August marks a significant turning point in housing policy, as two popular programs funded by European resources are set to close by the end of the month. The Home Renovation program and the “My Home II” subsidized loan scheme have attracted enormous interest from households and property owners alike, with their respective deadlines expiring at the end of August.
At a time when housing pressure remains intense, thousands of citizens are rushing either to secure renovation grants to make older properties habitable again, or to lock in preferential financing to purchase their own home. The data so far tells a compelling story: with just one month to go before the “My Home II” deadline, more than 15,000 home loans have already been approved, totaling over €1.8 billion in value. Budget absorption has reached 95%, a clear sign that the program is on track to exhaust its available resources well before the official deadline.
Activity around the new Home Renovation program has been equally intense. The scheme aims to unlock dormant housing stock and boost the overall supply of available homes.
By the end of July, applications for property enrollment had surpassed 150,000, while estimates suggest that the number of properties deemed eligible has already exceeded 77,000. Interest remains high — and for good reason. This is the first — and so far only — pilot program of its kind at a pan-European level, one that goes beyond funding energy efficiency upgrades like many previous schemes and instead covers broader renovation works such as flooring, kitchens, bathrooms, and painting.
Priority given to long-vacant properties
Particular emphasis has been placed on long-vacant properties. While applications for renovation grants covering occupied homes closed on July 31st, an extension through August has been granted exclusively for properties that have been closed and unused for years.
The measure aims to bring inactive and underutilized properties back into the market — whether for owner-occupancy or long-term rental.
For vacant properties, however, the framework is stricter: it includes a five-year commitment to make the property available exclusively for long-term rental, a rent freeze for three years, and a ban on short-term letting platforms such as Airbnb.
These restrictions are designed to increase the supply of rental housing. They also explain why, despite the attractive incentive of ESPA-funded grants reaching up to €36,000 per property — or up to 95% of renovation costs — combined with tax incentives and exemptions for properties being returned to the long-term rental market for the first time, only one in ten eligible properties was classified as a long-vacant home.
Eligibility criteria have since been broadened to bring more properties into the program: the minimum ownership or usufruct threshold for vacant properties has been reduced from 50% to 20%, and electricity consumption limits — originally used to verify that a property was genuinely inactive — have also been raised. Going forward, Eligibility Certificates will be issued through the anakainisi.gov.gr platform, exclusively for vacant properties, with a deadline of August 31, 2026.
“My Home II”: funding reaches its upper limit
As for the “My Home II” program, the deadline for already-approved beneficiaries to sign their loan agreements also falls on August 31st. Once these final signatures are completed, the overall approval and disbursement trajectory suggests that funding to eligible households will reach or exceed 98% of the total available budget.
Both programs reflect the government’s ambition to address the housing crisis not only by stimulating demand through subsidies, but also by activating the country’s untapped housing stock. It is worth noting that this particular measure was added to the Recovery and Resilience Fund retroactively, following a revision of the original program after 2023 — the year in which the housing crisis became a pressing issue across both Greece and Europe.
According to data compiled shortly before the Recovery and Resilience Facility deadline — which also expires on August 31st — nearly 99% of loans issued under the “My Home II” program went to households that, based on their most recent tax return, had declared annual incomes of up to €44,000. One in three beneficiaries reported income above €24,000, while only one in ten declared income below €12,000.
Government economic advisers believe this distribution reflects the program’s strong resonance with middle-income households, broadly defined as those earning between €2,000 and €3,650 per month.
