Property Management in Greece: How to Choose a Company

What property managers do

"Property management" in Greece covers several distinct services, and companies differ in which they actually offer. Be precise about what you are buying:

• Key-holding and caretaking. Periodic checks, ventilation, garden and pool upkeep, storm inspection — the baseline for a holiday home that is not rented.
• Long-term letting management. Finding and screening tenants, the lease and its electronic declaration, rent collection, and maintenance coordination.
• Short-term rental management. Platform listings, pricing, guest communication, cleaning and linen turnover, and the registry and reporting obligations that come with short-term letting.
• Project oversight. Supervising renovations or repairs on your behalf — useful, but a different skill from letting, and worth separate references.

Regulation: law vs. practice

Here the law-versus-practice distinction matters more than anywhere else on this site. In the official sources we reviewed, we did not identify a dedicated professional licensing procedure for general residential property-management services in Greece — unlike, for example, the approval procedure that exists for real estate agents. The business must still operate lawfully, be properly registered, and issue proper documentation — and much of the work a manager touches is clearly regulated:

• Short-term rentals require registration with the tax authority (AADE) and ongoing reporting — see the next section.
• Long-term leases must be declared electronically to AADE.
• Rental income is taxable in Greece and must be declared, whoever collects it. Our Money & Taxes hub covers the wider picture.
• Brokerage — if the same firm also finds buyers or tenants for commission, that activity falls under the brokerage rules covered in our real estate agents guide.

The practical conclusion: do not assume any authority has screened a management company for competence. Your screening is the quality control — business registration, tax-compliant invoicing, references, and a precise written contract are what stand in for it.

Short-term rental rules

If your plan involves Airbnb-style letting, the compliance layer is real and actively enforced:

1. Registry number (AMA). The property must be registered in AADE's short-term rental registry, and the registration number must appear on every platform listing.
2. Income reporting. Stays and income are declared to AADE; platforms also report data to the authorities, so gaps surface.
3. Scale thresholds. Owners running multiple short-term properties can be treated as conducting a business activity, with additional obligations such as VAT and per-stay fees. The thresholds and details have changed more than once — verify the current position before you build a plan around several units.
4. Location-specific restrictions. New entries in the short-term rental registry are, at the time of review, suspended for properties in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd municipal districts of the Municipality of Athens (see the AADE circular in the sources below). The geographic scope and duration of such measures can change, so verify whether national or location-specific restrictions apply to your specific address before buying with rental income in mind.

How management fees work

Nothing in Greek law fixes management fees — every number is a matter of agreement and negotiation. Structures you will encounter in quotes include:

• A percentage of collected rent — used in both long-term and short-term management; expect short-term management to be priced to reflect its continuous, per-booking workload.
• A flat monthly fee — often proposed for caretaking-only arrangements on unrented homes.
• Per-service charges — cleaning, linen, maintenance call-outs, renovation supervision, and guest amenities may be charged on top of any headline rate.

The headline percentage is the least informative number in the quote. What determines your net income is the total of percentage, extras, and exclusions — so compare complete written quotes, not rates. Ask each candidate to price the same concrete scenario for your property and to state what is not included.

The management contract

The contract is where good intentions become enforceable. Before signing, check it covers:

1. Exact scope. Which services are included, which cost extra, and response times for problems.
2. All fees. The percentage or flat fee, every per-service charge, and whether VAT is added.
3. Money handling. Where rent is collected, how fast it is paid to you, and periodic written statements with receipts.
4. Spending authority. A cap on repairs the manager may authorize without asking you.
5. Compliance responsibility. Who performs registrations and declarations — in whose name, with what proof provided to you.
6. Term and exit. Duration, notice period, and what happens to bookings, deposits, and keys when you leave.
7. Insurance. The company's liability cover, and how damage by tenants or guests is handled.

How to vet a company

• Check the business registration. Ask for the company's GEMI number and tax number (AFM), and confirm the company you would contract with is the company that was recommended to you.
• Demand tax-compliant invoicing. Every fee should be invoiced. "Cash, no invoice" pricing leaves you without recourse and creates tax exposure that lands on you.
• Speak to current owner clients — ideally foreign owners with properties like yours, who can tell you how problems and money were actually handled.
• Verify short-term compliance in practice. Look up the company's existing listings: do they display registry numbers? Visible compliance on the current portfolio is a reasonable indicator of how your property would be handled.
• Match capacity to season. Ask how many properties they manage and with what staff in August — the month that breaks under-resourced firms.
• Assess distance honestly. Distance can affect response times, so confirm who provides local coverage and the response time promised in the contract.

Questions to ask

• What is your GEMI registration, and will every charge be invoiced?
• Exactly which services are in the percentage, and what is charged separately?
• How quickly is collected rent paid to me, and what do your owner statements look like? May I see a sample?
• Who registers the property with AADE and files the declarations — and in whose name?
• What repair amount can you approve without my sign-off?
• How many properties do you manage, and how many staff cover them in peak season?
• What are the notice period and handover terms if I switch managers?
• Can you connect me with two current owner clients as references?

Red flags

• Guaranteed rental income. Occupancy and rates are seasonal and uncertain — treat guaranteed-income claims cautiously, ask what legally and financially backs the guarantee, and verify it before relying on it.
• No written contract, or a contract too vague to enforce. If scope, fees, and reporting are not written down precisely, you have little to rely on when a dispute arises.
• Cash handling without statements. If rent flows through the manager with no documented trail, you cannot verify what you are owed.
• Listings without registry numbers. Displaying the number is a legal obligation; visible non-compliance on the current portfolio is a serious warning sign.
• Pressure to skip your own advisers. A manager discouraging you from involving your lawyer or accountant is protecting their convenience, not your interests.
• Everything is extra. A low headline rate with an open-ended extras schedule can end up costing more than a higher all-in rate — compare complete quotes, not headline percentages.

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