Being the owner of a seconda casa (second home) in Italy is a dream for many, but it also comes with a long list of legal and financial obligations which can be hard to navigate, not least because Italian property laws are subject to frequent changes and there's usually little in the way of up-to-date information on official government websites and platforms.
As 2024 draws to an end, here's a look at some of the changes second-home owners in Italy can expect in 2025.
New rules for owners of holiday rentals
New rules affecting owners renting out their Italian properties for periods of 30 days or less (these are known as affitti brevi turistici, or short-term tourist lets) will be enforced from January 1st, 2025.
A requirement for owners of holiday rentals to hold a national identification code, or CIN, was introduced on September 1st, but penalties for those flouting it haven’t been enforced yet.
Sanctions were originally scheduled to kick in from November 2nd, but the date was later postponed to January 1st after incomplete online infrastructure prevented many from getting their CIN code on the dedicated ministry platform.
Under the rules introduced on September 1st, holiday rental owners must display the CIN code on the property’s front door or doorbell so as to make it clearly visible from outside.
The CIN must also be included in the accommodation’s website (if applicable) and on any online or social media listing, including on platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.
As of January 1st, owners caught renting their property without a CIN will face fines of up to €8,000, whereas those failing to display the code on online listings or outside their property will face fines of up to €5,000.
Key box ban
Italy’s interior ministry has recently issued a controversial ordinance banning self check-ins in holiday rentals, including Airbnb and Booking properties, in a bid to “prevent public order and safety risks”.
This means that hosts must conduct check-in operations in person and can no longer resort to key boxes (combination-protected lock boxes containing the keys to a property) to allow guests to check in independently.
READ ALSO: Q&A: How will Italy's new rules for holiday rentals affect you?
Italy’s interior ministry said the ban was effective immediately, but it’s currently unclear whether it’s already being enforced in cities and towns around the country and, if so, to what extent.
Police authorities in Rome removed key boxes from a number of central streets last week, but there are no immediately available details that authorities in other major cities have followed suit so far.
The interior ministry’s ordinance didn’t include any mention of potential penalties for those flouting the ban, but the introduction of fines for transgressors cannot be ruled out at present.
As this is an evolving situation, further info on potential penalties and additional requirements for hosts are expected to emerge in the coming weeks.
Authorities haven’t yet clarified their position on key boxes used for non-tourism-related purposes (for instance, as a way to keep an emergency key outside of a property).
Is Italy hiking taxes for people who got home renovation ‘bonuses’?
You may have seen reports in recent weeks that Italy’s government is planning to raise property taxes for those who benefitted from home renovation incentives, including the popular building superbonus, next year.
Italy’s 2025 budget bill includes no such plans.
That said, the bill, which is undergoing a lengthy amendment process in parliament, outlines plans to carry out nationwide cadastral registry checks which may result in some owners paying more IMU tax in 2025.
You can find all the relevant details about the government’s plans and how they may affect homeowners here.
2025 home renovation bonuses
Speaking of Italy’s 2025 budget bill, the draft law includes plans to make changes to the popular ecobonus and renovation bonus (bonus ristrutturazioni), reducing the maximum discount available to second-home owners to 36 percent of the total cost of work.
Under the bill, the maximum available discount for first homes (prime case) would stand at 50 percent in 2025.
As mentioned earlier, Italy’s legge di bilancio is still undergoing a series of amendments in parliament, meaning the changes outlined above are not set in stone yet.
As for the popular superbonus scheme, the maximum claimable amount will drop from 70 to 65 percent of the total cost of construction work from January 1st, 2025.
Further, barring some exceptions, the bonus will only apply to condominiums and small apartment buildings (two to four residential units) which submitted the relevant Comunicazione Inizio Lavori Asseverata (Sworn Notice of Commencement of Works) by October 15th, 2024.
There will still be only one way to claim the superbonus (and all other building bonuses, for that matter) in 2025, and that’s by claiming a tax rebate (detrazione fiscale) spread out evenly over multiple years.
EES/ETIAS
This applies to any frequent visitor to Italy, including people travelling to their Italian holiday homes from abroad.
The EU’s two new border control systems EES and ETIAS are due to come into effect in 2025 following multiple delays.
EES border checks are set to come into force first, with a phased-in entry over six months (the exact rollout date hasn’t been announced yet). The ETIAS system should be introduced at the end of this six-month period.
You can find a full explanation of the changes here, but this is what they mean in brief.
EES - This is essentially a security upgrade, replacing the current system relying on border guards with an electronic swipe in/swipe out system that will register more details, including travellers’ immigration status.
Following its introduction, non-EU travellers first entering the Schengen/EU area will need to register their name, biometric data (fingerprints and facial scans) and the date and place of entry and exit. Data will be retained for three years after initial registration.
The checks won’t apply to anyone travelling on an EU/EEA passport, or anyone with residency in an EU/EEA country.
ETIAS - This change mainly affects non-EU nationals travelling to an EU country on holiday.
It doesn’t apply to anyone travelling on an EU/EEA passport, or anyone who has a visa or residency permit for an EU/EEA country.
It is essentially a visa waiver, which must be applied for online in advance. It costs €7 but is free of charge for people aged over 70 and under 18s. Once granted, it is valid for three years.
For anyone who has travelled to the US in recent years, the system is similar to the ESTA visa required for short stays.
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