Greece Airbnb Safety Rules: What Owners Need and Who Checks
Greece's rules for Airbnb-style rentals are under scrutiny again. Since 1 October 2025, every home let on a short-term basis has had to meet a list of safety requirements under Law 5170/2025, from smoke detectors to liability insurance. Yet the Tourism Ministry, which enforces those rules, has so far checked about 1,500 properties, mostly by email, in a market of more than 116,000 active listings.
The issue gained urgency after the explosion on 25 September at 15 Lysikratous Street in Plaka, which brought down a two-storey building and killed six people: four American visitors staying in a short-term rental on the first floor and an elderly couple who lived upstairs. Fire Service investigators have focused on the gas installation in the couple's second-floor apartment, and nothing so far points to the rental itself. Even so, the tragedy led the federation of public-sector engineers, POEMDYDAS, to ask publicly who actually inspects these homes.
What the law requires from short-term rental owners
The rules in Article 3 of Law 5170/2025 cover every property in the short-term rental registry kept by the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE). In practice, that means any home with a registry number, known as AMA, that is let through platforms such as Airbnb or Booking.com. The property must be a main-use living space with natural light, ventilation and air conditioning, and it must carry civil liability insurance for damage or accidents.
On the safety side, owners need an electrician's installation declaration confirming a residual current device, at least one portable fire extinguisher of 6 kg for every 100 square meters, ceiling smoke detectors covering at least the bedrooms and the kitchen, and emergency lighting with exit signs. A pest control certificate, a first aid kit and a printed guide with emergency phone numbers complete the list. The Tourism Ministry has published the details, along with the checklist inspectors use, on its short-term rental guidance page.
How the inspections work in practice
The ministry began its first round of checks in July, using a sample of 1,500 properties supplied by AADE, including more than 400 in Attica. Owners are first asked by email to send certificates showing they comply. On-site visits follow only when documents are missing or a complaint is filed. Because short-term rentals are legally homes rather than tourist accommodation, the manager must also be notified at least 10 days before an inspector arrives.
Vasia Koutsoukou, the ministry's secretary-general for tourism policy, explained the limits of that legal status to To Vima: "these properties are not tourist accommodations and, therefore, are not subject to the corresponding inspections for compliance with technical specifications."
The arrangement has other gaps, as Kathimerini reported this week. The Tourism Ministry sets the standards and does the checking, but it cannot access AADE's rental database directly and has to request each sample. The regional staff who carry out the checks also oversee hotels, rented rooms and car rentals. No fire safety certificate is required, and Fire Service sources say inspectors confirm extinguishers and smoke detectors through purchase receipts. The ministry says a new sample will be requested once the current round is finished and fines are issued.
Fines for missing safety items
The penalties are steep compared with the cost of compliance. Refusing inspectors entry, or failing any single requirement, brings an administrative fine of €5,000. If a new inspection within a year of that fine finds another breach, the penalty doubles to €10,000, and each further repeat costs four times the original amount, or €20,000.
Consolidated results from the first round have not been published, so it is not yet known how many owners have been fined. Meanwhile, Greece's Council of State, its highest administrative court, is hearing a case over whether short-term rentals can be treated purely as residential leases when they serve tourists. The president of the Technical Chamber of Greece has proposed annual inspections by engineers for homes used commercially, such as Airbnb rentals, and every three years for ordinary homes.
What it means for owners in Greece and abroad
For anyone renting out a property, the practical step is to keep every document current and ready to send: the insurance policy, the electrician's declaration, receipts for the extinguisher and detectors, and the pest control certificate. The same applies to owners living abroad who let a family or inherited home in Greece through a local manager. The fine is imposed on the person registered as the property's manager, which is often the owner, and the first contact may simply be an email asking for proof.
There are also local limits to keep in mind. Since 1 January 2025, no new short-term rental registry numbers can be issued in Athens' 1st, 2nd and 3rd municipal districts, which include Plaka and the historic center. For visitors, the safety list offers a simple yardstick: a smoke detector in the bedroom, an extinguisher in plain sight and an emergency numbers guide are now legal requirements, not extras.
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Photo: George E. Koronaios via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). The Acropolis seen from Thrasyllou Street in Plaka, Athens.
