Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis spoke about his newly-announced €1 billion support package during a visit to the Ministry of Social Cohesion and Family on Wednesday, stating “Affordable housing is a right for everyone and an obligation of the State.”

The hefty benefits program is aimed at alleviating the housing crisis and supporting vulnerable groups, including low-income pensioners and the uninsured elderly. The measures follow Greece’s improved fiscal performance in 2024, including a primary surplus of 4.8% of GDP.

“A coherent housing policy is our central priority,” stated Mitsotakis. “When we can exceed our goals, our government’s first concern is to take care of our fellow citizens who are in a difficult situation.” 

The announcement on Tuesday drew immediate criticism from opposition party PASOK, which released a statement attacking the government’s approach, “The measures announced by the Prime Minister cannot address the government’s unjust economic policy that has been implemented for the last six years. According to recent data from ELSTAT, 19.6% of the Greek people are at risk of poverty, while the corresponding percentage in 2019 was 17.9%,” wrote the party.

PASOK attributed the government’s celebrated fiscal surplus to regressive means, stating: “The overperformance in the surplus is due to the tax bleeding of the middle classes and the most vulnerable, as well as the impact of inflation that inflates revenues from indirect taxes and especially VAT.”

SYRIZA, and the Communist party (KKE) also came out with strongly-worded statements against the measures, dismissing them as “communication tricks.” 

Mitsotakis maintained that the rent refund is only one part of a wider housing strategy that includes restrictions on short-term rentals in saturated areas, the “I Renovate – I Rent” Program to subsidize rent and renovations, and tax exemptions for energy renovations

According to the Bank of Greece, while housing prices rose by 13.9% in 2023 and 8.7% in 2024, disposable income lagged behind, increasing by just 8.1% and 5.6%, respectively.

Rental supply is limited, and the asking price for rents has increased by over 50% in the last five years. The prevalence of short-term rentals, especially in central Athens, and thousands of properties under bank and servicer control contribute to the scarcity.

Greek households face the highest housing cost burden in the EU. On average, 35.2% of disposable income goes to rent, mortgage payments, and utilities, compared to the EU average of 19.7%.

Greece also has the highest percentage of its population burdened by excessive housing costs in the EU. In urban centers, this figure reaches 31%, compared to the EU average of 10%. For renters, the proportion approaches 80%.