Hosting short-term rentals in Athens just got stricter. On 24 September 2025, Greece’s Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) released an updated Q&A that spells out how Airbnb-type leases are defined, how to use the Property Registration Number (AMA), when hosting turns into a business with 13% VAT, and where new AMAs are currently frozen in the city.
What changed for short-term rentals?
As of 1 January 2024, how a guest books no longer makes a difference. If a stay lasts up to 59 nights and you provide only basic bed linen, it counts as a short-term lease and must be declared in AADE’s registry with an AMA, even if the booking comes directly rather than via a platform like Airbnb or Booking. Extensions count separately: for example, a 51-night booking followed by an extra 13 nights is treated as two contracts, so the first part stays within the short-term definition.
How does AADE count rooms?
Here’s a tricky bit that catches people out. AADE now treats a single room inside an apartment as a separate property that can get its own AMA. For threshold calculations, though, two rooms with their own AMAs plus a third AMA for the entire dwelling are counted as two properties, not three. That difference matters if you want to stay under the three-property limit.
Who must charge 13% VAT?
Income rules got tighter. An individual with up to two properties cannot open a business just to deduct expenses; the earnings are recorded strictly as property income. From three properties and above, or for any legal entity, hosting is treated as a business with full obligations: 13% VAT on all lets, the municipal stayover tax (τέλος παρεπιδημούντων), the Climate Crisis Resilience Fee, and connection to myDATA.
What about cleaning or breakfast?
Offer services beyond basic bed linen-cleaning, breakfast, or transfers-and you leave the short-term lease regime. The property is then considered tourist accommodation, and the operator must start a business and file a notification through the Ministry of Tourism’s NotifyBusiness system.
Where are new AMAs blocked in Athens?
AADE notes that in the first three municipal districts of the City of Athens, new AMA registrations are frozen. Only properties already registered by 31 December 2024 may obtain a new AMA in specific situations (change of manager with a new lease, transfer or inheritance, or re-registration after an interruption). In all other cases, the registry stays closed.
What changed in the climate fee?
From this year, when a stay crosses months with different rates of the Climate Crisis Resilience Fee-for instance December into January or May into June-the host must issue separate receipts per month. It’s more paperwork, yes, but it makes how the fee is charged clearer.
When do these rules apply, and what should hosts do next?
The core definitions have applied since 1 January 2024, and the latest clarifications arrived on 24 September 2025. Hosts in Athens should check their AMAs, confirm how many properties AADE counts for them, and review any services offered that might push them into tourist-accommodation status. When the owner or manager changes, a new AMA is always required; numbers are not inherited.
Where to find more information?
The updated AADE Q&A sits behind these changes, but the full document was not included in the material used for this report and specific links still need verification. For the latest instructions and deadlines, consult AADE’s official channels.
Leave a comment