As vacation rental properties continue to hollow out traditional neighborhoods, European cities have found themselves in a battle for their futures.
The latest popular European destination to throw a red flag on the Airbnb-fueled blight of short-term rentals is the Tuscan city of Florence, Italy, where self check-in key lockboxes were legally banned as of February 25, 2025.
The change makes it illegal for absentee landlords to allow access to a short-term rental by leaving an unattended key behind.
It’s estimated that as many as 15,000 homes in Florence that once housed working Florentines have been converted to short-term vacation rentals.
Lockboxes containing keys to those units aren’t always placed in front of the address. Instead, homes rented by hosts on Airbnb and similar platforms have been attaching lockboxes to bike racks, lampposts, park benches, railings, and other places scattered across the UNESCO World Heritage–listed city center of Florence.
Last fall, following a wave of lockbox vandalism by frustrated locals, Florence’s mayor announced a 10-point plan to curb disruptive tourism. The plan also includes bans on amplification systems for tour guides.
Florence’s city council announced that some 7.8 million people visited Florence in the first 9 months of 2024 alone. In a statement, the council said it intends to fight overtourism to keep Florence a “living and unique city.”
The Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) has estimated as much as 13% of Florence’s housing stock sits vacant at any moment, which has direct effects on the health of the city’s communities.
The mayor “has given a 10-person squad the go-ahead to get rid of any remaining lockboxes” in the historic city center, as reported by The Florentine.
Other European cities beset by tourists, including Rome, Venice, Paris, and Marseille, have taken similar steps to limit or ban lockboxes for holiday rentals.
Nationally, Italian lawmakers have suggested a separate requirement for travelers to present identification when checking in for short-term rentals. That would eliminate the ability to check into a unit by using a passcode on an electronic lock.
For now, national police have told hosts they should meet short-term tenants in person within 24 hours of their arrival to verify identification.
