# Golden Visa Airbnb Ban: What Greek Owners Can Rent > Greek Golden Visa property cannot be let short-term via platforms (€50,000 fine, permit revoked). What long-term and student leases are allowed. Canonical: https://mav19-goldenvisa.com/guides/golden-visa-short-term-rental-ban Developer: TPL S.A. · Ethnomartyron 40, 263 33 Patras, Greece · VAT EL800864603 · GEMI 143336716000 · LEI 9845006C601CB29D1H76 Generated: 2026-09-28. A Markdown mirror of the page above; the HTML page is authoritative. --- ## The Golden Visa short-term rental ban explained What Greek law bans for property bought for an investor residence permit, how the Ministry defines short-term letting, which leases remain allowed, and what you declare at every renewal. By TPL S.A., owner and developer of MVR 19 · Sources last checked 27 September 2026 · General information, not legal advice [Ask about letting](https://mav19-goldenvisa.com/enquire) A property bought for a Greek Golden Visa may not be let or sub-let short-term in the sharing economy, meaning stays of under 60 days arranged through platforms such as Airbnb. A breach means a €50,000 fine and revocation of the permit. Long-term leases remain allowed, including academic-year student leases. A converted (change-of-use) property also may not serve as a company seat or branch. ## The rule: article 100 §7A Law 5100/2024 (art. 64) added paragraph 7A to article 100 of the Migration Code, Law 5038/2023, with effect from 5 April 2024. It has two parts, and both carry the same penalty. Art. 100 §7A of Law 5038/2023, as added by art. 64 of Law 5100/2024, read with Circular 1/2026, Clarification 7. Element | What the law says Which property | Property acquired in full ownership by a non-EU national for the initial grant or renewal of an investor residence permit What is banned | Short-term letting in the sharing economy, and sub-letting Extra rule for change-of-use property | May not be used as the seat or branch of a business Penalty | Revocation of the permit and a separate administrative fine of €50,000 on the owners or holders Earlier purchases | Property acquired under the earlier rules, or completed in the 2024 transitional period, is outside the ban The same article also states the other side plainly: non-EU owners of property may let it (art. 100 §7). The ban is narrow and specific. It targets one model of letting, not letting as such. ## What counts as short-term: Clarification 7 The Ministry of Migration and Asylum explained the ban in Circular 1/2026 (Prot. 72019, 21 April 2026), Clarification 7. It says the ban concerns exclusively short-term letting and sub-letting in the sharing economy, as defined in art. 111 of Law 4446/2016. The sharing economy is any model in which digital platforms create an open market for the temporary use of goods or services, often provided by individuals. Short-term letting is defined like this: "The lease or sub-lease of a property, whether or not it is posted on a digital platform of the sharing economy and whether or not the contract is concluded through the platform, for a specific period of less than sixty (60) days, where no services are provided other than accommodation and bed linen." Circular 1/2026, Clarification 7, quoting art. 111 of Law 4446/2016. Our translation from the Greek. Two elements therefore meet: a stay under 60 days with nothing but a bed and linen, and the sharing-economy setting. The safe reading, and the one we apply, is to avoid both: no lease shorter than 60 days, and no listing on a short-stay platform at all. The penalty is severe, the definitions interlock, and at renewal you sign a declaration about exactly this. The Circular also confirms what the ban does not catch: long-term leases, and leases to tourism businesses that provide services beyond accommodation, such as a hotel. For a change-of-use property, though, the Circular adds that the property must not become a business seat or branch, so a hotel-style or serviced-apartment operation is not a practical route. ## What you can do with a Golden Visa home - Let it on a long lease to a tenant who lives there, for months or years. - Let it to a student for the academic year, typically late September to June or July. We recommend at least six months: well clear of the 60-day line, and the minimum lease the tenant needs for the Greek student housing allowance. - Let it to a young professional, for example hospital staff or someone relocating to the city, on a standard residential lease. - Use it yourself, or leave it for your family's visits. There is no minimum stay for the permit. - Use a local broker or long-term letting manager to find tenants, rather than a short-stay platform. ### Register the lease with AADE Declare every lease electronically to AADE, the Greek tax authority. Registration dates and records the tenancy, which supports your renewal declaration, and you need it to report the rent on your Greek tax return. It also lets a student tenant claim the student housing allowance: €2,000 a year for students at universities outside Attica and Thessaloniki, or €2,500 when sharing with another student, on a lease of at least six months and subject to income criteria. For a landlord in a university city such as Patras, that makes a registered academic-year lease the easiest lease to fill. ### The summer gap A student lease that ends in June leaves July and August empty, and the ban means you cannot fill them with holiday lets. Plan for it: a 12-month lease, a lower summer retainer agreed with the tenant, or a let of 60 days or more to a summer student or intern. The last option is outside the definition on its face, but ask your lawyer before you rely on it, and never run it through a short-stay platform. ## No company seat or branch in a converted property The second sentence of §7A applies only to the €250,000 change-of-use route: the property may not be used as the seat or branch of a business. The point of the route is to add homes, so the home must stay a home. In practice: - If you buy through a Greek or EU company that you own 100%, which the law allows, register the company's seat at another address. Confirm the arrangement with your lawyer. - Write into the lease