Florence to ban holiday rentals in UNESCO areas

The Mayor of Florence has announced that the city intends to prohibit short-stay rentals in its UNESCO areas, with the objective of safeguarding local residency in those regions.

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Editorial Team

20 June 2023, 12:30

On May 31st 2023, Florence declared its intention to ban new private holiday rentals, including Airbnb listings, within the historical centre of the Renaissance city. The mayor, Dario Nardella, clarified that this regulation would not apply retroactively. Short-term rentals are defined as any stays lasting less than 30 days. Let's find out more about the plans in Florence to ban holiday rentals in UNESCO areas.

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Florence currently has approximately 11,000 short-term rental properties. However, Nardella emphasized that the ban would not target the 8,000 properties that already exist in the UNESCO historic centre of the city. According to the mayor, the aim of this holiday rental ban is to prevent Airbnb and similar holiday rental companies from depleting the historical centre of the birthplace of the Renaissance. By doing this, the mayor stated that he also intends to preserve local residency within these areas at affordable prices. Due to its popularity as a tourist destination, Florence has experienced a reduction in its housing stock caused by short-term rentals.

Nardella stated, "If we don't take politically disruptive actions, no progress will be made." He made this remark in reference to the central government's proposed bill, which would only grant Venice the ability to limit property rentals to 120 days.

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Italy's central government is also actively working on a bill to introduce regulations and restrictions on the short-term holiday rental market across Italy, according to Ansa reports. The objective of this bill is to ensure that tourism does not exceed the local accommodation capacity in an excessive manner. It also aims to protect the residential nature of city centres and prevent locals from being priced out of the housing market, as stated in a draft of the bill.

Under this proposed legislation, owners of properties used for short-term rentals would be required to obtain a special CIN identification code. Failure to comply with this requirement could result in fines of up to €5,000 for property owners. Additionally, the bill would establish a minimum rental period of at least two nights in major cities, except in cases where families consist of three children and at least one parent.

Tourism Minister Daniela Santanche' has committed to presenting the bill by the end of June 2023.