Naples: 30 per cent cap on short-term lettings in blocks of flats

A city, Naples, which has once again attracted the interest of property investors and tourists. And which is preparing to host the 2027 America’s Cup. Against this backdrop – which also has its downsides, with visitor numbers rising out of all proportion – the Naples City Council has decided to put the brakes on the conversion of residential propertiesinto tourist accommodation in the historic centre. Under the restrictions decided on Tuesday 15 September, in each building a maximum of 30 per cent of the living space may be used for tourist accommodation, whilst 70 per cent must remain for ordinary residential use. And to include one’s flat on the list of short-term lettings, it will be necessary to change intended use and switch to category A/2. This is the first time that a measure of this kind has been introduced in Italia.

A system of tourist capacity quotas, building by building, which will cause friction within each block of flats. The threshold will not, in fact, be calculated by neighbourhood, street or micro-area, but on an individual building basis. The ratio to be taken into account will be that between the floor area designated for ordinary residential use and the total floor area of dwellings classified as residential or tourist accommodation. Shops, offices and hotels are excluded from the calculation.

If, in a block of flats, the proportion of flats already designated for holiday lets has reached the limit, there will be no scope for further conversions. Conversely, where this proportion has not yet been reached, there may be scope for new properties to be let as holiday lets.

Another factor set to affect the market concerns the distinction between non-commercial holiday rentals and managed accommodation businesses on a commercial basis. In the end, it is once again the private individual seeking to generate an income from a flat who is penalised.

This is the paradox that Naples is set to face as it enters the next phase of its growth in tourism. On the one hand, the city has a much wider range of short-term lettings on offer than in the past, though it remains limited when we consider that 4,540 properties (Aigab figures as at September 2026) out of a total of 440,000 properties are advertised online for short-term lets. On the other hand, demand is on the rise, including for property purchases by international buyers – many of them American – attracted by the regatta – an event which, according to estimates, will attract 1.5–1.7 million visitors over the 60 days of the competition – but also by the discovery of a city that is beginning to offer more high-end hotels than in the past.