Local authorities can clamp down on tourist rentals without fear of being overruled after the country’s highest court ruled that Tuscany had the right to set its own restrictions on short-term lets, free from government interference.
The ruling “establishes a principle: city centres can’t be turned into sprawling hotels,” local news channel TGI Rai Toscana summed up on Tuesday.
While the judgement is specific to Tuscany, the region is seen as an ‘apripista’, or trailblazer, setting a legal precedent for other regions to introduce their own restrictions.
Regional capital Florence already introduced a ban on new tourist rentals in its Unesco-protected historic centre in May, following its own two-year court battle.
READ ALSO: How Florence has changed its rules on tourist lets in 2025
In this latest case, Tuscany’s centre-left government in January introduced a set of rules empowering “municipalities with the highest tourist density and provincial capitals" to set limits on short-term tourist rentals.
Italy’s national government in March appealed for the law to be overturned by the Constitutional Court on the grounds that these powers fall under the State's jurisdiction – an argument the Court rejected on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s hard-right administration has come under fire from opponents for not doing enough to regulate the country’s booming tourist rental market amid an affordable housing crisis.
Tuesday’s news was welcomed by leftist politicians and housing rights activists around the country.
“The ruling proves we were right," said Friuli Venezia Giulia regional councillor Serena Pellegrino of the Greens and Left Alliance, quoted in local news outlet Il Dolomiti.
"Regulating short-term rentals and tourism is not only possible, but entirely legitimate when it serves to protect communities and the right to housing.”
Democratic Party (PD) MP Emiliano Fossi slammed the government’s appeal as “backward-looking” while PD MEP and former Florence Mayor Dario Nardella said the next step was “a national law regulating short-term rentals."
READ ALSO: Budget 2026: Italy to scrap short-term rental tax hike
What does the ruling mean for short-term rental owners?
The ruling smooths the path for local authorities wanting to impose their own restrictions.
While long-running court battles are common in Italy, a Supreme Court judgement is usually the last word.
Some parts of Italy already restrict short-term lets: besides Florence’s ban, the autonomous province of Bolzano has had its own cap in place since 2022.
But Tuscany is the first Italian region to have passed such a sweeping reform, and Tuesday’s ruling gives new impetus to other regions wanting to follow in its footsteps.
Emilia Romagna is now set to pass its own set of rules modelled on Tuscany’s law, local newspaper Il Resto del Carlino reported on Wednesday.
“This law must become a national example to enable mayors to protect the identity of their cities and regions,” Florence’s PD mayor Sara Funaro said on Tuesday.
“Now municipalities have no more excuses,” Pietro Pierri of the Tuscan Tenants' Union told Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera: “regulations must be approved immediately to protect residents and restore balance to the real estate market."
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