News that the Greek government is weighing the introduction of an “inactivity tax” on homes and apartments left vacant for at least a year has triggered an outcry from property owners.
According to sources, the finance ministry is examining a scheme that would penalize owners of empty, unused homes and apartments in an effort to unlock the country’s dormant housing stock, increase rental availability, and support social housing programs. The idea has sparked an angry backlash from property owners, who see it as yet another burden on an already heavily taxed sector.
The plan takes its cue from France’s taxe sur les logements vacants (TLV), in force in thousands of French municipalities. In the French model, homes left empty for more than twelve months are taxed at 17 percent of their rental value in the first year, rising to 34 percent thereafter. The Greek version under discussion would set the levy at around 15 percent of the official annual rental value, targeting unfurnished properties that are neither occupied nor actively offered for rent or sale.
Certain exemptions are being considered, such as homes undergoing renovation, properties in the process of legalizing unauthorized construction, or dwellings unfit for habitation due to lack of utilities or serious structural damage. Properties that have been repeatedly listed on the market without finding a tenant or buyer could also be spared. How the taxable rental value would be calculated has not been finalized, though proposals suggest using a figure of up to five percent of the property’s assessed value. Under that method, a home with an official annual rental value of €4,800 would face a €720 tax if left idle.
Greece is estimated to have more than 750,000 vacant properties. Even if only 30 percent of these fell under the proposed tax, the government could raise more than €150 million a year. Officials are also weighing whether to extend the measure to properties purchased through the Golden Visa scheme, many of which remain unoccupied for long periods.
Property owners’ associations are mounting fierce resistance. The Panhellenic Federation of Property Owners argues that the tax would unfairly hit people already struggling with high maintenance costs and multiple property levies. Many owners, they say, are not leaving homes empty by choice but because they cannot afford to renovate them or are unable to find tenants or buyers in the current market.
The government itself appears divided. While the finance ministry sees potential benefits in both increased housing supply and additional state revenue, political advisers warn of the risk of a public backlash, particularly with the high-profile Thessaloniki International Fair just weeks away. Announcing such a measure now, they fear, could overshadow the social welfare package the administration plans to promote at the event. Ministry sources say that before any decision is finalized, the government will open talks with property owners’ groups and real estate market representatives to explore possible compromises.
