Greece: Renting property in Greece - Mike Saunders, Snobby Homes

The low down on renting out your property in Greece

Buying a property to earn some cash - perhaps to subsidize a mortgage? While some may unofficially rent out their Greek property to ‘friends and family’ and pocket some filthy lucre without informing the tax authorities in Greece, or in the UK, it is a risk. It may be minimal, but it’s a chance you take.

For those of a more prosaic nature who would prefer to go the legal route, you will need to apply for an EOT License, issued by the Greek National Tourism Organisation, which allows you to rent out your property - legally.

However, with the unwieldy bureaucracy and procrastination involved, the whole process will probably set you back around 5,000€ - and the license needs to be renewed every five years. The application is a complicated process and not every developer, or agent, understands exactly what is required. When a scent of a sale is in the offing, it is all too easy for a salesman to enthusiastically bluff that the property would qualify for EOT. Don’t get carried away. Tread carefully and check the facts.

Broadly speaking, to qualify for EOT, your property has to exceed specific minimum room sizes, and have certain amenities and safety features. No EOT license will be granted if your property is an apartment, in a block of houses or a maisonette. Your house must stand on an individual plot. If the property is a development of houses and the land was registered as a single entity - horizontally cut into plots - then this would mean ALL properties would have to apply for a license. All owners would be registered in business together. And that business would be liable to pay Greek tax on the rental income generated as a whole, irrespective of whether your property was rented or not.

You do need to appoint an architect or engineer who has specific knowledge in applying to EOT and will submit an application on your behalf. If the property is a stand alone villa, on a vertically cut plot, then you have cleared the first hurdle. Well almost, there are a whole number of restrictions, such as the land must not be near a church, or graveyard and it must have access to a public road.

Next, the room sizes have to be checked. For example a bathroom must exceed 2.8 sq. m., all doorways must be at least 0.8m wide, specific items of furniture must be included - indoors and out - if the property is larger than 75 sq. m. an additional bathroom is required, if the swimming pool has a deep end of 1.7m, a lifeguard must be in a attendance!

Your architect has to furnish EOT with a copy of the building license, list of architectural and structural papers of the property. These have to be officially stamped and are deposited with EOT, who, at their leisure, will arrange a visit to survey the property.

Get over this hurdle and the next step is to submit a whole number of different official documents you need to apply for, such as a certificate of water clarity to the property, certificate of fire safety, copy of your criminal record (?!!) and certificate from the tax office showing you owe no outstanding taxes. After many frustrating months, if every detail is complied with you will be awarded with a license.

Many buyers have the idea of renting out their property, but don’t know how to go about it. Apart from spreading the word at work and amongst friends, there are several web sites you can use, such as www.holidaylettings.co.uk or www.holiday-rentals.co.uk, which charge around £250 per annum to advertise on their site. You could also approach independent villa rental companies such as www.meonvillas.co.uk who are villa holiday specialists. If your property is particularly attractive, you may find an operator will ‘book’ a season with you, but this would be heavily discounted. The upside is, you are guaranteed a rental figure for the season, which eliminates risk.

Mike Saunders

Mike is Marketing director of Snobby Homes, www.snobbyhomes.co.uk