Latest / STR Unpacked / Italy's short-term rental crackdown just entered a new phase.
Transcript
- Ben: Morning and welcome to your short term rental bulletin. Italy's short term rental crackdown just got a whole lot more complicated and it's not coming from Rome. Everybody's been watching Italy's national tax squeeze, higher flat rates of tax and VAT obligations from your third property. But the real action right now is happening at regional and city level. Tussin and he passed a law giving municipalities the power to restrict where short-term rentals can operate. Emilia and Romana followed and went further. Their new law means that if you want to rent short-term, your property has to formally change its urban planning classification. It's not a form you fill in. It's a structural administrative barrier that affects the property's value and marketability. And now it's spreading. Florence, Bologna, and Rome are all preparing new short-term rental regulations expected in the coming weeks. Bologna already moved before its own region did. Introducing a Pacific Urban Use Designation for short-term rental properties in 2025 with the historic centre firmly in the crosshairs. The Italian government has challenged both Tuscany and Emilia-Romana laws but that hasn't stopped the momentum. Cities are moving anyway and with the EU's own affordable housing regulation due before the end of this year, which will include measures for housing stressed areas, local authorities know the direction of travel. This isn't just a tax story anymore. Italy's short-term rental operators are facing a patchwork of regional laws, municipality zoning rules and national fiscal pressure all at once. If you operate in Italy and you're thinking about it, you need to be watching this very, very closely. Thank you for watching and I'll see you Monday.