Airbnb and short term rentals in Athens

Why flats are everywhere

Walk through Koukaki, Plaka or Psyrri and you will see key boxes on door frames and suitcases on every pavement. Thousands of ordinary apartments in the old centre are now let by the night. Athens has many small flats in walking distance of the Acropolis, and owners have found short lets pay more than long ones. The result is a city where a holiday flat is often easier to find than a hotel room, and where locals complain that rents have risen.

The numbers

• 14,342 Airbnb listings in Athens in the Inside Airbnb snapshot of 28 June 2026. Of these, 92.8 per cent were entire homes or flats and 6.3 per cent private rooms.
• 73.7 per cent of those listings belonged to hosts with more than one listing.
• 95.3 per cent showed a licence (registry) number.
• 147 euros a night on average, with about 74 nights booked a year, by Inside Airbnb’s estimate.
• The national register tells a bigger story, because it covers every platform: the City of Athens had 37,688 active short term rental registry numbers (AMA) on 31 December 2024 and 34,507 on 8 October 2025, with about 78.5 per cent of them in the first three municipal districts (reported from a ministry housing report, search engine copy).

The rules

• Freeze on new registrations. Since 1 January 2025 no new short term rental registry numbers (AMA) can be issued in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd municipal districts of the City of Athens. These cover Plaka, Monastiraki, Syntagma, Omonia, Kolonaki, Exarcheia, Ilisia, Neapoli and Koukaki (1st), Mets, Neos Kosmos, Agios Artemios and Pangrati (2nd), and Petralona, Thiseio, Gazi, Votanikos, Metaxourgeio and Rouf (3rd). The measure comes from Law 5162/2024 (Government Gazette A 198, 5 December 2024).
• Extended. The freeze stayed in force through 2026, and on 9 September 2026 the Finance Minister announced it will remain until 31 December 2027. The legal act for 2027 was not yet verified when we checked.
• Lost on sale or inheritance. In these districts, when a flat changes owner the existing registration is deleted and the new owner cannot get a new one.
• Safety rules since 1 October 2025. Flats need civil liability insurance, certified electrics with a residual current device, fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, emergency exit signs, a pest control certificate and a first aid kit. Inspections come with ten days’ notice; fines start at 5,000 euros, double for a second offence within a year and quadruple for a third.

The climate resilience fee

Charged per room or flat per night and paid by the guest at the end of the stay, since 1 January 2025.

What this means for you

• Ask the host for the property’s AMA registry number if you cannot see it on the listing.
• Budget for the nightly climate fee on top of the price.
• Expect fewer new flats in the old centre, and look at Kypseli, Pangrati or Neos Kosmos for more choice.
• Compare areas on Where to stay.

This is a plain summary for travellers, not legal advice. Rules change; check the official sources before you let or book a property.

Sources

• Inside Airbnb, Athens, snapshot of 28 June 2026, read 4 Oct 2026
• Inside Airbnb, data downloads, read 4 Oct 2026
• Athens Times, registry numbers by district, read 4 Oct 2026, search engine copy
• GTP, 9 Sep 2026, freeze through 2027 and district list, read 4 Oct 2026
• GTP, 26 Jan 2026, 2026 rules and safety requirements, read 4 Oct 2026
• Kathimerini, 16 Jun 2025, ban stays for another year, read 4 Oct 2026, search engine copy
• AADE legal library, Law 5162/2024, read 4 Oct 2026, search engine copy
• GTP, climate resilience fee rates, read 4 Oct 2026, search engine copy