New rules for short-term rentals in Florence: Mayor Sara Funaro, together with the Councillor for Economic Development and Tourism, Jacopo Vicini, has presented the new regulations for tourist lets. The 2025 legislation introduces several changes, including a ban on renting out apartments smaller than 28 square metres, and fines ranging from €1,000 to €10,000 for non-compliant operators.
What’s new in the regulations
The new rules, which, following approval by the City Executive, will need to be passed by the City Council, include:
Behavioural standards
Each property used for short-term tourist lets must provide multilingual instructions for waste sorting, along with the necessary bags and equipment for correct disposal. A guide must also be available for guests outlining expectations around maintaining peace and quiet, keeping stairways, lifts, and entrance halls clean and tidy, the ban on pouring pollutants into drains, the correct use of public transport, parking and the restricted traffic zone (ZTL), as well as general good behaviour guidelines “for a respectful and responsible experience of the city”.
Safety standards
Properties must be equipped with functioning detectors for combustible gases and carbon monoxide, as well as fire extinguishers located in accessible and visible positions, particularly near entrances, high-risk areas, and installed at least every 200 square metres.
Minimum requirements for accommodation
Accommodation used for short-term tourist lets must comply with the sizing parameters set out in the current Building Regulations and meet the minimum space requirements prescribed by hygiene and health legislation. As such, the minimum room size is 9 square metres for a single occupancy and 14 square metres for a double occupancy. The minimum surface area for a habitable kitchen is 9 square metres, while a separate cooking area distinct from the living room must be between 4 and 9 square metres. Bathrooms must have a minimum area of 2.5 square metres (with a minimum width of 1.2 metres). The minimum internal height and light and air requirements must comply with local building and health regulations.
Stronger enforcement
A dedicated Municipal Police task force will be set up to ensure compliance with the new rules for short-term tourist rentals. Fines for breaches of Article 6 (restrictions on properties used for short-term tourist lets) and Article 7 (requirements and quality standards for short-term tourist lets) will range from €1,000 to €10,000.
Short-term rentals in Florence: what’s changing
“There are three main pillars of the action we are taking,” explained Mayor Sara Funaro:
- “The regulations on short-term tourist lets, which we will approve in the City Council, setting out a series of criteria and limits that must be respected to carry out short-term rental activities, while reaffirming the ban within the UNESCO area;
- A dedicated task force for inspections to ensure that existing activities are lawful and meet specific requirements;
- An agreement with the University of Rome La Sapienza to carry out an in-depth study of the city, focusing on the homogeneous zones both inside and outside the UNESCO area, to determine where intervention is necessary.”