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Short-let or long-let is the first question most Athens investors ask, and for years the answer was easy: Airbnb earned more. In 2026 it is no longer that simple. Central Athens has frozen new short-term-rental registrations, the tax and compliance costs of a short-let have risen, and once you net everything off, the famous Airbnb premium has shrunk. For many central and Golden Visa owners the choice has actually been made for them. This guide lays out both sides honestly: what the rules now allow, how each is taxed, what each really earns after costs, and which suits which owner. It is general information, not investment advice, so run your own figures with a Greek accountant.
What is the real difference between Airbnb and a long let?
They are two different businesses wearing the same flat. A short-let is a hospitality operation: nightly pricing, cleaning, guest messaging, reviews, seasonality and a much higher gross, but also much higher costs, effort and regulatory exposure. A long let is a steady income stream: one tenant, one rent, low effort, costs largely carried by the tenant, and almost no regulatory risk. The old assumption that the first simply beats the second no longer survives the 2026 numbers, especially in the centre.
Can you even run a new Airbnb in central Athens?
For a new central purchase, usually no. New short-term-rental registrations are frozen across the central districts of Athens, the first, second and third municipal districts, covering Plaka, Koukaki, Kolonaki, Exarchia, Pangrati, Metaxourgeio and the surrounding core, from 1 January 2025 through 31 December 2026. Existing registered lets may continue, but with a sting: when the property is sold, gifted or inherited, the registration is cancelled and the new owner cannot obtain a fresh one. So in the frozen zone a short-let licence is not an asset you can pass on. Outside the centre and in the coastal areas, new registration is still open. The registry and the rules sit with AADE, the tax authority.
And the Golden Visa rules out short-let entirely. A property used to qualify for the Golden Visa must be placed on a long lease and cannot be used for short-term rental, under Law 5100/2024. For a Golden Visa investor, then, Airbnb is off the table regardless of the freeze, the property is a long let by law.
How is short-let income taxed in 2026?
This is where the premium quietly erodes. The treatment depends on scale:
Up to two properties, no hotel-style services: the income is taxed as property income on the same progressive scale as a long let, 15% to €12,000, 25% to €24,000, 35% to €35,000 and 45% above, after the automatic 5% allowance, under Law 4172/2013 and the Ministry of Finance income taxation guide.
Three or more properties, or hotel-style services (breakfast, cleaning on demand, transfers): you become a business, which means VAT at 13% on the accommodation, bookkeeping and social-security contributions.
On top of income tax, two short-let-specific costs bite. Since 1 January 2025, every property let short-term must meet safety and operating standards under Law 5170/2025 (liability insurance, an electrical safety certificate, fire safety, signage), with fines starting at €5,000 and rising for repeat breaches. And a per-night climate-resilience fee, collected from the guest, applies to every short-let night.
Short-let cost in 2026 | What it is |
|---|---|
Income tax | Property-income scale (15/25/35/45) up to two properties; business rules and 13% VAT at three or more |
Climate-resilience fee | Roughly €8 a night for an apartment in summer (April–October), about €2 in winter, collected from the guest and paid to the state |
Safety and operating standards | Insurance, electrical and fire-safety certificates and signage under Law 5170/2025; fines from €5,000 |
Registration | A short-term-stay registry number is mandatory, and frozen for new entrants in central Athens |
What about the minimum-stay and night-cap rumours?
These cause more confusion than anything else, so plainly: no hard annual night cap and no minimum-stay rule binds a normally taxed Athens host in 2026. You can take night-by-night bookings. The number that matters is 60 days, and it works the other way round from how people fear: a let of 60 days or more is treated as a long lease, not a short-let, so it falls outside the short-term regime altogether. The old 90-day idea is a conditional legacy threshold tied to keeping income out of business classification, not a live cap on Athens lettings.
So what does each actually earn, net?
Headline gross favours the short-let. A central Athens Airbnb runs at roughly 62 to 64% occupancy across the year at an average nightly rate around €85 to €95, which can gross in the region of €1,600 a month, more for a well-run, well-located flat. But short-let running costs take 55 to 60% of that gross before income tax: management at 15 to 25% plus VAT, cleaning, platform fees, utilities, the climate fee, insurance and far heavier wear. A long let on the same flat grosses less but keeps far more of it, because the tenant carries the running costs and management is 5 to 10%.
Short-let (Airbnb) | Long let | |
|---|---|---|
Gross income | Higher headline, seasonal | Lower, steady |
Running costs | 55–60% of gross (management 15–25% + VAT, cleaning, fees, climate fee, utilities, wear) | Low; tenant carries most running costs, management 5–10% |
Effort | High: a hospitality operation | Low: one tenant, one rent |
Regulatory risk | High: registration, freeze, safety rules, tax steps | Low and stable |
Net result | Strong gross, but net margin around 40–45% before tax | Lower gross, but most of it kept, near-zero effort |
Put together, the honest 2026 finding is that in central Athens, after costs, the climate fee and tax, a long let's net is now broadly comparable to a short-let's net, while carrying a fraction of the work and risk, and none of the freeze exposure. The short-let case is strongest outside the freeze, on the coast or islands, on a property bought and run for that purpose. Our Athens rental yield guide works the net-versus-gross point through in detail.
Which suits which owner?
Choose a long let if: you own in central Athens, you hold the property through the Golden Visa, you are abroad and want low effort, or you simply want a steady, low-risk income. For most of our owners, this is the answer.
Consider a short-let if: your property is outside the freeze (coastal or island), you already hold a registration that you are not about to lose on a sale, and you have the appetite, or a manager, to run a hospitality operation properly.
A useful middle path: a medium-term let to relocating professionals and digital nomads, 60 days or more, which sidesteps the short-let regime, earns above a standard long let, and keeps the effort manageable.
There is also a tax nudge worth knowing: Greece has offered an income-tax exemption for owners who convert a short-let or vacant flat to a long lease, which tips the central-Athens maths further toward letting long.
What to do next
Start from the rules, not the gross. If you are in central Athens or holding through the Golden Visa, the property is a long let, so the real task is to run that well: screen, let and collect reliably. If you are outside the freeze with the appetite for a hospitality operation, a short-let can still pay, run it properly and count the full cost. Either way, mamaXO manages long-term lets end to end, sourcing, leasing, collection and maintenance, and you only pay on rent actually collected. For a straight answer on which route your specific Athens flat can and should take, get in touch, or start with our guide to choosing a property management company.
