Milan bans self-check-in key boxes for short-term rentals as Italy's crackdown spreads

From January 2026, Milan has officially banned self-check-in key boxes attached to public-facing structures across the entire municipality — not just the historic centre. The move follows Florence (which introduced similar restrictions earlier in 2025) and a November 2025 Council of State ruling that overturned a regional court decision and confirmed the nationwide legal requirement for visual identification of guests.

For anyone operating short-term rentals in Milan, the automated keyless check-in model that’s been standard for five-plus years is no longer viable in its current form.

What exactly is banned

Milan’s city council resolution specifically targets key boxes installed on public or public-facing property, including:

• Street furniture, road signs, and light poles
• Building facades visible from the street
• External fences, gates, and railings
• Any other structure that overlooks or occupies public space

Non-compliant devices trigger fines of €100 to €400, plus the cost of physical removal by city officials if the host doesn’t remove them voluntarily.

Two separate legal rationales sit behind the ban:

1. Public space occupation. The municipality argues that unauthorized key boxes constitute improper private occupation of public property without the required permits or fees.
2. Security and identification. Italian authorities cite the national requirement for visual guest verification — established by Police Chief Vittorio Pisani’s February 2025 circular and confirmed by the Council of State in November 2025 — which anonymous key-box check-ins inherently bypass.

The Ministry of the Interior has also tied the measure to broader concerns about short-term rental growth around major events (such as the 2025 Jubilee), and there have been specific judicial investigations linking unattended key boxes to drug-dealing and other illegal activity.

What’s still allowed

The ban does not prohibit short-term rentals, nor does it outlaw all forms of automated access. Operators still have several compliant pathways:

• Internal key safes located inside the private portion of the building (lobby, inside the apartment, building manager’s office)
• Smart locks with integrated video intercoms that enable real-time visual verification of the guest against booking documents
• Remote check-in via outdoor video intercom systems where the host or property manager can see and verify the guest before granting access
• In-person check-in at the property or at a staffed reception/meeting point

The Ministry has said it will publish more detailed operational guidance, but the core requirement is clear: the host (or a designated representative) must visually verify the guest’s identity against booking details before access is granted.

Operational implications

For Milan operators, this is a material cost and workflow change:

• Cost impact. Smart locks with video intercom capability typically run €200–€600 per unit installed. Staffed check-in coordination via third-party services runs €8–€25 per arrival.
• Process redesign. Existing keyless check-in flows must be rebuilt to include a mandatory video verification step. Generic Airbnb auto-messaging sequences with key box codes need to be replaced.
• Multi-property operators feel it most. Scaling live verification across a portfolio of 10+ units without hiring dedicated check-in staff requires tech investment (video intercom integrations, centralized verification dashboards).
• Foreign owners without on-the-ground teams face the biggest structural challenge — the Ministry’s own guidance flags that if the owner cannot be present, a property manager or smart lock with video intercom is required.

The broader trend

Milan joins Florence, Venice, and Bologna in tightening short-term rental rules at the city level. This is separate from — but layered on top of — national-level CIN requirements, BDSR registration, and the cedolare secca reforms in the 2026 Budget Law.

The cumulative effect is a professionalization of the Italian short-term rental market at the operational level. Self-managed multi-property portfolios run from a distance on key boxes and auto-messages are no longer a sustainable model in Italy’s major cities. Operators either invest in compliant tech, partner with local ground teams, or exit.

For vendors serving the Italian market — smart lock manufacturers, video intercom providers, check-in service networks, and property management platforms — the ban is structural tailwind. Demand for compliant guest verification hardware and managed check-in services is now a forcing function, not a nice-to-have.