An update regarding the automatic rent refunds that were paid into the accounts of beneficiaries was issued by the Ministry of National Economy and Finance and the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (IAPR). According to their announcement, the automatic rent refunds paid to beneficiaries were based on the amounts declared by tenants themselves in their 2025 tax returns for the 2024 tax year. In some cases, beneficiaries received smaller amounts because the annual rent amount had been declared incorrectly or incompletely by the tenant.
It should be noted that the financial assistance is derived from the declared annual rent for 2024 in form E1, whether it concerns the main residence (codes 811–816) or children’s student accommodation (codes 817–822). It is reminded that the assistance concerns only amounts that have been declared as actually paid and are confirmed through cross-referencing with electronic lease registry data.
Rent refund: Amended declarations and payments
As stated, because the measure was implemented for the first time, citizens had been given the opportunity to correct their data until September 30th. However, the process revealed cases where citizens did not correct their erroneous declarations. Thus, a second correction opportunity is now being given through submission of an amended E1 declaration until December 30th, 2025. After the required cross-checks, the additional amount they are entitled to will be paid to beneficiaries.
Amended declarations submitted by December 12th will result in payment by December 30th, while those submitted by December 30th will be paid by January 15th, 2026. Additionally, beneficiaries who have not registered an IBAN with the IAPR must do so immediately to complete the payment. The ministry emphasizes that assistance cannot be given for rents that have not been declared and that accurate reporting of actual rent expenses is a basic prerequisite for proper implementation of the measure and safeguarding citizens’ interests.
Kyriakos Pierrakakis: Second chance until December 30th for rent refund
As explained in his statement to ERT, Minister of National Economy and Finance Kyriakos Pierrakakis said that tenants who saw reduced or incorrect rent refunds can correct the problem directly in their E1 form until December 30th. Specifically, he said: “In the rent refund we followed a rule: Citizens received back 1/12 of what they declared in their E1 for the year 2024. There we must declare the annual and not the monthly amount and precisely because we understood and realized that many had made the mistake earlier to declare the monthly amount, we gave until 30/09 the opportunity to every citizen to make a correction to their E1.
In recent hours, however, we see that there are still fellow citizens who have not made this correction. Precisely for this reason the IAPR will give an extension, will give a second chance, a second opportunity to every citizen until 30/12 to proceed with a corrective declaration and declare the amount of annual expenditure for 2024 in their E1.
This is, moreover, the second reason for which we proceeded with the measure of returning one month’s rent: So that all of us declare the real amounts we spend on rent. The main reason of course is supporting society, supporting every family. And precisely for this reason we all need to declare the real amounts”.
Rent refund: How the assistance is calculated – What you need to know
The rent refund is calculated as 1/12 of the annual rent expense that has been declared in the tenant’s tax return (E1) for the 2024 tax year, i.e., in the declaration submitted in 2025.
There are maximum refund limits:
- €800 for a tenant without children
- €850 with one child
- €900 with two children
- and +€50 for each additional child.
The ceiling is activated only if the declared annual rent exceeds these amounts, otherwise 1/12 of the actual expense applies. It is noted that in case of student accommodation, an additional amount up to €800 per student residence is taken.
Complete data cross-referencing
Tenant declarations are cross-referenced:
- with the electronic lease registry, and
- with the landlord’s tax return.
In case the amount in the tenant’s E1 declaration is greater than both what exists in the electronic lease registry and what exists in the landlord’s declaration, the greater amount between the electronic lease registry and the landlord’s declaration is taken into account, i.e., the most favorable solution for the tenant.
In any case, the assistance amount cannot exceed 1/12 of the amount declared by the tenant in the E1 tax return. It is noted that in the E1 form, annual expenses paid by the tenant are declared.
Small percentage of tenants received low amounts (€20–30)
Based on payment data, the majority of beneficiaries (78.5%) received assistance above €100 and reached up to €1,500. However, there was a percentage of 3.9% of tenants who received small assistance up to €30 and 17.6% who received assistance between €30 and €100.
A significant number of those who received small assistance either shared the rent with other contracting parties in the lease, or had rented accommodation for only a few months in 2024, so 1/12 of the annual expense corresponded to that amount.
For example, a taxpayer rented an apartment from September 1st, 2024, with monthly rent of €200. Therefore their annual expense was for only 4 months, i.e., €800 and the assistance due as 1/12 of the annual expense amounts to €67.
Extreme cases of declared amounts
There were also extreme cases with very small declared rents. The following are indicative examples where extremely small amounts were declared both in E1 and in the electronic lease registry:
- Aigaleo: 88 sq.m. Declared monthly rent: €10
- Ampelokipoi Thessaloniki: 66 sq.m. Declared monthly rent: €10
- Galatsi: 62 sq.m. Declared monthly rent: €25
- Ilion: 75 sq.m. Declared monthly rent: €20
- Agios Dimitrios: 30 sq.m. Declared monthly rent: €10
- Ilioupoli: 133 sq.m. Declared monthly rent: €20
- Chalandri: 119 sq.m. Declared monthly rent: €30
- Nea Kydonia (Chania): 107 sq.m. Declared monthly rent: €5
- Peristeri: 111 sq.m. Declared monthly rent: €10
Where citizens can turn
From Tuesday, December 2nd, beneficiaries can call 1521 of the IAPR for clarifications. Citizens who believe they have submitted incorrect information in the E1 declaration can submit an amendment immediately to be included in the next payments.
The refund is paid automatically to the IBAN declared to the IAPR, without requiring an application. Also, beneficiaries who had not declared an IBAN can do so immediately for supplementary payments to be made.
Special cases – Submission of supporting documents until December 31st: Additionally, as provided by article 8 of A 1132/2025, in special cases submission of supporting documents is allowed through the “My Requests” application on the myAADE platform, until December 31st of the payment year, to complete the assistance.
