Editorial RoomCurrent Affairs
There are more than 500 properties in the city of Ioannina that are available for short-term lease, with implications both for the hotel industry and more broadly, as the reduction of properties available for lease also leads to an increase in rents.
With a letter to the mayor Thomas Bega, the Hoteliers’ Union of the prefecture of Ioannina calls on the municipality to submit a request to the relevant Ministries, so that restrictions on the availability of real estate for short-term rental are applied, as provided for in a Joint Ministerial Decision.
Specifically, according to paragraph 8 of article 111 of Law 4446/2016, it is provided that, by joint decision of the Ministers of Economy and Development, Finance and Tourism, geographical areas may be defined, for reasons related to the protection of the residence, where restrictions on the availability of real estate for short-term rental will apply as follows: a. Do not allow the short-term rental of more than two properties per A.F.I. beneficiary of income. b. The lease of each property shall not exceed 90 days per calendar year. Exceeding the duration of the previous subsection is allowed, as long as the total income of the lessor or sublessor, from all the properties available for lease or sublease, does not exceed 12,000 euros during the relevant tax year.
The reasons put forward by the Union for the need to “activate” the KYA, concern the protection of housing, noting that the results of the uncontrolled increase in short-term rentals in the city of Ioannina are the huge increase in rent prices, major problems in finding housing, especially for special categories of citizens, such as students, teachers, military and members of the security forces, but also in the increase in the volume of waste and the burden on the services of the Municipality.
The president of the Union Spyros Sourelis noted, in his statements, that in the city of Ioannina, the conditions for the implementation of the KYA are met. “There is an effervescence throughout Greece in the hotel industry regarding short-term leasing. We are not against short-term renting, but we want the law that has been passed to be implemented, for there to be equal measures and equal weights for the whole industry and in connection with the statements of the mayor of Athens, Mr. Doukas, who is basically asking for more money for the municipalities from the hotels, we say that there are ways to find elsewhere the revenues that are missing from the municipalities and we call on the Central Union of Municipalities of Greece to head in this direction”, noted Mr. Surelis, adding that it is not reasonable for a student, who comes to study in the city of Ioannina, or any other professional should contact the hotels to rent a room by the month. “The cost is not affordable for most families. In this way, we believe that more apartments will be freed up, so that they can be allocated where they should be, to students and to those others who need housing”, he emphasized.
Short-term renting has left its “imprint” in many European cities, mainly in the capitals but also in tourist areas, and measures have been taken in many countries. “We don’t need to discover America, but follow other practices of other countries that have taken measures, especially in the city centers, to limit the short-term rental phenomenon. Because there are other problems besides taxation and the lack of apartments. The phenomenon of nuisance and the increase in pollution is also observed. So, as other cities have taken measures, we must also move in this direction”, he noted.
