Golden Visa property: guaranteed rent unpaid, buy-back refused

Who this page is for

Owners who bought a unit in Greece to obtain a Golden Visa residence permit, often through an agent in Türkiye, on the promise of a guaranteed rent, a buy-back at the purchase price, or both, and whose rent has stopped or whose buy-back request has been refused or left unanswered.

Warning signs we see in these files

• The rent or buy-back promise appears in a brochure, a private lease or a side agreement, but not in the notarial deed.
• The price paid is far above the objective value the tax office sets for the unit.
• The seller asks you to sign a new "management agreement", accept a lower rent or pay for works before rent resumes.
• Rent arrives late, under unusual descriptions, or from individuals rather than the company that signed the lease.
• The seller company changes its name, moves property to related companies, or a related company goes into liquidation.
• Repeated delay and no clear answer to written requests.

What can still be done

Each file is different and no outcome can be promised. Depending on the documents, the options usually include:

• A claim for the unpaid rent under the lease, with interest.
• Challenging transfers of assets made to defeat creditors, and asking the court to secure property while the case proceeds.
• Claims based on how the sale was presented to you.
• Claims against the persons behind the companies, where the law allows.
• Coordinated action in Türkiye against the agents, through trusted correspondent counsel in Istanbul.
• A criminal complaint, as a last resort.

Time matters. Some deadlines are short, and assets can move while owners wait.

Protect your residence permit first

Selling the unit, even back to the seller, can end the Golden Visa unless a qualifying replacement property is bought first. Take advice before any step. Do not sign anything the seller or its agents send you, including new agreements, waivers or powers of attorney, before we have reviewed it.

What to send us

• The notarial purchase deed and any preliminary agreement.
• The lease and its declarations in the Greek tax system (AADE).
• Bank proof of the purchase payments and of every rent payment received.
• Brochures, offers and messages from the agent, including a full export of the WhatsApp chat.
• Your residence permit.

Copies are enough at this stage.