After New York nearly banned seasonal leases and Barcelona introduced plans to do the identical by 2029, Athens is now tightening rules. Greece is not banning seasonal vacationer lodging altogether however goals to stabilize the present listings.
Final week, the Greek authorities introduced a one-year ban on new short-term rental licenses in three central Athens neighborhoods. Moreover, they’ll improve the every day tax on Airbnb-style leases from 1.5 euros to eight euros for April to October and from 0.5 euros to 2 euros for the winter months.
A One-year Trial Interval
The federal government should nonetheless specify the date these two new measures will happen. Greek Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni talked about that the ban on new short-term rental licenses is perhaps prolonged past the preliminary one-year interval. Like different locations, Greece goals to stability seasonal and long-term leases. The native inhabitants is encountering a housing scarcity and growing value of residing.
Airbnb’s Response
Athens’ place presents a problem for Airbnb, a California-based platform. Nevertheless, the corporate shouldn’t be backing down. It’s defending its rental mannequin and actively looking for to collaborate with the authorities, reassuring the general public of its dedication to a good stability.
“In Greece, an Airbnb host usually rents a house for simply two nights a month. Greater than half of those hosts depend on this extra revenue to cowl their lodging bills.”
“We perceive residents’ difficulties in sure areas, particularly with excessive vacationer exercise and restricted obtainable lodging. We goal to help the federal government in implementing focused and acceptable measures to take care of a good stability between vacationer lodging and the wants of native communities”, stated Airbnb, exhibiting empathy in the direction of the area people.
