Kyriakos Mitsotakis
Prime minister of Greece since 2019.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced on 5 September that his government will keep the ban on registering new short lets in the centres of Athens and Thessaloniki until 31 December 2027, a year past the current freeze. No ministerial decision yet gives the extension force.
Last refreshed: 3 October 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Will a ministerial decision make Mitsotakis's freeze extension binding?
Timeline for Kyriakos Mitsotakis
Announced the extension of the registration freeze
Nomads & Communities: Greece plans to keep Athens lets frozenBackground
Kyriakos Mitsotakis has been prime minister of Greece since 2019 and leads the centre-right New Democracy party. His government has made housing costs a central domestic issue, and his annual September speech at the Thessaloniki International Fair is where he sets out the year's economic programme.
At the fair on 5 September 2026 he announced that new short-let registrations in Athens' three central districts and Thessaloniki's historic centre would stay suspended until 31 December 2027, extending a freeze that runs to the end of 2026. No ministerial decision gives the extension force yet.
His approach to short lets has been targeted: limits on named city districts rather than a national CAP.
Mitsotakis promises a longer freeze
Mitsotakis used his set-piece speech at the Thessaloniki International Fair on 5 September to announce that the ban on new short-let registrations will run to 31 December 2027. It covers Athens' three central districts and Thessaloniki's historic centre, where the existing freeze was due to end with 2026.
The announcement remained a promise rather than a rule: no ministerial decision had been published to give it legal effect when the fair closed. For the prime minister, the extension answers rising rents in the two biggest cities while leaving untouched the islands, where most of Greece's tourist nights are spent.
Which districts does the Greek short-let freeze cover?
Is the Athens freeze extension in force yet?
How long will the Athens short-let freeze last?
