Tourist rental restrictions in Florence could extend far beyond UNESCO area

Florence’s city government has proposed extending restrictions on new short-term tourist rentals to several neighbourhoods outside the UNESCO-listed historic centre, arguing that the measure is necessary to protect long-term housing and preserve residential life across the city. 

The proposal, approved by the municipal executive on 26 May, would expand the current rules to areas including Campo di Marte, San Jacopino, Gavinana, Statuto, Rifredi, Libertà, Savonarola and parts of the Oltrarno. The measure must still be reviewed by a city council commission before a final debate and vote in the Florence City Council. 

Expansion beyond the UNESCO area

Florence introduced its “Regulation for Short-Term Tourist Rentals” in May 2025, becoming one of the first Italian cities to adopt local restrictions specifically targeting the growth of holiday lets. The existing rules apply to the UNESCO area in the historic centre, where the opening of new short-term rentals has largely been frozen. 

According to the municipality, the proposed expansion follows a year-long monitoring project carried out by the MEMOTEF department of Rome’s Sapienza University in collaboration with Florence’s statistics office. Researchers examined the spread of tourist rentals across different urban areas and assessed their impact on housing availability and neighbourhood balance. 

Under the new proposal, restrictions would apply across the entire “Zone A” identified in Florence’s urban planning framework, with the exception of smaller historic centres classified as subzone A2. City officials said the first ring of neighbourhoods surrounding the centre is experiencing increasing pressure from tourist rentals, partly because activity has shifted outside the already regulated UNESCO zone. 

Concerns over housing pressure

The study cited by the municipality found that the historic centre continues to face extremely high tourism pressure, while surrounding districts recorded high growth rates and an elevated risk of further expansion if limits remain confined to the central area. Some neighbourhoods, including Pignoncino and San Frediano, reportedly saw growth rates above 90% in recent years. 

Mayor Sara Funaro said the administration considers housing affordability and residential stability central issues for Florence. She said the city is trying to balance the economic importance of tourism with the daily needs of residents, while also calling for national legislation on short-term rentals. 

Tourism councillor Jacopo Vicini said the municipality’s focus remains on the historic centre and the surrounding late 19th- and early 20th-century districts, which the administration considers particularly vulnerable to tourism-related pressure. 

Tourism and rental figures

The municipality also released updated figures on tourism and rental activity in Florence. According to official regional tourism data, the city recorded more than 4.7 million arrivals and 11.5 million overnight stays in 2025, increases of 10.2% and 11.1% respectively compared with the previous year. 

Short-term rentals remain the largest accommodation category in Florence, with 16,906 registered properties accounting for about 56% of total available beds. Monitoring data from Inside Airbnb indicated that online listings rose from 10,867 in 2023 to 12,211 in 2026, with roughly 85% located in the historic centre. 

The city also reported a sharp rise in authorisation requests under the existing regulation. In the first five months of 2026, Florence issued 270 permits for short-term tourist rentals, compared with 132 during the final seven months of 2025. Only eight of the 402 permits granted since the regulation came into force were located inside the UNESCO area, and all involved properties that were already operating before the restrictions began.

(Image by Diego Bircher from Pixabay)

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