EOT Licence Greece. Holiday lets in Crete & Greece

In order to legally rent your Greek or Crete property to holiday makers you must either:

1) Obtain a licence from the Greek National Tourist Organisation - GNTO - known as EOT in Greek (Elliniko Organismo Tourismo).- also called an Eidiko Sima Leitourgias (ESL),

See more details for EOT Licence below.

OR

2) Register the property on the Short Term Rental Register (since 2017)

Occasional short term renting for 60 or 90 days per year through digital platforms under the sharing economy frame. A furnished property can be rented occasionally for short term renting for 60 or 90 days per year under the sharing economy frame (e.g. Airbnb).

All the follow preconditions are required in order to rent occasional short term a property under the frame of the sharing economy through a digital platform:

a) The owner of the property must be only individual, registered on a special register (Short term renting register). Once the property has been registered the registration number must be displayed on the digital platforms or any other advertising media.

b) Only up to 2 properties can be rented under this status from each individual owner.

c) The minimum space of the property is 9 square meter. The property must have nature light, heating and ventilation.

d) The property must have building permit, or it must be legalized according the law 4014/2011 or 3843/2010.

e) For properties located in islands that have less than 10,000 habitants, each property can be rented up to 60 days. For properties located in islands that have more than 10,000 habitants, a property can be rented up to 90 days. In both the above cases it is allowed to exceed the 60 or 90 days only where the sum of rental income of all of the properties of this status will be less than 12,000€ per year.

f) The property is rented furnished. It is not allowed to provide any type of services that are related to the property (for example: changing of linen and towels, cleaning, transfer of guest from airport, breakfast, etc. ) - only the provision of linen & towels is allowed.

A lease contract must be submitted in the tax office for each guest that must include: the property registration number in the above register, the energy efficient certification number, the full name of the guest, the arrival and departure dates of the guest, and the amount in euros that the guest or the digital platform has paid for the guest.

If your house, apartment or villa is rented long term, over 30 days to one party this is not classed as a holiday rental and you are not required to register as a short term rental, but you will still be required to declare any income on a Greek tax return

Advertising Greek Holiday Lets

All advertising must display the MHTE number (αριθμός μητρώου της επιχείρησης) for EOT licences or the registration number, for short term rental registrations, on any website advertising your property to let (law 4179/2013 ). Failure to do so can result in a 1000 euro fine.

This article deals only with the tourist rental of private villas/houses and apartments there are different regulations for hotels and rent rooms which are not discussed here.

Each application and property is looked at individually and searches should be made on the building and planning permission (which do not always tally with the actual construction). The following information should be taken as a very general outline only and it should be noted that the rules can change frequently.

Main Points

- Don’t assume that you or an agent will know under which category your property falls until the building plans have been assessed by the architect or civil engineer, i.e with property searches made at the appropriate departments. For example some plots are bought and split by the builder and they may not have the appropriate deeds/paperwork for Furnished Tourist House licence i.e. what you think may be two separate plots (you and your neighbour’s) could in fact still be classed as one plot with two houses.

The majority of houses and apartments fall under the first two categories below, while there is a third, simplified category for Villas rented privately for up to 3 months (13 weeks) only:

1) Furnished Tourist House (Katoikia)

Applies for a single house or villa on one plot.- Can be with or without a swimming pool.- If the house has a swimming pool an 'operational' licence (adeia leitourgias pisinas) is required, but NOT a lifeguard.

2) Furnished Tourist Apartment with the Key System

Applies for an apartment or house on a shared plot- with either a private or shared swimming pool.- Key System is a ratings systems which gives ‘points’ for each facility such as a pool, air con, TV, internet etc and the property must reach a minimum number of ‘points’ to qualify for the licence. Note that a property without a pool in this category will have difficulty meeting the number of 'points' required as a relatively high percentage of the points are given for a pool.- An 'operational' licence (adeia leitourgias pisinas) is required for a swimming pool and for the Key System this is dependent on the apartment /villa owner or someone they appoint having a trained lifeguard certificate, who will be officially responsible for the pool safety. (Note: it is hoped that this lifeguard requirement will be abolished 2014/5, to bring it in line with the Furnished Tourist House rating).

