1. Legal Text and Statutory Basis

The Short-Term Rental Restriction Act passed by the Greek Parliament in June 2025 entered into full force on January 1, 2026. The Act's core provision: all real estate used to obtain the Greek Golden Visa (Permanent Residence Permit for Investors) is PROHIBITED from operating short-term rental business on any short-term rental platform (including but not limited to Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, HomeAway, Agoda, etc.). "Short-term rental" is defined as any accommodation arrangement under 30 days per stay.

The Act's legal foundation traces to Greek Law 5038/2023 regarding the recognized nature of Golden Visa investment, plus the 2025 new law that expands short-term rental platform oversight. The Greek government's policy intent is explicit: the Golden Visa, as a "long-term residence + real estate investment" instrument, should serve the investor's own occupation, family use, or supply of long-term rental contracts to the local housing market — not enter the tourism short-rental pool that squeezes local residential supply.

Non-compliance consequences fall into three tiers: 1) Fines: €5,000–20,000 per violation (depending on property value and frequency); 2) Mandatory delisting: Greek short-term rental registration (AMA registration number) revoked, with platform-side delisting; 3) Golden Visa scrutiny: at renewal, determined as "investment intent inconsistent with legislative spirit," potentially affecting five-year renewal or permanent residence maintenance.

2. Complete Impact on the Airbnb Investment Model

From 2014 to 2024, the most popular Greek Golden Visa return model for international investors was the "low-cost property + short-term rental high yield" combination: purchase a Golden Visa property in Athens / Santorini / Mykonos, list it on Airbnb, achieving 8–14% annual gross yields (higher in tourism cities during peak season). This model is now permanently severed.

The three most affected property categories: 1) Athens central Golden Visa properties (Plaka, Monastiraki, Thiseio, etc., with Airbnb occupancy historically 70%+); 2) Santorini / Mykonos island properties (peak-season nightly €300–800, off-season idle but annualized still high); 3) Athens-near-suburbs commercial-to-residential (€250k tier originally paired with Airbnb model for fast payback).

Replacement models fall into two categories: A) Long-term rental (≥1 year contracts): Athens core gross yield 3–5%; near-suburban commercial-to-residential 4–7%; B) Owner occupation or family rotation use — i.e., as vacation home + family gathering base. The latter may be more realistic for Chinese families since long-term tenants are predominantly local Greek residents, requiring local team support for property management and lease enforcement.

3. Compliant Long-Term Rental Management: OULANG Solution

In response to the 2026 short-term rental ban, OULANG INTERNATIONAL has launched a "2026 Compliant Long-Term Rental Management" service, already deployed for 800+ Chinese family clients. Service coverage:

• •Tenant screening: credit checks, income verification, reference letter review;
• •Lease management: Greek/English bilingual contracts, deposit collection (typically 1–2 months' rent), monthly rent collection;
• •Maintenance coordination: water, electricity, appliance, renovation coordination with cost control;
• •Tax filing: annual rental income tax declaration (individual 9–45% progressive, corporate 22% flat), annual ENFIA property tax filing;
• •Renewal compliance verification: pre-renewal review of long-term rental or owner-occupation status to maintain Golden Visa validity.

Management fee: 5–8% of long-term rental income (calculated on total lease value), inclusive of all services. No additional hidden fees for repairs, filings, etc. Athens core long-term rental averages €18,000–30,000 annually; management fees approximately €1,000–2,400 per year.

4. Migration Pathway for Existing Owners

For clients who purchased through Golden Visa and operated on Airbnb before end-2025, OULANG INTERNATIONAL recommends a three-step migration:

• •Step 1 (January–March 2026): Audit existing Airbnb listings to confirm Golden Visa property status; if not yet delisted, proactively stop accepting new bookings and clear existing bookings.
• •Step 2 (April–June 2026): Transition to long-term rental mode; OULANG INTERNATIONAL handles tenant matching (Athens core averages 4–8 weeks to signing); lease registration with Greek tax authority (AADE) for compliance evidence.
• •Step 3 (H2 2026): Pre-renewal compliance review — at residence permit renewal, proactively submit long-term lease copies to immigration authorities as compliance proof, avoiding scrutiny issues.

Clients who have already received platform violation notices should contact OULANG INTERNATIONAL legal team within 30 days to prevent fine accumulation exceeding €5,000.

5. Future Policy Trajectory Predictions

The 2026 short-term rental ban represents the Greek government's phased response to the "investment migration vs. local housing supply" tension. Predicted follow-on policies for 2027–2028:

• •Rent control: possible cap on long-term rental rate increases (e.g., ECB inflation +2%) — this would affect return modeling;
• •ENFIA adjustments: high-property-value zones (Kolonaki / Santorini) may face further ENFIA increases to encourage smaller-unit circulation;
• •Vacant property incentive extension: the "3-year long-term rental tax exemption" already in effect since 2025 expected to be made permanent in 2027;
• •Digital Nomad visa expansion: as an "non-investment migration" alternative path, possibly relaxing income requirements to divert investor segments.

For Chinese families, the 2026 short-term rental ban is NOT a negative for the Greek Golden Visa — by reducing speculative purchases and stabilizing the local housing market, it provides long-term support for core-area property prices. We recommend seizing the €250k / €400k / €800k tier windows now and selecting long-term rental or owner-occupation compliant configurations.