ROME (Reuters) -Italian judges have struck down a government ban on remote check-ins for short-term rentals that had prompted a clean up of keyboxes from city centres which was welcomed by campaigners against overtourism.
Properties listed on Airbnb and other short-term rental platforms use self check-in keyboxes to spare owners and holidaymakers from having to meet in person.
The keyboxes have however been criticised as eyesores, often cluttering the street entrances of buildings or nearby gates and railings.
The interior ministry banned the practice in November, arguing that check-ins without a physical encounter between guest and renter posed a security risk.
But in a ruling published on Tuesday, the Lazio administrative court annulled the directive, saying, among other things, that it placed excessive burdens on landlords.
Following the ban, cities such as Florence and Rome had stepped up efforts to remove self check-in keyboxes from public spaces.
Marco Celani, head of short-term rentals association AIGAB, welcomed the court’s ruling on Tuesday and said his lobby was in talks with the government for the “full recognition” of remote check-in technologies.
The interior ministry said through a spokesperson it would wait for the court to publish the reasons for its ruling before deciding whether to appeal to a higher administrative court.
(Reporting by Alvise Armellini, additional reporting by Angelo Amante, editing by Gavin Jones)
