The owners of short-term rental platforms (Airbnb) are called to adapt to a new reality, with the 88th TIF providing them with “bans” and incentives to “turn” their properties into long-term rentals.
From the stage of the TIF, Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced measures aimed at short-term rentals, making clear the government’s intention to put a brake on their uncontrolled spread (but without demonizing them, as he said, in a difficult balance exercise), while providing incentives for owners to move their properties on “traditional” long-term leases.
In this light, a “cutter” enters Airbnb with a ban on new short-term rentals in the 3 central apartments of Athens for at least a year, with the Prime Minister yesterday leaving open the possibility of extending the ban to other areas as well if “saturation” is found.
Where do Airbnb licenses freeze in Athens?
Throughout the center of Athens (Koukaki, Thisio, Petralona, Pagrati) up to Neos Kosmos, stops for a year the issuance of new permits for owners who want to enter the short-term rental platforms.
More specifically, the issuance of licenses is frozen for:
- The 1st municipal district of Athens that includes the center of Athens with the so-called commercial triangle (Stadio-Omonia-Plaka).
- The 2nd municipal district of Athens that includes the SE districts from Neo Kosmos to Stadio.
- The 3rd municipal district of Athens which includes the SW districts of Asteroskopiou, Petraloni, Metaxourgeiou and Thisiou.
Airbnb will also face an increase in the climate crisis resilience fee. As announced to TIF by the prime minister, the fee increases (from April to October), proportionally, for hotels, accommodation and rental properties through platforms.
The fee is currently up to 10 euros per night. The revenue collected will go back to the local communities to better organize their infrastructure against the burden they receive every summer.
Schertsos: We don’t demonize short-term rentals
It is recalled that the Minister of State, Akis Skertsos, speaking in the OT studio, in the context of the 88th TIF, referred to the major social issue that has been created around the world by short-term renting.
“Especially here we have the following problem coming out of a great recession. There is an imbalance in the supply and demand of real estate, while there are closed properties that the owners do not have the possibility to renovate, which is why additional incentives will be given,” he noted. “Today there are about 700 thousand closed apartments, with 400 thousand being in Attica. We are also waiting for information from the servicers in order to have a complete picture”.
“By monitoring the balance of short-term and long-term leases – following a special agreement of AADE with the platforms, we understand what is being done and where. We see that the residential character of entire areas is in danger of being altered, and we don’t want that. Without demonizing the short-term rental, we are putting some brakes on incentives and measures, giving the market a breather,” he added.
Doukas: “There is no Presidential Decree to ban them”
The mayor of Athens, Haris Doukas, also spoke about the issue of short-term renting, in the OT studio, in the context of the 88th TEF, who emphasized the importance of the body that takes measures to manage the problem, such as, for example, Barcelona, which decided to set rules to limit it.
“Accordingly, here, Koukaki is oversaturated and we will have to make the decision that the short-term rental should be stopped. But we cannot ban it as a municipality of Athens, because the presidential decree simply does not exist which gives us this possibility. That’s why we consistently ask that I be the protagonists and make decisions and not be sidekicks,” he concluded.
They break the 1 million barrier.
The upward trend of short-term rentals was also pointed out by INSETE in its latest statistical report, where it stated that the continuous increase in the supply of accommodation recorded in 2024 reflects the dynamic development of the sector.
According to INSETE, the increase in the supply of accommodation reached 20,000 on an annual basis, an increase that remained constant from month to month, throughout the first half of the year. Especially in June, where the summer season officially begins, the number of accommodations in June reached 224,860, compared to 204,578 a year ago.
In fact, the analysis of accommodation occupancy for the first quarter of 2024 showed a stability compared to the corresponding quarter of 2023 despite the increase in the supply of accommodation and beds. A fact that simultaneously indicates an increase in demand.
Revenue 5 billion euros
According to INSETE, in January occupancy was maintained at 12%, repeating the same performance as the corresponding month of the previous year. In February, there is a decrease in occupancy to 10% (against 13%) while in March the occupancy is 16% (against 15% in the corresponding month of the previous year. In April, the occupancy was 23% (against 24%) while in May it reached 30% (against 26%) Finally, in June occupancy increased to 40% compared to 38% in June 2023.
At the same time, the number of beds in short-term rental accommodation, such as Airbnb, is approaching 1 million, the supply of which has been steadily increasing in recent years.
Airbnb beds outnumber hotel beds, while short-term rental revenues are estimated to exceed 5 billion euros this year.
Source: ot.gr
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