Evicting a Tenant in Greece (Έξωση Ενοικιαστή): Every Legal Ground Explained — 2026

Direct answer: Greek law lets a landlord evict a tenant only on defined grounds — unpaid rent, expiry of the lease term, bad use of the property, misconduct towards neighbours, or prohibited subletting — and only through formal procedure: a bailiff-served notice followed by an eviction order or court judgment. No residential tenant can be removed before the statutory three-year minimum term, and taking matters into your own hands is a criminal offence.

What are the legal grounds for evicting a tenant in Greece?

Greek residential tenancies are governed by the Civil Code (Articles 574–618), Law 1703/1987 on residential leases, and — since late 2025 — Law 5221/2025, which reshaped the eviction-order procedure. In practice there are five workable grounds:

• Non-payment of rent — the fastest route, via the eviction order (διαταγή απόδοσης μισθίου). We cover it step by step in our dedicated guide to the fast-track eviction for unpaid rent in Greece.
• Lease expiry — after the contractual term and the three-year statutory minimum have both run out, with three months' formal notice.
• Bad use of the property (κακή χρήση) or misconduct — damage, unauthorised alterations, or behaviour that violates other residents' peace (Civil Code Article 594).
• Unauthorised subletting — where the lease prohibits it (most Greek leases do), subletting or short-letting the property is a breach justifying termination.
• Other contractual breaches — e.g. using a home as business premises against the lease terms.

Notably absent from that list for residential leases: owner-occupation and demolition as mid-lease grounds. More on that below, because it surprises many owners.

What is the three-year rule (τριετία) and what can't you do before it ends?

Under Law 1703/1987 (as amended in 1994), every residential lease in Greece is valid for at least three years, even if the contract states a shorter or indefinite term. A "one-year contract" is legally a three-year tenancy if the tenant wants to stay, at the agreed rent terms. As legal commentators note, this remains fully in force in the Law 5221/2025 era (Iason Skouzos TaxLaw overview).

Before the τριετία ends, a landlord cannot:

• Evict because the written term (e.g. 12 months) has expired;
• Evict in order to move in, house a family member, sell, or renovate;
• Unilaterally raise the rent beyond what the contract or any agreed indexation allows.

What survives the τριετία shield: eviction for tenant fault — persistent non-payment, bad use, misconduct, prohibited subletting — and termination by mutual written agreement.

How do you evict for unpaid rent?

This is the one ground with a genuinely fast procedure, and the only one where the tenant's own conduct can restart it repeatedly. In outline: the landlord serves a written demand for payment via court bailiff; if arrears remain 15 days later, the landlord applies for an eviction order, issued on documents alone — no hearing, no witnesses. The order is enforceable 20 days after it is served; the tenant may file an opposition (ανακοπή) within 15 working days, but filing it does not automatically suspend the eviction (Lawspot, Διαταγή απόδοσης μισθίου). If the tenant pays everything within the 15-day demand window, the order is blocked — once; on repeated default the landlord can proceed without a fresh demand.

The prerequisites, deadlines, documents and the 2026 procedural updates are analysed in depth in our companion article: Unpaid rent in Greece: the fast-track eviction order explained.

How do you evict when the lease expires? (The Law 5221/2025 procedure)

Until recently, a tenant who simply stayed on after expiry forced the landlord into a slow ordinary lawsuit. Law 5221/2025 changed that: the fast eviction-order route now also covers lease expiry. The process:

1. Formal notice, 3 months ahead. The landlord serves an extrajudicial notice via court bailiff stating the lease will not be renewed and requesting return of the property — at least three months before the lease (and τριετία) end date. For expired or indefinite-duration leases the notice can be served at any time, but eviction cannot be enforced until three months have passed.
2. Application for an eviction order. If the tenant has not left when the three months lapse, the landlord applies for a Return of Lease Order. Crucially, from 1 January 2026 these orders are issued not by judges but by certified lawyers, members of the local bar association, designated by the court registry — not chosen by the landlord. The designated lawyer has about 10 days to verify the documents and that notice was properly given (KMD Law analysis).
3. Service and safeguards. The order is filed with the court and served on the tenant by bailiff. The tenant has 15 working days to file an opposition, and execution is stayed for 2 months after service; a tenant with serious grounds can ask the court to suspend enforcement.

Add it up and a compliant tenant effectively gets a minimum of about six months from first notice to enforced removal — deliberate breathing room the legislator built in as the price of removing the court hearing.

Can you evict a tenant to move in yourself (ιδιοκατοίκηση)?

Here is the answer most owners don't expect: for residential leases, owner-occupation is not a mid-lease eviction ground in today's law. The old right to terminate for ιδιοκατοίκηση under Article 3 of Law 1703/1987 ceased to apply to housing on 30 June 1997. You cannot cut a running residential lease short because you, your child, or a buyer wants to live there.

