Greece may ban conversions

Greece is moving toward a rule that would stop some new homes from being turned into short-term rentals in places where tourism has already crowded out locals, with Santorini, Mykonos, Rhodes, Corfu and Zakynthos named among the areas under discussion in a tourism planning framework now awaiting a joint ministerial decision after Easter. (news.gtp.gr) The target is not every Airbnb-style listing in Greece. The target is the next wave of conversions in “saturated” destinations, where the government says tourism activity has already pushed past sustainable limits for housing, infrastructure and local services. (news.gtp.gr) Greece has already been tightening this market in cities before reaching for the islands. A freeze on new short-term rental registrations that started in central Athens in 2025 remains in force through 2026, and similar restrictions began in parts of Thessaloniki on March 1, 2026. (news.gtp.gr) The practical lever is a registration number called the Short-Term Rental Registry number, known in Greece as an AMA. In restricted zones, that number no longer travels with the property when it is sold, inherited or transferred to a family member. (news.gtp.gr) That changes the math for buyers. If a flat in a restricted area changes hands, the tax authority’s registry deletes the old short-term rental entry and the new owner cannot get a fresh registration, which leaves long-term renting or owner-occupation as the main options. (news.gtp.gr) Athens gives a clear picture of why the government is doing this. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in December 2025 that Greece faced a housing shortage severe enough to push prices above pre-debt-crisis highs, especially in urban centers, and he paired short-term rental curbs with tax breaks for affordable housing and a €400 million renovation program. (ekathimerini.com) The new island push sits inside a much bigger rewrite of Greece’s tourism map. The draft framework also considers cutting tourist bed capacity in parts of the Cyclades by 20 to 30 percent versus a 2024 draft, which shows the state is trying to limit not just listings on apps but the total physical load on crowded destinations. (news.gtp.gr) For hosts, the immediate question is whether a property is in a restricted zone and whether ownership is changing. For local workers, the bigger point is that Greece is trying to keep at least part of its housing stock from being turned into summer inventory before the 2026 high season locks in another year of shortages. (news.gtp.gr)