-Term Rental Registry and, to maintain stability and legality, our Federation proposes amending paragraph 2C so that the existing entry in the Short-Term Lease Registry remains active and is mandatorily transferred with the property upon its transfer.
Administrative compliance can be ensured simply and effectively through a mandatory procedure requiring the new owner to report the change to the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (IAPR) within a specific timeframe, so that tax records can be updated without devaluing the property and nullifying the income of Greek families and Greek society derived from tourism, which contributes at least one billion euros annually to the national economy, concludes the statement signed by Stratos Paradias.