Greece’s Ministry of National Economy and Finance has submitted a wide-ranging omnibus bill for public consultation, proposing dozens of changes across housing, taxation, pensions, debt relief, and social benefits.
The legislation includes a supplementary budget of €800 million and addresses issues ranging from Airbnb restrictions and rent rebates to bank account unfreezing and new protections for primary residences.
Housing relief and Airbnb curbs
The bill proposes changes to Greece’s rental market in an attempt to tackle the country’s severe housing affordability crisis. The income thresholds for an existing annual rent rebate program would be raised significantly. The income cap for single renters would rise from €20,000 to €25,000, and from €28,000 to €35,000 for married couples and civil partners, with an additional €5,000 per dependent child. Single-parent households would see their threshold increase from €31,000 to €39,000.
Teachers, doctors, and nurses serving outside the Attica region (excluding its island unit) and the regional unit of Thessaloniki would receive the equivalent of two months’ rent per year, regardless of income, capped at €1,600 annually plus €100 per dependent child.
The bill extends an existing ban on new short-term rental registrations, already in place in three central municipal districts of Athens, to Thessaloniki’s first municipal community from July 1 through December 31, 2026. Violations would carry a fine of 50 percent of rental income earned, with a minimum of €20,000, rising to the full amount collected for a second offense within the same tax year, with a floor of €40,000.
Another initiative is a new “Build to Rent” program, which would offer income tax exemptions to legal entities that construct new housing, or convert non-residential properties into homes, and commit to leasing them for a minimum of ten years at rents set by ministerial decree.
Debt relief and financial restructuring
Debtors with overdue obligations to the tax authority or the social insurance fund (e-EFKA) would have until December 31, 2026 to apply for a new 72-installment repayment scheme covering debts that became overdue on or before December 31, 2023 and remain unresolved as of April 21, 2026.
The bill also proposes improvements to Greece’s out-of-court debt settlement mechanism, which allows debtors and creditors to negotiate restructuring without going to court. Debts of €5,000 or more could be restructured through the mechanism one month after the law enters into force. For the first time, the legislation would allow borrowers to protect their primary residence by liquidating other real estate assets within the same framework.
Separately, individuals with frozen bank accounts could have the freeze lifted if they pay 25% of the outstanding debt and arrange repayment of remaining verified tax obligations.
Pensions and salary measures
The bill provides for retroactive pension increases for a narrow category of public sector employees: those who became fully incapacitated due to a terrorist attack, an assassination attempt, or an injury sustained in the performance of high-risk duties. Their pensions would be brought up to 80% of the salary of an equivalent active public employee.
These provisions apply to civil and military personnel alike and take effect retroactively from January 1, 2017. The bill also extends survivor pension payments for unmarried children to age 24.
On pay, the legislation addresses salary progression for judges who have fulfilled the legal tenure requirements for promotion but cannot advance due to the absence of vacant positions. It also reconfigures the pay structure of bishops of the Church of Greece, consolidating compensation and eliminating certain additional allowances, after roughly a decade without revision. Air traffic controllers at the Civil Aviation Authority would see changes to the calculation of additional compensation, including recognition of maternity and post-natal leave as active service time for the purposes of specialist allowances.
Benefits and other measures
Approximately one million families would receive a one-time payment of €150 per dependent child by the end of June. A separate annual benefit, paid each November to pensioners and vulnerable groups, would rise to €300, with income thresholds widened to bring in more recipients. Those living exclusively on a widow’s or widower’s pension would become eligible for the November benefit from age 60, down from 65.
The bill also contains provisions for farmers, hybrid vehicle owners, and measures against illegal gambling. For farmers the government bill envisions a new procedure would allow the existing excise tax exemption on agricultural fuel to be applied directly at the pump through a dedicated AADE digital platform. The GAIA agricultural electricity tariff, which offers lower energy costs, would also be extended to new farmers.
Hybrid vehicles would lose their current variable registration tax exemption. Low-emission models producing up to 50 grams of CO2 per kilometer currently receive a 75% exemption, while other hybrids receive 50%. Under the proposed change, all hybrid passenger cars would receive a flat 50% exemption regardless of emissions level.
The bill also introduces tougher measures against illegal gambling, including stronger enforcement mechanisms, substantial fines, and prison sentences for offenders.
