Short-term rentals are confirmed as a formidable weapon for making income from properties purchased as an investment.

But the tax authorities are tightening their shirts to intercept the owners of second homes and transactions, so as not to lose this important piece of revenue.

Meanwhile, with a Verdict issued at the end of the year 2022, the EU Court agrees with Italy against AirBnb. But a further verification in a second grade of judgment is still awaited.

What are the numbers of the sector?

According to a recent research conducted by Scenari immobiliari together with CleanBnb (apartment management company listed on the Italian Stock Exchange), the stock of the (declared) second homes in Italy used for tourist rental amounts to 575.000 units. Of these, about 200,000 are managed by agencies or in any case by specialized operators, while the rest is rented directly by private owners.

In the main Italian cities, short-term rentals now involve even more than 5% of the total housing stock, with average annual rents well above what is recorded on the traditional market, even close to 4,500 euros per month.

Much depends on the place, the neighborhood and the presence of particular events: during Milan Fashion Week, an apartment in a good location can also be rented for much more than 250 euros a night; during the week of the Milan Design week, prices reach stellar quotations, starting from 350 euros a night for the smallest solutions in good locations.

According to an elaboration by the research company AirDna, in September 2022 the average occupancy rate of the apartments managed by CleanBnb (understood as the number of nights out of potential nights) was 63.4%.

All in all, a threshold that has returned to the levels of 2019. But it is an average, because in cities with a particular tourist attraction or business vocation (for example Rome or Milan) the average objective of 70% employment can easily be exceeded.

DATA and TAXATION: here’s what’s new for short-term rentals

Meanwhile, from a regulatory point of view, some news will take place from January 1ST, 2023.

Thanks to a mix between European directives and Italian law (the legislative decree which receipts the Directive n. 2021/514) the managers of the online platforms that deal with bringing together supply and demand for short-term rentals (from AirBnb, Wimdu, Homeaway, etc), will have the obligation to identify who sells or rents through the web portal.

In other words, the data of the landlords must be communicated quarterly to the Revenue Agency, accompanied by data on the fees received and the number of transactions carried out. Furthermore, still in the field of law, on 22 December the European Court of Justice reached a partial conclusion on the long-standing dispute between AirBnb and the Italian tax authorities.

Italy asks the site to act as a withholding agent whenever it receives a payment for a rental, thus paying the withholding tax to the Revenue Agency.