Florence's municipal short-term-rental regulation, which requires hosts to identify guests in person before letting a property in the historic centre, survived its first judicial test on 30 June 2026 when the Tuscany regional Administrative Court (TAR Toscana) rejected an appeal by rental operator Valerix srl. The ruling confirmed hosts may satisfy the identification duty remotely, by video call with visual verification of the guest's identity documents, but that fully automated, unattended check-in via key-box or smart lock, with no visual contact, remains banned.

The regulation builds on Florence's earlier and more sweeping measure: a ban on new short-term-rental licences in its UNESCO-listed historic centre, in force since May 2025, brought in after residents of the historic core fell from more than 100,000 in the 1970s to fewer than 40,000. Florence's key-box restriction was echoed nationally when Italy's 2026 Budget Law codified a key-box ban for designated historic centres including Milan, and Florence's own historic-centre STR ban was folded into Italy's national SDEP reporting feed on 20 May 2026 .

As a regional Administrative Court ruling, the TAR Toscana decision sets a Tuscan legal precedent rather than a binding national one, but it is being watched closely as one of the first judicial tests of whether Italian historic-centre short-let restrictions survive challenge. It draws a workable line between remote identity verification, which is lawful, and fully unattended access, which is not.

Florence (Firenze) is the capital of the Tuscany region and one of the birthplaces of the Italian Renaissance, home to the Uffizi Gallery, the Duomo, Ponte Vecchio and Palazzo Vecchio. Its historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city has approximately 370,000 residents and receives around 15 million tourists a year, one of the highest visitor-to-resident ratios of any major European city.

Tourism, together with fashion, leather goods and cultural heritage, anchors Florence's economy. As Tuscany's regional capital and seat of its own municipal government, Florence has become a prominent test case, both in Italy and across the EU, for whether historic-centre tourism-management measures can survive legal and market pressure.

Common Questions

Recently resolved

How does Florence's Airbnb ban interact with the new EU SDEP data system?

Florence's UNESCO historic-centre ban on new tourist-rental registrations, in force since May 2025, is being absorbed into Italy's SDEP feed as of 20 May 2026. Platforms must now report Florence listings against a dataset that formally excludes new registrations in the historic core.Source: Italy STR Regulation / Comune di Firenze

What cities in Italy have banned key-boxes on Airbnb properties?

Florence, Milan and other Italian historic-centre municipalities banned external key-boxes on STR properties. Italy's 2026 Budget Law codified these local bans nationally for designated historic centres.Source: Italy 2026 Budget Law

Why did Florence ban short-term rentals in its historic centre?

Florence cited severe resident displacement: the historic centre's population fell from over 100,000 in the 1970s to fewer than 40,000 by 2025. The city also invoked its UNESCO World Heritage status as justification for the heritage-protection measure.Source: Comune di Firenze

Is Airbnb banned in Florence city centre?

Florence banned new short-term rental licences in its UNESCO-listed historic centre from May 2025. Existing licensed properties can continue operating; no new licences are being issued in the historic core.Source: Comune di Firenze

Can Florence Airbnb hosts check guests in remotely?

Yes. TAR Toscana ruled on 30 June 2026 that hosts may satisfy Florence's guest-identification duty by video call with visual verification of ID documents, but fully automated unattended check-in via key-box or smart lock remains banned.Source: TAR Toscana

How the World Sees Them

Tourism industry

Hotels and guided tour operators support the ban, which they argue levels the playing field. Short-term rental operators and property owners contest it as an unlawful restriction on private property rights.

Florence residents

Long-term residents and community groups strongly support the STR ban, linking it directly to reversing the historic centre's population collapse and restoring everyday urban life.

European Commission

Brussels is monitoring Florence's ban for compatibility with the EU Services Directive, which restricts member-state limitations on service providers; no formal challenge has been issued.