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CASE LAW

Short-term rentals: Constitutional Court strikes down blanket change-of-use rule

In judgment no. 164/2026, filed on 9 October, Italy’s Constitutional Court declared Articles 4 and 5 of Emilia-Romagna Regional Law no. 10/2025 unconstitutional. The challenge was brought against the Region by the President of the Council of Ministers, acting for the national Government.

In brief: the Court struck down the region-wide requirement to change the planning use of homes offered as short-term rentals. It did not rule out targeted, reasoned and proportionate municipal restrictions in areas genuinely affected by overtourism.

What the invalidated provisions required

Article 4 created a specific planning use called “short-term rental” within the tourist-accommodation category. Changing a home from residential use to short-term rental use became a planning matter even where no building work was involved and required the relevant building procedure. It also barred hotel properties subject to a hotel-use restriction from being changed to short-term rental use.

Article 5 allowed municipalities to identify areas in which short-term rental use was permitted or made subject to conditions. The listed measures included caps on the percentage of homes, restrictions on certain building works, additional quality requirements and territorial or ancillary facilities.

Why the Court struck the rules down

The Court found an unreasonable difference in treatment. Short-term rentals, including occasional and non-business activity, would have had to change planning use, while Affittacamere and holiday homes and apartments, although necessarily run as businesses under regional law, could retain residential use.

The requirement did not depend on any minimum threshold of tourist use and applied throughout Emilia-Romagna. The Court considered such a blanket measure disproportionate to the goal of tackling overtourism, which normally affects specific areas.

Constitutional provisions

The ruling is based on Articles 3 and 41 of the Italian Constitution: equality and reasonableness, together with freedom of private economic initiative.

Article 5 also fell because the municipal framework was built around the new planning-use category created by Article 4. Once that foundation was invalidated, the connected system could not stand.

Can municipalities still impose restrictions?

Yes, in principle. The Court confirmed that Regions and municipalities may act in the fields of tourism and land-use planning and may introduce caps in specified areas to protect long-term housing availability.

Restrictions must, however, be geographically targeted, adequately reasoned, proportionate and non-discriminatory compared with other accommodation businesses. The ruling therefore complements the earlier AIBBA Update on the Tuscany Regional Administrative Court and the Florence case: local regulatory powers exist, but they remain subject to constitutional limits.

AIBBA note: the judgment did not invalidate the whole of Regional Law no. 10/2025. It struck down Articles 4 and 5 only; the remaining provisions formally remain in force, subject to any coordination needed where they refer to the invalidated rules.

Official sources