Tourist crisis in Greece threatens to spread across the Mediterranean to Spain
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Holiday homes in Greece are outnumbering the number of hotel beds, putting the local housing market under major strain and sparking concern that measures to bring the numbers down could spread across the Mediterranean to Spain. In Greece, there are around one million short-term rentals compared to around 890,000 hotel beds. Locals complain that the demand for Airbnbs has turned the rental market red-hot, forcing some locals out of their homes. In response, the Greek government banned the registration of new tourist homes during 2024. While only applying to specific neighbourhoods in Athens then, this year no more licenses will be issued to apartments located in more areas, including Kolonaki, Koukaki, Pangrati and Exarchia.
The new regulation also requires that all homes are declared, and large fines will be issued to ones that have not been. In addition, property owners may be able to receive tax benefits if they change their short-term rental to long-term and permanent. The Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis hopes that this will relieve "the pressure on rents and increasing the availability of housing", and thus address the housing crisis in Athens and other large Greek cities.
Other restrictions are also being applied to property owners, such as needing to obtain a professional license for all property owners with two or more tourist rentals, complying with safety requirements and regulations regarding ventilation and taking out civil liability insurance. However, the issue is also becoming apparent elsewhere.
