ATHENS, Sept 13 (Askume) – Greece said on Friday it will offer a three-year tax break to landlords who convert short-term rentals to long-term ones, becoming the latest European country to ban vacation rentals in a bid to address a housing shortage.
The rise of short-term rentals in Europe has prompted tourist centers such as Spain’s Canary Islands, Lisbon, Berlin and Florence to ban such rentals, pushing many locals out of the permanent resident market.
Greece also plans to raise taxes on short-term rentals and ban new permits in central Athens, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said last week, as part of a plan to address a housing shortage.
Residents of the capital have responded positively to the plans.
“It’s a big problem because it’s changing the urban landscape,” said Penny Platanito, a 58-year-old Athens resident.
Valentina Rino, Airbnb’s head of public policy for southern Europe, said on Friday that her company is ready to work with the Greek government to develop “targeted and proportionate solutions.”
Low wages, high inflation, a shortage of properties and a rise in short-term vacation rentals are exacerbating Greece’s housing crisis, which is still recovering from a nearly decade-long debt crisis. Low-income earners, young couples and students have been particularly badly affected.
So far, Greece has spent 2.2 billion euros subsidizing low-interest loans to help young people buy property, and will identify another 2 billion euros to expand the program to include couples under the age of 50.
“Indeed, in recent years Greece has joined the ranks of countries forced to leave due to a lack of housing,” Greek Minister for Social Solidarity and Family Affairs Sofia Zacharaki said at a press conference launching the plan. “This burden is unbearable.”
