Greece's Council of State, the country's highest administrative court, has taken under advisement 11 petitions seeking to ban short-term rentals from Athens' historic Plaka neighbourhood — a ruling that will set a legal precedent for how Airbnb and similar platforms are regulated across Greece's protected historic districts.
The petitions were filed by the Hellenic Society for the Environment and Culture, which argues that operating tourist accommodation in Plaka violates zoning laws that explicitly ban commercial hotels in the area beneath the Acropolis and restrict land use almost exclusively to residential.
The organisation is challenging the Municipality of Athens' decision not to seal 11 specific short-term rental properties on the grounds of illegal change of use from residential to commercial.
The court, presided over by Vice President Christos Douhanis, appointed Councilor Christos Liakouras to examine whether city planners acted lawfully in rejecting the closure requests. On-site inspections of the 11 disputed properties have already been conducted to determine whether they function as residences or high-turnover tourist lodges. A judgment is expected within months.
The case sits at the intersection of two pressures reshaping Greek cities: a housing affordability crisis driven in part by the conversion of residential stock to short-term tourist lets, and a booming tourism sector generating strong demand for central accommodation. A ruling against the rentals could prompt closures across other protected zones in Athens and beyond.