Last verified: October 2, 2026. I read every rule below in the law itself, the court ruling or the city’s own decision, or in Italy’s national press when the text wasn’t online. The listing numbers are my own count from the June 2026 Inside Airbnb snapshots of six cities. I re-check the rules every month.
Italy Airbnb rules made headlines in late 2024 with “Italy bans self check-in”, and plenty of travellers still think rentals are on the way out. They aren’t. In June 2026, Rome alone had 27,595 active listings, and almost every one showed a national registration code (Inside Airbnb, Rome, June 20, 2026 snapshot).
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What did change is your arrival. Since a Council of State ruling on November 21, 2025, someone has to check your face against your passport, in person or by live video. Keyboxes are banned on the street in Milan and in Florence’s historic centre. Florence has stopped new flats opening in its centre, and Rome and Naples have approved limits of their own.
This guide is for guests, not hosts. It covers what changed in the Airbnb rules in Italy, the seven checks I now make before I book a rental, and what each rule means when you’re standing at the door with a suitcase. For choosing between a hotel, a B&B and a flat in the first place, start with my guide to where to stay in Italy.
Key Takeaways
- Airbnb isn’t banned in Italy. Every rental needs a CIN code, shown on the listing.
- Since November 21, 2025, your ID must be checked against your face, in person or by live video (Council of State ruling 9101/2025).
- In Rome, 45.6% of active listings still advertised self check-in in June 2026 (Inside Airbnb). Ask how it works.
- Run the 7 checks below before you pay. City limits hit new listings, not your booking.
Table of Contents
What Changed in Italy’s Airbnb Rules, and When?
Italy Airbnb rules changed in four ways between November 2024 and September 2026: a national registration code, a stricter ID check at arrival, a higher tax for hosts, and city limits on new flats. The CIN code became compulsory on January 1, 2025, under article 13-ter of Decree-Law 145/2023. The rest came in stages, and one of them flipped twice.
The check-in story is the one that confused everyone. On November 18, 2024, the Interior Ministry told police that sending a passport photo and leaving a key in a box didn’t meet the law. A Rome court (TAR Lazio, ruling 10210/2025) annulled that circular on May 27, 2025, and self check-in was back. Then, on November 21, 2025, the Council of State overturned the court and put the circular back in force (Milano Finanza, November 2025).
So any article written between May and November 2025 tells you the opposite of today’s rule. That’s why I date everything here.
| Rule | Source | Applies to | What you’ll notice |
|---|---|---|---|
| CIN code on every listing and at the door | Decree-Law 145/2023, art. 13-ter | All short-term and tourist rentals | A code starting “IT” on the listing |
| ID checked against your face | TULPS art. 109, Council of State ruling 9101/2025 | Every kind of lodging | Someone meets you, or a live video call at the door |
| Guests registered with the police within 24 hours | TULPS art. 109 | Every kind of lodging | The host asks for your passport details |
| No keyboxes on public fixtures | City police rules in Florence (2025) and Milan (2026) | Rentals | No code-box pickup on a railing |
| Host tax 21% on one flat, 26% on a second, business from a third | Budget Law 2026 (Law 199/2025) | Hosts | Possibly higher prices; no direct change for you |
| Limits on new flats in the historic centres | Florence (in force 2025, extended 2026); Rome and Naples (approved 2026, no start date yet) | New listings and conversions | Fewer new listings; your booking stands |
The national framework hasn’t moved since January. In September 2026 the European Commission proposed letting cities cap short lets in “housing-stress” zones, and Italy’s government has said it opposes the idea (Il Post, September 2026). It’s a proposal, not a rule, so nothing changes for this winter’s bookings.
Check 1: Does the Listing Show a CIN Code?
Every short-term rental in Italy needs a CIN, the national identification code, on the listing and outside the building. A host without one faces a fine of €800 to €8,000, and one who has a code but doesn’t display it faces €500 to €5,000 (Decree-Law 145/2023, art. 13-ter). By May 2026, over 644,000 codes had been issued (Ministry of Tourism, via UfficioCommercio, May 2026).
