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STORY: The surging cost of rent and a shortage of housing in cities such as Athens has prompted the government of Greece to crack down on Airbnb-style rentals.

It's part of new 2.4 billion euro plan that includes offering tax breaks to landlords who convert short-term rentals into long-term ones and increase the housing stock for permanent residents.

At a news conference on Friday (September 13) Greece's minister for social cohesion and family affairs said the country had joined others where a housing shortage was "pushing families unbearably."

Many here welcomed the pushback against short-term rentals amid economic frustrations. Graffiti on this wall reads in Greek, "Airbnb everywhere, neighborhoods nowhere."

This one, stenciled in English, reads, "Live the real Greek experience, 500 euro salary, 400 euro rent, Airbnb raises the rents."

Nektarios Kordis is a 60-year-old teacher. He told Reuters a teacher earning 776 euros was paying 500-600 euros in rent in rural areas. He said, "clearly, they can't survive."

The head of public policy for Airbnb in Southern Europe said in a press release on Friday that the company was ready to work with the Greek government on "targeted and proportionate solutions".

Similarly to other European countries, low wages, property shortage, short-term holiday rentals and high inflation have fueled a housing crisis in Greece.

Low-income earners, young couples and students have been hit hard.

Greece has spent 2.2 billion euros so far to subsidize low-interest loans for young people seeking to buy homes, and earmarked an additional 2 billion euros to extend the plan to couples up to 50 years old.