Short-term rentals, Naples activates 30% threshold

A new designation of use, to monitor the phenomenon more precisely. And the introduction, for the first time in Italy, of a residency threshold in certain districts of the historic centre: in every building, at least 70% of the commercial surface area must be allocated to housing. These are the two pieces of the manoeuvre that the Municipality of Naples is preparing with its urban planning variant to govern more effectively the short-term rental phenomenon, which has exploded in recent years in the Campania capital.

The intervention, approved by the junta and expected shortly in the city council, is based on the transformation that the historic centre districts have undergone in recent years. Between 2016 and 2024 - say the administration's figures - Airbnb listings grew by 735%, bringing with them positive phenomena such as the redevelopment of some areas and the increase in property values. On the other hand, there are neighbourhoods on which there is much less tourist pressure and which, for this reason, would potentially have space for short-term rentals.

The deputy mayor and town planning councillor, Laura Lieto, says: "Naples is facing a delicate phase: the impact of short rentals on residency, especially in the historic centre. With the variant adopted, we are intervening in advance to prevent the expulsion of residents and maintain urban balance. In the Unesco perimeter we set a clear principle: residence remains prevalent, with a minimum quota of dwellings intended for permanent living, and precise rules for short rentals, which will no longer be unlimited. We do not want to curb tourism, but to govern it, protecting the social mix and the right to housing. This is a necessary step to ensure balanced development and the future of the city'.

Before reaching the excessive numbers of other cities, in short, the administration led by Gaetano Manfredi is looking for alternative ways. And it aims to introduce two rules. Along with the request for an identification code for short-term rentals, it will be necessary to initiate a practice to change the destination of use, moving to A/2 (housing for tourist use). In addition, it will be necessary - in a manoeuvre unprecedented in Italy - to verify that, in the block of flats in which the short-term rental flat is located, the area dedicated to this purpose does not already exceed 30 per cent.

A regulation will determine how these rules will be applied in practice. The principle, however, is clear: to prevent tourists from replacing residents in the historic centre districts. Counting on the fact that the demand for such accommodation can also be channelled to other areas. The sector's operators refute the municipality's data: for Mario Morra, Aigab's (Italian association of short-term rental managers) delegate on Naples: "The variant is based on obsolete numbers from 2024 and introduces the 70/30 mechanism for each building, a regulatory construction that makes no urban planning sense: you cannot plan the city by reasoning condominium by condominium".