The code looks like “IT” followed by six digits (the town’s ISTAT number), a letter and a string of characters. On Airbnb it sits in the listing’s description, usually near the bottom. I counted how many active listings show one in the June 2026 Inside Airbnb snapshots. Active means at least one review in the past 12 months. In Rome, 94.8% of 27,595 active listings showed a licence code, and 93.9% matched the CIN format. Naples was the outlier: 87.6% showed any code and 85.3% the CIN format.
Why should a guest care? Because the CIN is a quick first filter. A missing code is the first thing a careful host fixes, so a listing without one is a red flag. On a listing with no CIN, I don’t book. A scammer can copy a real code along with the photos, though, so check that the code on the plaque at the door matches the listing, and never pay outside the platform. My guide to rental scams and fake listings in Italy covers the other warning signs.
One caveat on the numbers. A listing can carry a code that’s been revoked, and the snapshot can’t tell. The national database behind the codes is built for hosts and councils, not guests, so treat the code as a first check, not a guarantee.
Check 2: Why Does My Host Need My Passport?
Because the law says so, for every guest, in every kind of lodging. Under article 109 of the 1931 public-security law (TULPS), any host must send each guest’s details to the police within 24 hours of arrival, or within 6 hours for stays of 24 hours or less (Normattiva, TULPS art. 109). Hotels have always done this at the front desk.
The data goes through a police portal called Alloggiati Web. It isn’t a marketing list, and a host who skips it risks up to three months’ arrest or a fine (TULPS art. 17). So when a host asks for your passport before arrival, that’s normal. What isn’t normal is a request to email scans to an unknown address or a number you’ve never messaged on the platform.
Here’s how I handle it now. I send document details only through the platform’s own messages, or I show the passport at the door. If a host wants a photo in advance to speed things up, fine. But under the current rule a photo alone isn’t the check. Someone still has to see that the face on the passport is yours.
Every adult and child in your group is registered, not just the person who booked. Bring every passport, including the kids’, to check-in.
Check 3: Can I Still Check In Without Meeting Anyone?
Not anonymously, under the current Italy Airbnb rules. Since November 21, 2025, the Council of State has required hosts to identify guests “de visu”, checking the face against the document. It can be done remotely, but only live, at the moment you arrive. Sending documents ahead and then receiving a door code isn’t enough (Milano Finanza, November 2025, on ruling 9101/2025; ANSA, November 2025).
Plenty of listings still sell the old way. I read the amenity lists for all 27,523 active Rome listings in the detailed June 2026 Inside Airbnb file (72 fewer than the summary file, which counts reviews slightly differently). 45.6% advertised “Self check-in”, 19.2% a lockbox and 22.7% a keypad or smart lock. Only 35.5% said the host greets you in person.
That doesn’t mean half of Rome is breaking the law. A smart lock is legal if someone checks you on live video first, and amenity lists go stale. It does mean you can’t assume. Ask the host one question before you book: “How will you check my ID when I arrive?”
In practice, check-in now comes in three forms. The host or a runner meets you at the door and checks your passport, often scanning it on a phone. Or a video intercom sits at the street door, and you hold your passport up to the camera while a manager checks it from the other end. Or a property manager runs a small check-in desk for several flats a few streets away. All three meet the rule. What changes is the arrival time. You can’t land at midnight and let yourself in unless the host has agreed to do a live video check at that hour.
So put the arrival plan in the booking messages. Give your train or flight number, agree a window and ask what happens if you’re late. Some hosts charge a fee for late arrivals, so check the listing’s house rules before you pick a late train.
Check 4: Is There a Keybox on the Street?
If the plan is a code box on a railing, a lamppost or a building’s front door, that’s banned in Milan and in Florence’s UNESCO centre. Florence fines owners €400 and began removing boxes on February 25, 2025. By late March, 187 had come off public fixtures around the UNESCO centre (Finestre sull’Arte, 2025; Il Post, January 2025).
