Florence Bans New Short-term Rentals in Historic Center
On June 1, the city of Florence announced an immediate ban on new short-term private rental contracts in the Renaissance city's historic center, in order to help bring full-time residents back to one of Italy's most popular tourist destinations.
Mayor Dario Nardella has said that too much tourism and too many short-term vacation rental properties have helped to cause a housing crisis and that his city had decided to make new local rules because the Italian government has not done enough.
The Italian government has a plan for short-term rental homes that so far allows only Venice to limit the number of days a property can be rented at 120, but Nardella said this was not effective and that "The housing emergency has become a national emergency."
Because there is not enough affordable housing, students in Italian cities, including Florence, Milan and Rome, have been protesting by camping out in tents. At the same time, art cities like Florence and Venice have seen available housing reduced by short-term rentals, defined as covering any period less than 30 days.
Nardella said the Florence government would not stop the 8,000 short-term private rentals already operating in the city's historic center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that includes the Uffizi galleries and the Ponte Vecchio bridge. The city as a whole has about 11,000 short-term private rentals.
Instead, Florence plans to reduce taxes for property owners who change their places back to long-term rentals. Under the plan, property taxes on a second home would be canceled for up to three years, which could add up to thousands of dollars in savings.
