3OCT

Tuscan court won't pause Florence freeze

2 min read

13:31UTC

Tuscany's administrative court refused on 25 September to suspend Florence's freeze on new short lets in nine zones before a full hearing. Venice floated about €30 for entry in 2027.

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Key takeaway

Florence's nine-zone short-let freeze stays in force until a Tuscan court rules on the merits.

The Tuscan Regional Administrative Tribunal (TAR Toscana) declined on 25 September to suspend Florence's freeze on new short-let authorisations in nine zones outside the historic centre before a full hearing⁠¹. The city council adopted the zones in June. The court found that the applicants had described the risk of harm only in general terms; the merits of the challenge are still open, and existing authorised hosts stay under the old rules. In Venice, budget assessor Michele Zuin said a charge of about €30 could be the most practical option for entry on peak days from 2027⁠². Nothing has been approved; this year's trial cost day visitors €5 to €10.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

Florence's council stopped new tourist rentals in nine neighbourhoods outside its historic centre. Some people challenged the rule in the Tuscany administrative court and asked for it to be paused. The court said no. It said the people who complained had not explained their harm well enough. The full case will be heard later, so the rule is not yet confirmed as lawful. Venice, meanwhile, is thinking about charging day visitors about €30 on busy days from 2027.

Deep Analysis

Root Causes

The refusal turns on a procedural standard. The court found that the applicants had not shown the risk of harm. The court's wording puts the burden on applicants to name the loss.

The amendments closed new authorisations in nine named zones outside the UNESCO historic centre (Campo di Marte, San Jacopino, Gavinana and six others), took effect two weeks after the council vote, and left existing authorised operators under the old regime, which narrows who can claim a loss.

Venice's price rise follows its trial. The city's 2026 trial results are the evidence behind that step, and the assessor named March and September as candidate extra months.

What could happen next?

Consequence
Florence's nine-zone freeze stays in force while the court hears the merits.
Short term · Reported
Precedent
A court that asks for specific evidence of harm makes interim relief harder for host associations elsewhere.
Medium term · Suggested
Risk
Venice's figure is a floated idea, so the final charge and the added months could differ.
Medium term · Reported

Source Landscape

This story draws on neutral-leaning sources from Italy

Italy

Primary parallel: Venice priced entry at €5 for pre-booked visitors and €10 for same-day entry when it reactivated its day-tripper fee on 3 April 2026 for a 60-day window (ID:2538). Zuin's figure of about €30 would be three to six times those prices, with March and September under consideration as extra months.

Counter-parallel: France's Conseil constitutionnel, in decision 2026-915 DC of 14 August, upheld fast administrative expulsion of occupants who stay after a tourist-let contract ends but struck down the accompanying criminal provision (ID:5784). Courts there split a measure into parts, and Florence's judges may also treat parts of the amendments differently.

Immediate: existing authorised operators in the nine zones keep trading, and no new authorisations issue. A host who held a pending application loses the option until the merits hearing, with no date stated in the sources.

Structural: a charge near €30 on peak days would reprice a day trip to Venice for the families and tour groups the €5 and €10 fees barely touched. March and September, if added, extend the charged season into shoulder months.

Consensus view: The TAR Toscana judges treated the evidence of harm as too thin to justify interim relief. The applicants, an association and others, set out the risk of harm "in termini assolutamente generici", the court said, so the council's 4 June amendments stay in force while the merits are heard.

Counter-view: An interim refusal leaves the question of legality open. The same court rejected 19 appeals against the 2025 historic-centre regulation in judgment 925/2026 of 14 May, but each case turned on its own record, and the nine-zone amendments have not been tested on the merits.

Key tension: Whether the applicants can supply specific evidence of harm at the full hearing, since the court's reason for refusal was the lack of it.

Sources:ANSA·Milano Finanza

Mentions:Tuscan Regional Administrative Tribunal →Florence →Venice →Italy →Michele Zuin →France →San Jacopino →Conseil constitutionnel (France) →

First Reported In

Update #14 · Spain's Congress sinks its rental decrees

ANSA· 3 Oct 2026

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Different Perspectives

UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy

Nandy told MPs around 3 September that England's register of short lets will be fully operational by March 2027. Wales opened compulsory registration for every paid stay on 1 October, with a deadline of 31 March 2027.

Venice budget assessor Michele Zuin

Zuin told Il Gazzettino on 21 September that a charge of about €30 on peak days from 2027 would be the most concrete solution. He added that the city must set new rules together with government and Parliament.

Saudi Premium Residency Center

The Center added 31 services on 22 September, according to the newspaper Okaz. Primary holders now register employment contracts through the Qiwa platform, and no Saudi Press Agency release confirms the package.

Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis

Mitsotakis announced at the Thessaloniki International Fair on 5 September that new short-let registrations in central Athens and Thessaloniki stay suspended to 31 December 2027. No ministerial decision has been found, and golden-visa applications fell 39% from January to July.

Cape Town housing group Ndifuna Ukwazi

Ndifuna Ukwazi backs the city's draft by-law, which rates lets available over 183 nights a year as commercial from 1 July 2027. Finance mayco member Siseko Mbandezi said it ensures fairness in the commercial accommodation sector.

Klungkung Regency and KPK

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