Affordable housing

The government has rejected suggestions from agencies for planners on leasing days per year and is turning to temporary – mild – measures for “saturated” urban centers.

The government is mulling measures to address a serious shortage of affordable housing in Greece's cities, but also in popular tourism designations where professionals like teachers and doctors are being squeezed out by skyrocketing rents.

The housing issue is high on the government’s agenda, as it is one of the burning issues in the daily lives of citizens.

Police conducted a raid on an anarchist squat located within the Aristotle University campus in northern Greece in the early hours of Monday.

The evacuation of the self-proclaimed "Self-managed Canteen of the Medical School" took place in the presence of a judicial officer. No individuals were present at the site during the police intervention, and various items were seized.

The Turkish government has announced the removal of the "25 percent increase limit" on housing rents, effective on July 1.

The cap, which has been in place for the past two years to protect residential tenants amidst ongoing high inflation, limited the annual rent increase to 25 percent.

The first tender that will allow private companies to use state-owned real estate for construction in exchange for building social housing alongside commercial properties, will take place before the end of the year, Economy and Finance Minister Kostis Hatzidakis has said.

A painful aspect of the social problem of housing in Greece is accommodation for students, the cost of which, especially in large cities and tourist destinations, is influencing the academic choices of prospective students.

Türkiye has recorded the highest annual increase in rent among European Union members and EU candidate countries, according to data from Eurostat.

Between May 2023 and May 2024, rents in Türkiye surged by 125.1 percent. Hungary came second with an annual increase of 12.8 percent in rent prices.

More than 96,000 disputes between landlords and tenants were settled through the mandatory mediation scheme, data from the Justice Ministry have shown.

Mandatory mediation for rentals was introduced in September last year. Over the past 9 months, mediators have received a total of 191,276 disputes over rents and managed to resolve 96,461 cases.

Greek police reclaimed a municipal building on Strefi Hill, central Athens, from illegal squatters on Thursday as part of continuing efforts to evict individuals who systematically appropriate abandoned buildings and residences.

Officers found and confiscated two helmets and banners, and 174.35 euros, which will be sent to the Deposit and Loans Fund.