Short-term lettings: Finance Police raid targets ‘overcrowded flats’ in Gallipoli

The summer season is now in full swing, and the Guardia di Finanza is stepping up its checks on the accommodation facilities that, every year at this time, welcome huge numbers of tourists from all over the country. In Salento, the Lecce Provincial Command has carried out inspections at dozens of flats, uncovering numerous ‘overcrowded flats’ housing far more people than permitted by law. The police have also uncovered other irregularities, ranging from the use of garages as living quarters to the failure to notify the Police Headquarters of the guests staying there, as well as breaches of the obligation to display the Cin.

A large-scale operation in which soldiers from the Gallipoli company worked alongside the local police led to the inspection of 70 flats in the seaside districts of Baia Verde and Lido San Giovanni, where 480 tourists were found – including 123 minors – who were paying rents ranging from 2,000 to 5,000 euros a week.

The inspections revealed that the properties were accommodating 100 people in excess of the legal limits, amounting to a total of 27 breaches of the by-law issued in June 2026 by the mayor of Gallipoli, Flavio Fasano. The measure regulates the occupancy density of residential units by setting limits based on floor area, with the aim of tackling the problem of ‘overcrowded accommodation’ and safeguarding public health, hygiene and urban safety.

In one case, the police found 17 young people, eleven of whom were under-18s, in a flat that was only authorised to accommodate a maximum of nine people.

Landlords will have to pay fines totalling over 48,000 euros. The mayor’s order provides for fines of €480 for each person found to be in excess of the permitted number, in addition to the immediate restoration of the legal number of tenants through compulsory eviction and the immediate removal of those in excess.