3OCT

Greece plans to keep Athens lets frozen

2 min read

13:31UTC

Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced on 5 September that new short-let registrations in central Athens and Thessaloniki's historic centre would stay suspended until 31 December 2027. No ministerial decision has given it force yet.

← Back to Spain's Congress sinks its rental decrees Jump to analysis ↓

SocietyDeveloping

Key takeaway

Greece has announced, but not yet enacted, a freeze on new Athens short lets to end-2027.

On 5 September Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced at the Thessaloniki International Fair that new short-let registrations in Athens' three central districts and Thessaloniki's historic centre would stay suspended until 31 December 2027⁠¹. The current freeze, which reached Thessaloniki's historic core in July, runs to the end of 2026. Lowdown has found no ministerial decision giving the extension force yet. If one is issued, a new host in those districts could not register before 2028.

The freeze works through the Property Registry Number, so it rests on a register Greece already runs. That matters under the EU's draft Affordable Housing Act: an extension adopted before the Act takes effect would sit outside its income test and its five-year limit.

Migration Ministry data, reported by an investment-migration trade publication, show 3,086 golden-visa applications from January to July, down 39% from 5,028 a year earlier, with the backlog down to 29,273 files⁠². Greece's golden visa grants residence in return for a property investment. Another outlet reported a 44% fall; Lowdown uses the ministry-attributed figure.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

In Greece, a host needs a Property Registry Number before listing a flat for short stays. In central Athens and Thessaloniki, officials issue no new numbers. The prime minister said on 5 September that the pause will last until the end of 2027. That is a speech promise for now. Lowdown has not found a ministerial order that makes it law. Separately, fewer people are applying for Greece's golden visa, which gives residence to people who invest in property.

Deep Analysis

Root Causes

The freeze works as a stopgap between a registry suspension and a statutory cap. A registry number is cheap to suspend, while a statutory cap needs legislation and invites challenge. Extending the pause to the end of 2027 keeps the cheaper tool in place for another year.

The boundaries cover named central districts of the two cities and nothing outside them.

The golden-visa slide has a separate cause. Monthly filings ran between 392 and 497 in the first seven months of 2026, and the Migration Ministry data show a backlog down from more than 52,000 files at the start of 2025 to 29,273 at the end of July. Fewer new filings and a shrinking queue both fit lower investor demand, though the sources give no cause.

What could happen next?

Consequence
No new short-let registrations in the named districts until 2028 if the extension is issued as announced.
Medium term · Reported
Precedent
A registry-number freeze that survives gives other cities a template that avoids the national registration problem Spain met.
Medium term · Suggested
Risk
Demand pushed out of the central districts may move to neighbourhoods and islands outside the freeze.
Short term · Suggested

Source Landscape

This story draws on neutral-leaning sources

Primary parallel: Spain's Tribunal Supremo struck down the national registration number in May (ID:4168). Greece's freeze rests on its own registry number and has not met that fate. Lowdown's reading is that it limits new registrations in named districts rather than imposing a national requirement.

Counter-parallel: Greece also uses tax enforcement outside the freeze zones. The Independent Authority for Public Revenue inspected 26 tourist boats at Santorini berths on 17 August and found tax violations at 12 (ID:5795). Where zoning does not reach, the revenue authority does.

Immediate: a new host in the named districts cannot register until 2028 if the extension is issued as announced. Hosts with existing registration numbers continue.

Structural: Greek golden-visa applications, 3,086 in seven months against 5,028 a year earlier, point to a fall in property-linked residence demand, though the source is an investment-migration trade publication reporting ministry data. Another outlet reported a 44% fall, and Lowdown uses the ministry-attributed 39%.

Consensus view: Mitsotakis used the 90th Thessaloniki International Fair to announce that new Property Registry Number registrations stay suspended in Athens' first, second and third municipal districts (Plaka, Kolonaki, Syntagma, Monastiraki, Exarcheia, Gazi, Petralona and others) and in Thessaloniki's historic centre.

Counter-view: ELSTAT's final 2025 accommodation figures show the pressure sits elsewhere: the South Aegean and Crete took 49.3% of overnight stays, while Athens and Thessaloniki together hold roughly a quarter of arrivals. A freeze confined to the two cities leaves most of the nights untouched.

Key tension: Whether a freeze on new registrations can reduce housing pressure when existing registered listings continue to operate.

First Reported In

Update #14 · Spain's Congress sinks its rental decrees

Oikonomikos Taxydromos· 3 Oct 2026

Read original →

Causes and effects

Caused by

Greece freezes short-lets in second city

The July freeze in Thessaloniki's historic core runs to end-2026 and is now proposed for extension.

Occurred 30 Jun 2026

Read story →

This Event

Greece plans to keep Athens lets frozen

A new host in central Athens or Thessaloniki could not register before 2028 if the announced extension is adopted.

Different Perspectives

UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy

Nandy told MPs around 3 September that England's register of short lets will be fully operational by March 2027. Wales opened compulsory registration for every paid stay on 1 October, with a deadline of 31 March 2027.

Venice budget assessor Michele Zuin

Zuin told Il Gazzettino on 21 September that a charge of about €30 on peak days from 2027 would be the most concrete solution. He added that the city must set new rules together with government and Parliament.

Saudi Premium Residency Center

The Center added 31 services on 22 September, according to the newspaper Okaz. Primary holders now register employment contracts through the Qiwa platform, and no Saudi Press Agency release confirms the package.

Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis

Mitsotakis announced at the Thessaloniki International Fair on 5 September that new short-let registrations in central Athens and Thessaloniki stay suspended to 31 December 2027. No ministerial decision has been found, and golden-visa applications fell 39% from January to July.

Cape Town housing group Ndifuna Ukwazi

Ndifuna Ukwazi backs the city's draft by-law, which rates lets available over 183 nights a year as commercial from 1 July 2027. Finance mayco member Siseko Mbandezi said it ensures fairness in the commercial accommodation sector.

Klungkung Regency and KPK

Klungkung took 2.7bn rupiah on Nusa Penida from 1 to 9 September against 1.1bn in the first ten days of August. The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) sent files on eight suspects in a residence-permit extortion case to prosecutors on 30 September, alleging 145.5bn rupiah was taken.