that the tenant may not register a business or professional seat at the address. - Do not use the unit as an office, shop, clinic or showroom, even part-time. ## The renewal declaration The permit runs for five years and is renewed while you own the property. At each renewal, Joint Ministerial Decision 214926/2025 (art. 2 §3) asks for proof that you still own the property, private health insurance, the €2,000 electronic fee and your property statement (E9). It also asks for two solemn declarations: - that the property has not been let or sub-let short-term in the sharing economy, as defined in art. 111 of Law 4446/2016; and - for change-of-use property, that the main areas remain in residential use and the property is not used as the seat or branch of a business. A solemn declaration is a formal statement with legal consequences if it is untrue. Keep a file for every tenancy: the signed lease, the AADE registration, rent received by bank transfer, and any correspondence with the tenant or manager. If an authority asks, you can show what happened, year by year. ## The three-year lease question Greek law treats a lease of a main residence as lasting at least three years, even if the parties agreed a shorter term (art. 2 of Law 1703/1987). How that applies to student lets is a question for counsel. A lease taken by a parent for a student child may count as a secondary residence, to which the three-year minimum may not apply. And the term can be shortened by a notarial agreement made at least six months after the lease begins. This matters for when you can take the studio back, not for Golden Visa compliance: a longer lease never breaches the short-term ban. It matters if you plan to use the studio yourself or to sell it with vacant possession. Have a Greek lawyer approve your lease template before the first tenancy. ## What a compliant lease looks like - A written lease with a named tenant who lives in the property. - A term of at least six months; an academic-year or 12-month lease for students. - Declared electronically to AADE. - Rent paid by bank transfer. - No sub-letting, and no listing on any short-stay platform. - No business or professional seat registered at the address. - An inventory and a deposit, and a template approved by a Greek lawyer. ## How MVR 19 is planned MVR 19 is designed for the €250,000 change-of-use route; eligibility is subject to completion of the change of use, under a permitting act issued on or after 5 April 2024, before your application, and the Ministry decides every application. The building is planned for long-term letting only: no leases under 60 days and no short-stay platforms. Each of the 19 studios has its own kitchenette and shower room, which suits academic-year leases to students and long leases to young professionals. Owners may let their studio themselves or through a manager of their choice. Illustrative concept render of a furnished studio. Not a specification. Read about [student demand in Patras, both sides](https://mav19-goldenvisa.com/student-housing), how the [€250,000 change-of-use route](https://mav19-goldenvisa.com/golden-visa-250k) works, or [compare the 19 residences](https://mav19-goldenvisa.com/residences). ## Sources - [Law 5038/2023, art. 100 §7 and §7A, as amended by art. 64 of Law 5100/2024, codified text](https://migration.gov.gr/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/%CE%9D%CF%8C%CE%BC%CE%BF%CF%82-5100_2024-%CE%BA%CF%89%CE%B4%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%BF%CF%80%CE%BF%CE%B9%CE%B7%CE%BC%CE%AD%CE%BD%CE%BF%CF%82-%CE%BC%CE%B5-%CF%84%CE%BF%CE%BD-5167_2024-%CE%A6%CE%95%CE%9A-%CE%91-49_5.4.2024.pdf), Ministry of Migration and Asylum. - Circular 1/2026, Ministry of Migration and Asylum, Prot. 72019, 21 April 2026, Clarification 7: [full text (PDF)](https://www.newmoney.gr/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/%CE%95%CE%B3%CE%BA%CF%8D%CE%BA%CE%BB%CE%B9%CE%BF%CF%82-GOLDEN-VISA-FINAL.pdf); [Ministry circulars listing](https://migration.gov.gr/en/egkyklioi-yma/). - [Joint Ministerial Decision 214926/2025 (Gazette B' 6014/11.11.2025), art. 2 §3](https://www.taxheaven.gr/circulars/51471/214926-10-11-2025): renewal documents and declarations. - Law 4446/2016, art. 111: definitions of the sharing economy and short-term letting, as quoted in the Circular. - [EY Greece, Law Alert on Circular 1/2026, May 2026](https://www.ey.com/content/dam/ey-unified-site/ey-com/en-gr/technical/tax/tax-alerts/2026/law-alert-golden-visa-may-2026.pdf). - [Law 1703/1987, art. 2 (Lawspot)](https://www.lawspot.gr/nomikes-plirofories/nomothesia/n-1703-1987/arthro-2-nomos-1703-1987-diarkeia-tis-misthosis): three-year minimum for main-residence leases. - [odigostoupoliti.eu](https://www.odigostoupoliti.eu/pote-misthosi-katoikias-mporei-na-ischyei-gia-ligotero-apo-tria-eti/): shortening the term by notarial agreement; [efotopoulou.gr](https://efotopoulou.gr/an-i-misthosi-tou-akinitou-den-echi-to-charaktira-tis-misthosis-kirias-katikias-alla-defterevousas-tote-den-efarmozete-i-diataxi-tou-n-17031987-peri-trietous-diarkias-tis-misthosis-os-elachistou-c/): secondary-residence leases. - [neolaia.gr, 18 September 2026](https://www.neolaia.gr/2026/09/18/foititiko-stegastiko-epidoma-anoixe-xana-i-platforma-poioi-pairnoun-eos-2-500-evro/): student housing allowance of €2,000 or €2,500. Sources last checked 27 September 2026 · General information, not legal advice · Have a Greek lawyer approve your lease ## Related guides ### Investing in Patras student housing Enrolment, dorm places, studio rents and new supply, with realistic gross yields at €250,000. ### What a €250k Greek Golden Visa purchase really costs Transfer tax, notary, registry, lawyer and permit fees, yearly costs and rental tax, with a worked example. ### The 120 m² rule and the €250k conversion route Why the 120 m² minimum applies to the €400k and €800k tiers but not to change-of-use property. ## Ask about letting an MVR 19 studio Ask about long-term letting, the planned building rules or a specific studio. We reply within one business day, in English or Greek. Golden Visa eligibility is subject to completion of the change of use before your application and to the Ministry's decision.