Milan followed in December 2025 by changing its urban police rules. Since early January 2026 a keybox on a public space, or on a private structure facing one, costs €100 to €400 plus the removal (Il Post, December 2025). Rome has no keybox law, but it has been cutting them off historic railings under an older rule since January 2025, aiming for 100 a day (Il Sole 24 Ore, January 2025).
For you, the risk isn’t a fine. It’s arriving to find the box gone. A box inside a private courtyard or flat, opened after a live video check, can be within the rules. A box on the street can disappear the day before you arrive.
Check 5: Who Collects the Tourist Tax on an Airbnb?
It depends on the city. In Rome and Florence, Airbnb collects the city tax when you book, so it’s already in your total. Elsewhere the host may ask for it in cash on arrival (Roma Capitale). Rentals often pay more than you’d guess. Rome charges a flat €6 per person per night on rentals, and Milan €9.50 through 2026, according to the rate sheets in my tourist tax guide.
| City | Rental rate per person per night, 2026 | Collected |
|---|---|---|
| Rome | €6 (up to 10 nights; under-10s free) | By Airbnb at booking |
| Milan | €9.50 (Olympic rate, 2026 only) | By the host or platform |
| Florence | €6 (up to 7 nights) | By Airbnb at booking |
| Naples | €4 to €6 | By the host |
| Venice | €3 to €5, most flats €4 (up to 5 nights) | By the host or platform |
| Bologna | Up to €7, banded by price | By the host or platform |
For two people over three nights in Rome, that’s €36. In Milan it’s €57, more than the €44.40 a three-star hotel guest pays at €7.40 a night. The tourist tax guide has every city’s rate and exemption, and it’s worth a look if you’re comparing a flat with a hotel.
Check 6: What Will the Stay Really Cost?
More than the nightly rate, usually. Add the cleaning fee, any linen or towel charge, a late-arrival fee and the city tax. Since January 1, 2026, hosts also pay more tax: 21% on one flat and 26% on a second, and from a third flat the activity counts as a business (Law 199/2025, art. 1, para. 17).
That third-flat rule touches more listings than you’d think. In the June 2026 snapshots, hosts with three or more listings ran 45.9% of active listings in Rome, 55.1% in Florence, 55.7% in Milan and 56.6% in Venice. Hosts with ten or more ran 19.6% in Rome and 39.4% in Milan. Listings aren’t the same as flats owned, since managers list for many owners. But it shows how much of the market is run as a business.
Will the higher tax push up prices? Maybe. I haven’t seen data that proves it yet, and I’d be wary of anyone who says they have. What I can tell you is how to read a listing’s real price. Click through to the final total before you compare. A €120-a-night flat with an €80 cleaning fee is a €147 flat over three nights, before the city tax.
On a short stay, that maths often favours a hotel or a B&B. My guide to Rome’s neighbourhoods, priced by area shows the median whole-flat price for eight areas, which is a fair benchmark for whether a listing is good value.
Check 7: Is My City Limiting Rentals?
The city side of the Italy Airbnb rules is where most of the news is. Florence has limited new rentals in its centre since May 2025, and Rome and Naples have approved limits that aren’t in force yet. None of them cancels an existing booking. Florence went first, with no new permits in the UNESCO centre. On June 4, 2026, its council extended the ban to nine more areas with about 67,780 homes (ANSA, June 2026).
The others moved this summer. Rome’s assembly approved new planning rules on July 23, 2026. They create a separate category for tourist flats and bar converting other property into one inside the UNESCO zone (Roma Capitale, July 2026). Naples approved a 30% cap on September 15, 2026. In the UNESCO part of the centre, no more than 30% of a building’s residential floor space can be B&Bs or holiday flats (Il Sole 24 Ore, September 2026). It mainly targets new conversions, and no start date has been published.
| City | What’s limited | Status, October 2026 | What it means for a guest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florence | No new rental permits in the UNESCO centre, plus nine more areas | In force since May 2025; extension approved June 4, 2026 | Fewer central flats; book early |
| Rome | No converting other property into tourist flats in the UNESCO zone | Approved July 23, 2026; start date not yet published | No change for existing listings |
| Naples | Rentals capped at 30% of a building’s homes by floor area, in the UNESCO centre | Approved September 15, 2026; start date not yet published | Mainly hits new conversions |
| Venice | 120-day yearly limit and a freeze on new registrations | Proposed in 2024; not approved | Nothing changes yet |
Venice is the one to watch. In October 2024 the city proposed a 120-day yearly limit, with longer seasons for hosts who signed up to its rules, including in-person check-in. As of the council’s November 2025 session, it hadn’t been approved (Comune di Venezia, council minutes), and I’ve found no vote since. Treat any article that says it’s in force with care.
