Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises: 5 suggestions for short-term rentals

Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises-SETE submitted its proposals for improving the institutional framework for the operation of the short-term rental market on Thursday, in a letter sent to Akis Skertsos, Minister of State, Vassilis Kikilias, Minister of Tourism and Theodoros Skylakakis, Deputy Minister of Finance.

The proposals

With the aim, as emphasized, of the need to protect the quality of the country’s tourism product, the need to deal with the problem of finding accommodation, which has reached enormous proportions in many areas of the country, the protection of legitimate tourist businesses from unfair competition, which in many cases exist, as many illegal accommodations operate “under the guise” of short-term rentals, and, to increase the revenues of the State, Insurance Funds and Municipalities, in order to more fairly distribute the corresponding obligations to legal businesses and citizens, SETE proposes The following:

Apartment buildings: It is proposed to explicitly provide that in the event that all the apartments of an apartment building or residential complex are rented out on short-term leases, then this is considered a tourist accommodation, which should have the corresponding licensing.

VAT: It is proposed that the exemption from VAT of the rent received be limited only in the case that the beneficiary of the income is a natural person and has registered on the relevant state revenue platform up to two (2) properties in the A.F.M. of (of which one of the two properties should have been declared as the property in which is his own domicile). Otherwise, as well as in any case where the beneficiary of the income is a legal entity, then VAT should be imposed on the rent received.

Withholding tax: It is proposed to provide for the obligation of each digital platform to withhold a tax of 5% on the total price of the short-term lease, which it will then pay to the State.

Maximum number of short-term rental properties per Municipality: It is proposed to grant the right to local governments, ie municipalities, to define, after a decision of their Municipal Council, which will be justified on the basis of a relevant scientific study, the maximum number of properties that can be registered in the Register Short Term Rental Properties for the area within their boundaries.

Imposition of municipal tax: It is proposed that short-term leases concluded through digital platforms be subject to a tax in favor of first grade local authorities, which will be equal to 0.5% of the rental price and will be used by local authorities to cover increased cleaning costs , lighting, etc., caused by the operation of short-term leases.