We are not addressing here holiday makers or people planning a stay in Greece ranging from a few days to a few weeks. Often, these lucky people find their happiness on hotel reservation sites or on international online platforms.
However, we will not fail to advise you to carefully check contractual terms of your rental and to clearly identify who is renting the place. You should always be wary of very tempting offers on the internet and classified ads with few references or without any apparent real guarantee. Scam attempts have been on the rise for some time now.
Our intent here is to inform those who, for personal reasons, are building a life project that involves permanent or long-term residence in Athens. But our indications are also valid for the rest of the territory and the islands as well.
In the past, renting an apartment in Greece was both simple and very complex because it only depended on the goodwill of the owner and the good relationship with the tenant.
The contracts were most often oral and it was common for tenants to continue to pay the electricity, gas or water bill drawn up in the name of the owner, a deceased former owner or one of the previous tenants.
As long as the bills were paid, checks were almost non-existent and everyone seemed to be fine with it. Things are a little more complicated legally since audiovisual, regional and local taxes are included in the final amount of electricity bills in Greece.
In recent years and several legislative and tax reforms, the government has enacted rules that are very strict and that make some people say that we have gone from one extreme to the other.
The first thing to do, even before your arrival, is to request the allocation of a tax number, called ΑΦΜ (AFIMI), from theTax Department.
You can request it free of charge, either at the Greek consulate or, on site, at the Tax Service or entrust this task to a Greek accountant who will charge you, in principle, a reasonable fee. Some real estate agencies help their tenants in this process.
The adventure is not over, however, because you will also have to register online in the public system called Taxnet which, as a personal space, will be dedicated to collecting the registration of your rental contract. Your landlord is subject to the same procedure on his side. This procedure will certainly cost you a trip to the Tax Department to receive, in person, the codes relating to your account which are not assigned remotely.
All this may seem procedural, but the Greeks have come to terms with these obligations, especially since the opening of a bank account, a telephone line, the registration of gas, water and electricity contracts can only be done with the presentation of your ΑΦΜ and/or your references on Taxnet.
In comparison, these procedures that some find quite cumbersome, the production of your identity documents, your proof of income and, possibly, a proof of employment contract will be a simple formality.
If you have contacted a serious real estate agency, you will be accompanied and guided through these procedures which seem uncomfortable and which, in fact, can be resolved with a few clicks for those who are used to and speak Greek.
Some cautious people start by renting a furnished apartment with a contract that includes utilities and energy supply. It is an interesting solution that allows you to choose your future accommodation without stress and to prepare all the necessary procedures on site.
Mobilia Real Estate welcomes many foreigners every year from all over the world and we are committed to simplifying the lives of our customers by assisting them with ease and efficiency.
If you plan to come and live a brilliant experience of life in Greece with us, you will very quickly be able to enjoy the best things the country has to offer and quickly forget the few days of administrative hassle.
Image by Jörg Hertle from Pixabay