What do these limits mean for you? Supply in the centres has stopped growing, so the good flats book earlier. If you want a flat in Florence’s centre or Rome’s Tridente, book as early as you’d book the museum tickets. My Florence travel guide explains why rentals there are vanishing. My where to stay in Florence guide compares nine areas there, and my where to stay in Venice guide does the same for seven.
Do the Airbnb Rules in Italy Apply to Hotels and B&Bs?
Some of them. The passport registration and the face-to-document ID check apply to every kind of lodging, from a five-star hotel to a convent guesthouse. The Council of State said so in ruling 9101/2025. The CIN applies to rentals and to every registered lodging business. Hotels have always met you at a desk, so you won’t notice any change there.
The keybox bans and the city limits are aimed at short-term flats. A licensed B&B or affittacamere (a small guesthouse) will usually have someone in the building or nearby, which makes the check-in rule painless. That’s one reason I book B&Bs for short city stops and save flats for five nights or more in one place.
If you’re still choosing what kind of place to book, my guide to where to stay in Italy compares ten types of stay with real prices. For first trips to the south, my Naples travel guide covers where to base yourself in the city.
Italy Airbnb Rules: FAQ
Is Airbnb banned in Italy?
No. Under the Italy Airbnb rules, rentals are legal everywhere if they have a CIN code. Since November 21, 2025, every guest’s ID must be checked in person or by live video. Florence limits new flats in its centre, and Rome and Naples have approved limits, but existing licensed listings keep operating. In June 2026 Rome still had 27,595 active listings (Inside Airbnb).
What are the Airbnb Italy rules for check-in?
Someone must match your face to your passport when you arrive, in person or over live video at the door. That’s the Council of State’s ruling 9101/2025 of November 21, 2025. A passport photo sent in advance plus a door code isn’t enough. Agree your arrival time before you travel, and check the house rules for any late-arrival fee.
What is a CIN code in Italy?
It’s the national identification code every short-term rental needs, shown on the listing and outside the building. It starts with “IT” and the town’s six-digit number. A host without one faces €800 to €8,000 in fines. In June 2026, 94.8% of active Rome listings showed a licence code (Inside Airbnb).
Does Airbnb collect the tourist tax in Italy?
In Rome and Florence, yes, at booking, so it’s in your total. In many other towns the host collects it on arrival, often in cash. Rome charges €6 per person per night on rentals and Milan €9.50 in 2026. Children under 10 don’t pay in Rome.
Is Airbnb banned in Florence?
Not for guests. Since May 2025 Florence has issued no new rental permits in its UNESCO centre. On June 4, 2026, it extended the ban to nine more areas with about 67,780 homes. Licensed flats with a CIN still operate. Expect fewer listings and book earlier.
The Bottom Line
Italy Airbnb rules haven’t killed the Italian rental. They’ve made your arrival a fixed appointment and made the CIN your first check. Here are the seven checks, in the order I make them:
- The CIN is on the listing. No code, no booking.
- The ID check: ask how it happens, in person or by live video.
- Passports for everyone in your group, at the door.
- No street keybox, especially in Florence, Milan and Rome.
- The city tax: is it already in your total?
- The full price, with cleaning and late-arrival fees.
- City limits: book early in Florence, and watch Rome and Naples.
Once the rules are clear, pick the base. My Rome neighbourhood guide compares eight areas on price and walking time, and the tourist tax guide prices the extra you’ll pay at the door. For the rest of the trip, my Italy travel guide puts it all in order.
