The provision that removes the 5% tax discount from landlords who do not collect rent exclusively through bank accounts is proceeding to a parliamentary vote without changes. The request from POMIDA (Panhellenic Federation of Property Owners) to reconsider the regulation before implementation, in order to avoid turning a tax compliance measure into a trap for landlords, appears to have fallen on deaf ears.
What the rent regulation provides
The new regulation stipulates that from January 1, 2026, all residential rents must be paid mandatorily through bank accounts. Otherwise, even if the landlord has actually collected the rent, penalties are activated for both the landlord and the tenant. Specifically:
● The landlord loses the 5% tax discount linked to property depreciation, as related expenses are no longer considered deductible.
● The tenant is excluded from any benefit, state aid, or subsidy related to the specific lease, such as housing allowance or the annual rent refund that reaches up to 800 euros for the main residence, with an additional 50 euros per protected member and up to 800 euros per student.
● If the tenant is a professional and does not pay rent electronically, the expense will not be recognized as deductible from business expenses.
POMIDA’s reaction to the rent regulation
Moreover, the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) will cross-reference bank transactions to determine whether all monthly rents have been paid through the bank and directly from the tenant to the landlord. If even one discrepancy is found, the tax discount is lost. According to POMIDA, this is a measure that penalizes property owners even when they are not responsible for non-compliance with the obligation. As it points out, the new provision “in the name of transparency” leads to indirect taxation for conditions that landlords cannot control, such as:
● The tenant pays rent through the bank but with delays, meaning one or two months late. For example, November and December rents are paid in January and February of the following year. In this case, AADE’s information system does not recognize payments made in the first two months of the year and shows that two rents are missing. As a result, the landlord loses the discount.
● In many cases, payment is made to a third party, such as a lawyer, administrator, or relative of the owner, when the latter lives in the provinces or abroad. Although the payment is valid and covers the agreed amount, AADE does not recognize a third party’s bank account as acceptable and therefore removes the discount.
