By William Farrington and published in ProactiveInvestors.com
The Italian city of Florence has banned Airbnb Inc (NASDAQ:ABNB) and other short-term residential lettings in its historic town centre in a move to free up property for locals in the Tuscan tourism hotspot.
Centre-left Florence mayor Dario Nardella first announced his “save historic centres” bill in June, warning that those breaching the rules could face €5,000 (£4,300) in fines.
Tuscan authorities ratified the bill late on Monday, Reuters reported.
"In 2016 we had just under 6,000 apartments listed on Airbnb, today we have almost 14,378", said Nardella.
In that same period, Nardella said that the average cost of ordinary monthly residential rents had surged 42%.
"The 40,000 Florentines who live in the centre are complaining about finding themselves, all of a sudden, living in apartment hotels," he added.
Nardella’s new policy faced backlash from the right-wing ruling Forza Italia party, which said it would seek to appeal the policy through the administrative courts.
Airbnb is also facing restrictions in London and New York.
In September, London’s Westminster City Council said it is planning to implement an “overnight levy” for tourists staying in short-term lettings.
Westminster City Council boss Adam LUg said Airbnb’s popularity had created “an uneven playing field” amongst hospitality firms, noting that short-term lets did not have to pay corporation tax or business rates.
In June, Airbnb launched a lawsuit in New York against a ruling that effectively limited the number of people that can list rentals in the city.
Read the original article at https://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/companies/news/1028528/florence-airbnb-ban-ratified-by-tuscan-authorities-1028528.html
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