3) Simplified EOT / ESL Licence for Villas - private rental up to 3 months
ESL - Eidiko Sima Leitourgias - This is a third category for larger villas: "Τουριστικές επαύλεις" (Touristikes Epavleis) - which must:- be at least 80 sqm (law N.4254/2014 amendment)- have independent external access- be on an independent plot/land and be an independent building

This is not an exhaustive list of requirements for any of the above categories, just an outline only.

Registering as a Business with EOT?

When you register your property with EOT and obtain a licence you are also required to register as a small business with the Greek tax office in the case of type 1 and 2 licences above, so you should always consult a Greek accountant as to the tax and national insurance implications and liablities. Business charges incurred include VAT payments and a 26% tax rate on net income.

For the category only of large/luxury villas "Τουριστικές επαύλεις" (No. 3 above): this is a special EOT / ESL licence which is simpler to obtain and allows for the owner to be able to rent for up to 13 weeks without the need for registering as a business in the tax office. A contract must be drawn up for each rental between the owner and client and deposited in the tax office. This income is taxed at a rate of 15% up to 12,000 euros and 35% 12,001€ up to 35,000€, with no other business obligations.

Other Notes

Shared Plot / Pool - If your apartment/house is on a shared plot and shares a pool you can apply for an EOT licence on the condition that the other owners on the plot give their written permission / agreement.

Pool Depths - There are NO regulations regarding maximum pool depth, but the size of the pool may affect your tax liabilities for imputed income, if tax resident in Greece.

The process requires the co-operation of an architect or civil engineer to get started, followed by a long paper chase and various inspection visits to the property. If you do not live here, or do not speak Greek you will need to appoint and pay someone to do the running around for the paperwork and liaise with EOT, the fire department, the local council etc throughout the various stages. This can be your architect, civil engineer, lawyer or an agent, although not all lawyers and architects are willing to undertake this.

Documentation

EOT require a long list of documents, the following is not an exhaustive list, rather a guide:

- A number of architectural and structural papers of the property are required. You will need an architect or civil engineer to start the process and collect these plans. If the plans and the actual building (and pool if relevant) do not correspond you will need to look first at legalisation of the property.

- You wlll require a tax number, AFM

- A Certificate from the Tax Office to show that you owe no taxes.

- Copy of your passport

- Copy of your criminal record (Ποινικό Μητρώο). This can be obtained from KEP offices in Greece or from your home country if you are not Greek resident

- A Fire Study, with the installation of fire extinguishers and emergency exit lights.Note: the twice-yearly fire certificate is no longer required for properties which sleep less than 19 people, but the fire safety features should still be in place for the start-up.

- A health study for the drains, water supply, sewage etc.

A complete list of documents required can be obtained from EOT offices.

EOT OFFICES IN CRETE

HERAKLION

Papa Alexandreu E 16, Heraklion.

Tel. 2810 246 106

email: pyt_kritis@gnto.gr

CHANIA

Megaro Pantheon, Kriari 40 (off 1866 Square), Chania.

Tel 28210 92943

email: gry_chania@gnto.gr

"Fast Track"

Once you have collected all the required documents they are sent to EOT (if the property is in Crete, to the central office in Heraklion). Within 10 days of receipt of the documents EOT must supply either pre-approval or notify you of any missing or incorrect documents.

Pre-approval

Once the pre-approval is given in writing the house/apartment (and pool if it has one) business can now legally start working (renting). EOT will then physically inspect the property within 35 days and issue the EOT licence.

Missing or Incorrect Documents

If there are any missing or incorrect documents EOT must contact you within 10 days of their receiving the documents. You must then supply the missing or incorrect paperwork within 30 days and then EOT will proceed as above (pre-approval).

Cost

Costs vary for each individual case, depending on the complexity of the case, whether you are already in possession of the correct architectural plans for the property, if these plans need to be changed or if sections of the property need to be legalised etc.Once you have obtained the EOT licence for a house or apartment it is valid indefinitely and does not need renewal.

Thanks in the updating of this article to:

TAX OASIS - Atsalakis Cretan Accountant www.cretanaccountant.gr

Ioanna Pateraki Ioanna is an architect based in Chania, Aristotelous 98, Korakies, Akrotiri, Chania.Tel. 28210 80001 and 28210 69969 Email: katz@europedia.gr

Other sources / credits:

ΣΕΕΔΔΕ www.seedde.gr

EOT Υπουργίο Τουρσιμό www.gnto.gov.gr

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