An Athens court has banned the short-term tourist rental of an apartment after ruling that the building's co-ownership regulations, though written decades before platforms like Airbnb existed, effectively prohibit such use, adding fresh momentum to Greece's ongoing debate over short-term rentals.
The Single-Member Court of First Instance of Athens granted injunctions filed by the building's manager, ruling that co-ownership regulations are legally binding on all owners and function as law within the building.
The dispute arose after a company began renting the apartment to tourists through short-term rental platforms in the summer of 2025.
Other residents argued the practice caused persistent disturbances, including noise during quiet hours, increased wear on shared facilities and security concerns stemming from a steady stream of unfamiliar visitors.
While the court acknowledged the building's regulations predate the rise of short-term rentals and do not explicitly mention them, it ruled that existing bans on using apartments as hotels or for activities causing excessive crowding and disturbance extend to tourist rentals, based on the purpose and intent of the original rules. The court ordered the company to immediately halt using the unit for commercial tourism purposes, with fines threatened for non-compliance.
The ruling comes as short-term rental activity continues expanding across Greece and ahead of a broader overhaul of the country's property co-ownership framework, largely unchanged since 1929.
A special legislative committee is expected to begin work this month, with a new bill targeted for passage before the end of 2026, as previously outlined by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in recent remarks on modernizing Greece's apartment building code.