Mykonos: Massive €995,000 Fine for Businessman with 199 Undeclared “Airbnb” Properties

A property “manager” was renting 199 luxury villas in Mykonos for short-term rentals “like Airbnb” but had not declared them to the Short-Term Accommodation Property Registry. The competent authorities (Independent Authority for Public Revenue – AADE) investigated the case in 2023 and imposed a mammoth fine of €995,000 (€5,000 fine per property) as stipulated by Law 4446/2016, which was in effect at the time (new legislation has made the fines even stricter).

The businessman identified by the investigation claimed that he was not the owner of the properties and that the specific properties are not even mentioned in the fine imposition document. He claims to be active in the field of client finding and real estate brokerage services. At the same time, he appealed to the Administrative Court of Appeal of Athens against the fine, which, however, ruled that it was not competent and referred the case to the Council of State. An appeal was also made to the Dispute Resolution Directorate of AADE, where the businessman argued that the owners of the properties are responsible. However, the Dispute Resolution Directorate located the company’s headquarters, cross-checked bank transfers, rejected the argument that the individual owners were responsible, characterized the businessman as a sub-lessor, and upheld the €995,000 fine.

In his appeal, the businessman states that “since the owners of the properties in question had not submitted a Property Lease Information Statement, declaring him as the manager, according to the provisions of paragraph 4 of article 111 of Law 4446/2016, they themselves are the managers of the properties.” In other words, he claims that the “managers” of the 199 properties are their owners, who have proceeded with the issuance of the relevant Property Registration Numbers (AMA) and are responsible for further actions based on the legislation in force. To substantiate his claim, he provided the authorities with the names of the alleged owners/managers of the properties and their Property Registration Numbers (AMA).

The investigation conducted by the AADE’s Audit Directorate revealed that the appellant was subletting 199 properties (luxury accommodations in Mykonos), through short-term rentals within the framework of the sharing economy, in September 2022. Specifically, he was advertising the properties on a website without listing the registration number in the Short-Term Accommodation Property Registry. On the same website, it was possible to book the property and make payments through bank accounts in Belgium and the United Kingdom, as well as through wire transfers.

Source: GCT–Bill Kouras