How you legally reclaim the home for yourself: wait until both the contractual term and the three-year minimum expire, then use the Law 5221/2025 non-renewal route described above. Narrow exceptions survive: terminating so the space becomes the professional office of the landlord, spouse or child (only after three years of the tenancy, only if they own no other suitable space in the same city, with six months' notice and statutory compensation to the tenant of eight months' rent under Article 3, Law 1703/1987), and commercial leases, where owner-use (ιδιόχρηση) rules under P.D. 34/1995 are different. Courts require proven genuine intention and ability to use the property; invoking these exceptions as a pretext exposes the owner to damages claims from the evicted tenant.

What about demolition or reconstruction?

The same logic applies. The special residential termination ground for rebuilding (ανοικοδόμηση) belonged to the lapsed Law 1703/1987 regime. Today, an owner planning demolition or major reconstruction of a rented home must wait out the lease and the τριετία and decline renewal — or negotiate an early exit with the tenant, typically with compensation. Commercial tenancies again follow separate P.D. 34/1995 rules.

How do you evict for bad use (κακή χρήση) or unauthorised subletting?

Under Article 594 of the Civil Code, the landlord may terminate the lease immediately and claim damages if the tenant, despite the landlord's protests, fails to treat the property with care and as agreed, or violates proper conduct towards other residents. Two practical points decide these cases:

• Prior written protests are a legal prerequisite. Courts consistently reject κακή-χρήση terminations where the landlord never formally objected before terminating. Send protests via bailiff or provable written means, describe the specific damage or conduct, and keep evidence (photos, condominium complaints).
• The route is termination plus an eviction lawsuit (αγωγή απόδοσης μισθίου), because bad use turns on disputed facts and witnesses — the document-only eviction order is generally unavailable. Expect a court timeline of a year or more, plus enforcement.

Subletting follows the contract: most Greek leases expressly prohibit subletting and short-term letting, so an unauthorised sub-tenant or Airbnb listing is a breach entitling the landlord to terminate and sue for possession. If the lease is silent, the Civil Code default is more tenant-friendly — which is exactly why a professionally drafted lease matters.

How long does an eviction really take in 2026?

If a tenant files an opposition or a suspension request, add one to several months, though oppositions do not automatically freeze enforcement.

What defenses do tenants raise — and how do landlords avoid the traps?

Most successful tenant oppositions attack procedure, not substance. The recurring traps:

• Defective notice — served by email or courier instead of bailiff, miscounted deadlines, or notice missing required content. Always serve via δικαστικός επιμελητής and calendar the 15-day / 3-month periods precisely.
• Lease not filed with the tax authority (AADE) — the eviction order requires a written lease declared to the tax office. An undeclared lease pushes you into the slow lawsuit route.
• Accepting rent after termination — can be argued as tacit revival of the tenancy; take payments only with an express reservation of rights.
• Payment within the 15-day window — lawfully defeats a first non-payment order; document any repeated default carefully.
• Hardship and suspension requests — tenants can ask the court to suspend execution; clean paperwork and documented arrears are the landlord's best answer.

How much does an eviction cost?

Indicatively, budget for: bailiff fees for each service of notices, the order and enforcement (several such acts per case); your lawyer's fees for drafting, the order application and any opposition hearing — commonly several hundred to a few thousand euros in total depending on resistance; plus enforcement-day costs (bailiff, locksmith, movers) and the frequently unrecoverable months of lost rent. Money judgments for arrears can be issued together with the order, but collecting from an insolvent tenant is another matter — which is why prevention is cheaper than any procedure.

What must you never do?

Changing the locks, cutting power or water, removing the tenant's belongings, or blocking entry is αυτοδικία — taking the law into your own hands — a criminal offence under Article 331 of the Greek Penal Code, even when the tenant owes months of rent and the lease has expired (analysis of Art. 331 PC). A landlord who self-evicts can face criminal prosecution and civil damages, and hands the tenant the moral and legal high ground. Every removal must go through an enforceable title executed by a bailiff.

How do you avoid ever needing an eviction?

Almost every eviction we see in Athens traces back to decisions made before the tenancy started: no income and reference checks, an undeclared or badly drafted lease, no documented handover condition, and slow reaction to the first missed rent. Systematic tenant screening, airtight lease drafting, declared contracts, and same-week escalation on arrears prevent the vast majority of cases — this is precisely the workflow a professional manager such as mamaXO runs for Athens landlords, so that the procedures in this guide remain something you read about, not something you live through.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. For a specific case, consult a Greek lawyer.