Last updated: October 2026
Rules last verified 15 October 2026
Every short-term rental in Greece needs an AMA registration number, hotel-grade safety equipment and liability insurance. Skip the registration and the fine starts at €5,000, or 50% of your gross income (art. 111, Law 4446/2016). Central Athens is frozen for new registrations until the end of 2027. Here is the full picture.
The AMA (Property Registration Number) is Greece's mandatory registration for short-term rentals, issued by the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE). You must obtain it and display it on every listing, on Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com and your own website, before you can legally take a booking. A separate declaration must also be filed for each stay, by the 20th day of the month after the guest's departure.
Law 5170/2025, in force since January 2025, moved Greek short-term rentals toward hotel standards. Every AMA property must now qualify as a primary-use space with natural light, ventilation and air conditioning, and must carry:
As of October 2025, properties failing the licensing requirements were deemed illegal and removed from the AADE platform, followed by random on-site inspections. Owners get ten days' notice before an inspection.
No new short-term rental registrations are being issued in Athens municipal districts 1, 2 and 3, extended through 31 December 2027. Existing compliant hosts keep operating, but nothing new enters the market in the centre. From 1 March 2026, Thessaloniki's first municipal community, about 4,800 of the city's 7,500 listings, began its own one-year suspension. In saturated zones, the registration can even be deleted on sale or inheritance, leaving the new owner unable to get one.
| Offence | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Failure to register | 50% of the tax year's gross income, minimum €5,000; 15 days to comply |
| Repeat offence within a year | Fine doubled |
| Third offence within a year | Fine quadrupled |
| Unfiled or inaccurate stay declaration | Twice the rental amount shown on the platform |
| Late declaration | €100 |
On top of the fines, guests pay the Climate Resilience Fee each night, from about €0.50 to €15 depending on season and property type. Hosts collect it and remit it monthly.
Insurance, electrician certificates, safety hardware, the climate fee admin: these are fixed costs. You pay them whether the booking came through Booking.com, Airbnb or your own website.
The platform commission is different. It is a variable cost, around 15% on Booking.com, and it is the one you can actually cut. A direct booking website does not remove the compliance burden, but it stops the platforms taking their cut on top of it. Our Booking.com commission guide shows what that cut looks like in pounds per year.
Take a Greek villa grossing €30,000 a year through the platforms at an assumed 15% commission.
Platform commission: €4,500 a year, every year, on top of AMA paperwork, safety kit and fines risk.
That €4,500 is the part of the bill you can do something about.
The mandatory Property Registration Number issued by the AADE for every short-term rental. It must appear on all listings before you can legally rent out the property.
Not until the freeze lifts. New registrations in Athens districts 1, 2 and 3 are suspended through 31 December 2027; Thessaloniki's first municipal community is suspended from 1 March 2026 for one year.
Fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, a certified electrical installation with RCD, civil liability insurance, a first aid kit, emergency signage and pest control certification.
50% of gross income with a €5,000 minimum for failure to register, doubling on repeat offences; twice the rental amount for unfiled stay declarations.
Hand-built website, £1,999 one-time, 0% commission. Works with freetobook or eviivo.
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Last checked: 15 October 2026. General guidance only, not legal or tax advice. Confirm AMA, safety and freeze-zone status with the AADE portal and a Greek tax adviser. Sources: Hostaway: Greece 2026 compliance guide; AADE (Greek tax authority); AADE: Article 111 of Law 4446/2016 (fines).