In Italy, the debate on the nuisances of mass tourism is particularly lively in Florence this fall. In the historic center of the city of Tuscany, which is the size of a Parisian district, 15 million visitors are expected to flock this year. The number of furnished tourist accommodation has jumped by a third in two years and rent prices are skyrocketing as 7,000 residents leave the city each year. A collective is putting pressure on the town hall to take strong measures but its means are limited.
A procession of suitcases on wheels echoes through the center of the city. “There are 11 of us staying in an AirBnb,” Jennifer said. Lida, who has lived in Florence for 30 years, sees these tourists passing by every day. At the door of his building, there are ten intercoms. “For real inhabitants, there are twoshe laments. And until recently, the key box was attached to the door handle.”
These key boxes have become the targets of the “Sauvons Florence” collective of which Massimo Torelli is a member. According to him, even when there are no more homes to put on the platforms, there are still some. “These are three apartments for rent, before it was commercial premises, he explains in a once popular street. Every time we go through, we put these cross-shaped stickers on the boxes that allow you to remove the key with the card.”
Beyond the skyrocketing prices and the nuisance for residents, what Lida deplores is a city that is losing its soul: “Before, there were shops for locals, two bakeries, a hardware store. Now all over the street, there are restaurants for tourists.”
According to the federation of hoteliers, 40% of tourist rental owners have at least four apartments on the market. According to Marco Celani, who chairs the association that brings together these owners in Italy, “The reason why many landlords do not rent with long-term contracts is that in Italy the law does not protect them. If a tenant with an eight-year contract stops paying the rent, it is necessary to two and four years before driving it out. In the meantime, the owner must pay taxes on income he does not receive. argument-t-il.
The town hall has just announced the removal of key boxes, in the name of security. But the ban on new apartments on the platforms will be played out in court. The mayor, Sara Funaro, passed the measure, contested because there is no national law on the subject, in the name of defending private property. “There is a special law for Venice, we have asked the government that it also be applied in Florence”she says. On the ban on new rentals, the court hearing will be held next May.
