Greece is launching a new €480 million housing renovation program, set to go live in the coming days via a dedicated online platform. The initiative aims to bring thousands of long-vacant homes back into use—properties left empty due to severe deterioration and damage, often because owners lack the financial means to carry out essential repairs and upgrades.
A Scale-Up From Previous Efforts
This program is nearly ten times larger than its predecessor, the €50 million ‘I Renovate – I Rent’ scheme. Beyond offering substantial liquidity to owners of aging or vacant homes, it introduces a key condition: renovated properties must either be occupied by the owner or rented out under specific terms.
Flexible Use, Clear Obligations
For example, someone who inherited an old, uninhabitable house—but lacks funds to renovate it—can now access support to make it livable. Alternatively, they may choose to rent it out as an investment: for a minimum of five years, with rent capped for at least the first three years.
According to Joint Ministerial Decision No. 86272—issued by the Ministries of Finance, Environment & Energy, and Social Cohesion & Family—the program also allows flexibility in how the renovated property is used. An owner who initially moves in can later switch to long-term rental (for five years) without having to repay the subsidy. Renovations are also permitted for homes already occupied but outdated—no longer meeting modern housing standards.
However, two uses are explicitly prohibited: selling the property within five years of renovation, or listing it on short-term rental platforms (e.g., vacation rentals).
Broader Market Impact
The goal extends beyond increasing rental supply. It’s also about raising quality standards across the rental market—many currently available units haven’t been meaningfully updated in decades. Market stakeholders expect that newly renovated, higher-standard homes entering the market will exert upward pressure on rents for older, unrenovated properties.
The program also seeks to address a major investment gap created during Greece’s economic crisis, when widespread household liquidity shortages halted virtually all maintenance, repair, and upgrading of the country’s housing stock. A recent National Bank of Greece study on the housing crisis estimated that around 250,000 homes nationwide became effectively unusable.