Municipal Market of Chania: 59 of the 61 shops found tenants

Approximately 20 of the total 61 shops at the new Municipal Market of Chania had signed lease agreements by Friday, September 25, 2026, according to data presented on the progress of the procedure. The deadline for signing the remaining agreements expires on Wednesday, September 30, 2026. Of the total 61 shops in the market, 59 have already been assigned to specific shopkeepers, while two spaces, a cheese shop and a charcuterie, remain without a tenant and will proceed to a new auction, as no interested shopkeeper has been found so far for these two spaces.

The monthly rents resulting from the process show a wide range, ranging from 680 euros for a butcher shop of 22 square meters to 4,500 euros for a traditional products shop of 21 square meters, a difference that reflects both the location and the subject matter of each shop within the building. The agreements being signed have a duration of nine years, with the monthly rent remaining fixed throughout 2027. From 2028 onwards, rent increases will follow an indexation mechanism on an annual basis. Each agreement, after signing and necessary verification, is posted on Diavgeia, so that the procedure is fully transparent.

The completion of the signatures is part of the final phase of preparation for the market, as the renovation works of the building are in the final stages. For Chania, the reopening of the Municipal Market is an important development for the city’s commercial center, as it is expected to bring consumer and visitor traffic back to the area around the building, with indirect effects on the local market and neighboring shops. The issue of the market’s operation and sustainability concerns Crete more broadly, as similar municipal market renovation projects serve as a point of reference for other cities on the island. The Mayor of Chania, Panagiotis Simandirakis, left open the possibility of revising the method for determining future increases, stating that “the Municipal Council will reconsider the method for determining rent increases depending on how the Municipal Market will operate”.

The September 30, 2026 deadline is expected to provide an extension so that signatures are completed by the remaining shopkeepers to whom a shop has already been awarded. At the same time, a new auction is expected to be announced for the two shops that remain without a tenant, so that these spaces are also filled before the market starts operating. The opening of the Municipal Market of Chania has been scheduled for December 4, 2026, a date that serves as a milestone for the completion of both the renovation works and the shop leasing process.