Apartment rental announcements it looks like…a typo that can be caught on the internet these days, a sign of the excesses of some landlords, as well as a general lack of enough real estate to both rent and buy to “rationalize” asking prices as well. “Apartment in a new building in Kallithea, suite, 5th floor, 63 sq.m. The price is 3,000 euros per month,” reads the ad, which makes many users wonder if this is a mistake on the part of the real estate agency. Instead of the unrealistic amount of 47.5 euros / sq.m, which was ten times higher than the price that existed a few years ago, they are asking for a specific property.

As it seems, this is not a mistake, since in Kallithea (!), one of the most densely populated areas of Attica, a studio of 42 sq.m is rented for 3000 euros / month.

This is a property located in a complex of furnished apartments, which are used mainly for short-term rentals. It is also given through a long term lease. It includes cleaning services and change of bed linen and towels once a week, as well as the cost of electricity, water, heating and internet. But the hotel tax is not included!

IN Cell, roof terrace (metal structure) for rent instead of 300 euros! Accordingly, at Nea Smyrni apartment on the ground floor, 63 sq.m., asking for rent 650 euros, and in Paleo Faliro, for the same money you can choose a one-room apartment of 27 sq.m. Similar property in Chania, Crete it rents for 550 euros, or 18.33 euros/sqm, and in Patras you will find a single-family house of 200 sqm, but in demolition condition, which can be rented out for 500 euros!

Avoiding defaulters

On the other hand, there are also some cases where the owners try in a special way to avoid any insolvency of the tenants.

For example, an owner renting a studio of 26 sq.m. for 550 euros in the area Contourioticsbehind the Concert Hall metro station, advertises a strong police force (due to the presence of the US embassy on site).

The owner of an apartment in Pagrati is demanding that the rent be paid in a lump sum for the entire year, while another is demanding a declared income of 24,000 euros.

Since the apartment also provides security, the owner makes it clear that the potential tenant must have a declared income of at least 24,000 euros per year.

Another owner of the apartment 76 sq.m. V Pagrati, asks for 500 euros for his property. Agree, this is a reasonable price. The problem is that he wants to be paid once a year at a time, i.e. each time for 6000 euros!

With the first payment, of course, before the tenant moves into the apartment. Considering that 75% of the population has less than 1,000 euros in the bank, the owner in question significantly limits the potential interest in their property. This is clearly an attempt to enforce the collection of rent, a sign that this person may have lost income from previous tenants.

Another case of a reasonable rent, but an unreasonable demand from the owner, can be seen in the advertisement for the sale of a 40 sq.m apartment built in 1989 in Alimos, close to the beach. This is an apartment on the ground floor, which is rented for 430 euros. However, the owner states that he prefers “serious government retirees”. How exactly to determine the severity or other condition of a pensioner is checked …

The need for guarantors

Some landlords who have experienced tenant debt problems in the past have now started asking for a guarantor. In short, the tenant must also have the assistance of a guarantor (such as a relative) who undertakes to cover any debts and losses that the tenant cannot repay on their own. In fact, just like the tenant, the guarantor must also be able to prove their financial standing.

It should be noted that the need for a guarantor is a standard practice in many countries abroad, especially if the search for a tenant was carried out by a company on behalf of a private owner. Indeed, recently there have been reports in the international press about the need to add a guarantor for the presence of real estate to the contract. Otherwise, the application of the interested tenant will not work …

Reasons for the rent hike

The lack of supply in relation to demand, which has become entrenched in recent years, is the main “culprit” of the phenomena of excessive demands on the part of the owners. In recent years, almost 85-90% of households looking for housing have turned exclusively to renting, as they do not have the opportunity to buy. That is, there is a structural change in the behavior of the consumer public, which has turned from potential owners into tenants. This increase in demand has not been met by supply and the market is “missing” about 40,000–50,000 properties that have been forfeited due to NPLs. Many apartments remain vacant as their owners have had negative previous rental experiences, as well as many instances of non-acceptance of inheritances. It was the combination of increased demand and limited supply that caused the “explosion” of rental prices.

Letters of recommendation, proof of income and debts of the tenant

Similar or even worse situations are observed abroad, since the housing problem has now become international and affects most of the major cities of Europe. The chronic lack of supply and the widespread penetration of investment groups into the housing market in order to exploit real estate by renting out creates a “suffocating” pressure on a significant part of households.

A typical example is the city of Amsterdam, where, in addition to the above, the spread of short-term rentals also has a role to play in raising rents. In a city that hasn’t expanded in decades, it makes sense to see significant “spelling errors”. A quick glance at the ad reveals asking prices that will give us a heart attack. For example, a furnished apartment of 100 sq.m. rented for 4 950 euros, and another 52 sq.m. it is rented instead of 2800 euros.

In the case of a Dutch city, but in general in Netherlands, there is also affordable social housing, with clearly cheaper rents, but there is also a huge queue, an example of the scale of the problem. A year ago, the municipality of the city of Amsterdam began to take measures to limit investment activity in the housing market, that is, the acquisition of apartments by companies for the sole purpose of renting them out. Those who buy property must live in it for at least four years before they can rent it out to a third party. It is estimated that about 30% of apartments in the city are owned by investors. Of these, a significant percentage is used exclusively through digital short-term rental platforms. Accordingly, of the approximately eight million homes in the Netherlands, nearly 700,000 are rented out to investors.

In the UK, prospective tenants are scrutinized, with many asking £250 to view a property.

Greek living in England describes the phenomenon of competition between interested tenants and how this is used to increase the final rent. In particular, the broker determines the day when all interested persons can view the property for rent. Everyone enters in the order in which they came. The landlord then checks the tenant’s creditworthiness, their income, any debts, and of course, references (from their employer and previous landlords, for example). If the interested party is selected among others, the contracting process continues.

They pay to see

Otherwise, when London, the phenomenon of paying an amount of 250 pounds sterling (about 290 euros) as a guarantee on the part of the interested person began to be observed in order to obtain the “right” to see the property of interest to him. If he does not do this or does not come to an agreement on the amount of rent, then this amount is returned to him. In fact, this is an additional process of “filtering” residents. In fact, in a related case, although the interested party offered 190 euros more than the requested rent, in the end someone else offered even more.

These cases demonstrate the scale of the problem and the need for action, because even if someone is paid significantly more money than Greece, in practice the cost of living does not show very big differences, since the base rates are correspondingly high. expenses such as eg. rent.