You can rent out a holiday home in Kefalonia on a short-term basis, and as of October 2026 there is no freeze on new registrations on the island. You need a registration number (AMA) from the tax authority, the property must meet the safety standards in force since 1 October 2025, and the rental income is taxed in Greece.
This guide is general information, not tax or legal advice. Rules change often: check the current position with your accountant before you rent. It is part of our guide to buying land in Kefalonia.
What counts as a short-term rental in Greece?
A short-term rental is a furnished home let for up to 59 days per booking, with no services beyond bed linen. If you offer more services than that, the property counts as tourist accommodation, which needs a registered business.
This guide covers the first case: a house or apartment you let through platforms such as Airbnb or Booking, or directly to guests.
How do you register the property?
Every short-term rental must be registered in the tax authority's (AADE) Short-Term Residence Property Register and gets its own number, the AMA. The rule applies even if you rent outside online platforms.
- Show the AMA in a visible place on every listing and in any advertising.
- Declare each stay by the 20th of the month after the guest leaves. Months without stays need no declaration.
- A new owner registers again and gets a new AMA. If you buy a property that is already rented out, its old number does not pass to you.
- Foreign owners need a Greek tax number (AFM), like any owner of property in Greece. Foreign individuals can apply for one through myAADE.
What standards must the property meet since October 2025?
Since 1 October 2025, under Article 3 of Law 5170/2025, a short-term rental must be a legal main-use living space and must have:
- natural light, ventilation and air conditioning (properties at 600 m altitude or higher are exempt from the air conditioning rule);
- civil liability insurance;
- an electrician's declaration and a residual-current (anti-electrocution) relay;
- fire extinguishers, smoke detectors and emergency exit signs;
- a pest-control certificate, a first-aid kit and a guide to emergency phone numbers.
The Ministry of Tourism's circular adds detail: one extinguisher of at least 6 kg per 100 m², smoke detectors covering the bedrooms and kitchen, and bedroom windows of at least 10% of the floor area for light and 5% for ventilation.
Spaces that are not legally designated as main-use spaces lose their AMA. This matters when you build: if you plan to rent the house, design every bedroom as a main-use space from the start, and tell your engineer before the permit is filed.
Myrtos beach, on the west coast of Kefalonia. Photo: Matt Sims, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped).
Who inspects, and what are the fines?
The Ministry of Tourism inspects properties, also jointly with AADE, and gives owners at least 10 days' notice. Refusing entry or failing a standard costs €5,000. A repeat within a year doubles the fine to €10,000, and each further repeat is four times the original, €20,000.
How is the rental income taxed in 2026?
If you let one or two properties as an individual, the income is taxed as property income on a separate scale. From 1 January 2026 (Law 5246/2025) the rates are:
| Annual rental income | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to €12,000 | 15% |
| €12,000.01 to €24,000 | 25% |
| €24,000.01 to €36,000 | 35% |
| Above €36,000 | 45% |
Three or more properties count as a business. Since 1 January 2024, an individual who lets three or more properties earns business income, must register a business with the tax office and charges 13% VAT. Companies always charge VAT.
Owners declare the rental income in their annual Greek income tax return.
What is the climate resilience fee?
On top of income tax, a climate resilience fee is charged for every night of stay. The amounts in force since 1 January 2025 are:
| Property | April to October | November to March |
|---|---|---|
| Short-term rental property | €8 per night | €2 per night |
| Detached house over 80 m² | €15 per night | €4 per night |
Is short-term rental restricted anywhere in Greece?
Yes, but not in Kefalonia as of October 2026. New registrations are frozen until 31 December 2026 in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Municipal Districts of Athens, and the government has announced an extension to the end of 2027. A freeze also applies in the centre of Thessaloniki.
We found no restriction on new short-term rental registrations in Kefalonia or the other Ionian Islands. A national spatial plan for tourism under discussion would limit new rentals in "saturated" areas, but the areas named so far are in Crete and the Cyclades.
What does this mean if you are buying land to build?
Plan the rental from day one. The standards decide how you design the house (main-use bedrooms, windows, ventilation), the tax rules decide whether you own the property personally or through a company, and the three-property rule matters if you plan more than one house.
Browse plots on the Kefalonia land for sale page and check asking prices by area in the Kefalonia Land Price Index. On PlotX, buyers pay a 1% platform fee and sellers pay nothing.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a freeze on new Airbnb registrations in Kefalonia? Not as of October 2026. The freezes apply to central Athens and central Thessaloniki.
Do I need insurance for a short-term rental? Yes. Since 1 October 2025, civil liability insurance is one of the required standards.
From how many properties is short-term rental a business? Three or more properties, for an individual, since 1 January 2024.
Do I need a Greek tax number to rent out my house? Yes. Every owner of property in Greece needs an AFM, and the rental income is declared in the Greek tax return.
Sources
- Short-term rental FAQ, September 2025 — AADE (in Greek)
- Law 5170/2025, Article 3 — taxheaven (in Greek)
- Ministry of Tourism circular 19567/25-09-2025 — taxheaven (in Greek)
- Law 5246/2025, Article 8: rental income tax scale — taxheaven (in Greek)
- Tax updates, November 2025 — KPMG Greece
- Climate resilience fee decision A.1202/2024 — AADE (in Greek)
- Freeze on new short-term rentals in central Athens extended — taxheaven (in Greek)
- Cover photo: Kefalonia, Berit from Redhill/Surrey, UK, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped).
