Travellers and holidaymakers expecting to occupy a short-term rental in Milan from January 2026 onwards should verify how they will gain access to the property, after authorities in Milan banned self-check-in key boxes.
In a move to preserve the integrity and appearance of public spaces, the prohibition means that private landlords renting apartments or houses to visitors will no longer be able to fix coded key boxes to the exterior of the property to allow guests to let themselves in without risking a financial penalty. Existing boxes will be removed.
Announced by the City Council on 4 December 2025, the amendment to the Urban Police Regulations affects key boxes but also extends to any “private structures that overlook or protrude onto public spaces.” The ban on the installation of “street furniture, road signs, fences, gates, lampposts, or other structures located on public land” will come into force at the beginning of January 2026.
MILAN STR ALERT! 🇮🇹
— Eric Mason (@VRGuy) December 8, 2025
Milan has banned self-check-in key boxes in public areas for Short-Term Rentals.
🗓️ Effective: January 2026
💰 Fine: €400 per violation.
Hosts must pivot to smart locks or in-person service. The low-cost check-in era is ending in key European cities. pic.twitter.com/ckyqaiPaeu
Milan is just the latest among a suite of destinations that have moved to outlaw aspects of short-term renting that are deemed to have a disproportionate effect on local life. Short-term rental platforms such as Airbnb have had contentious relations with Spanish authorities for some years, having been banished altogether from some places. Meanwhile, other Italian cities have also banned key boxes, including the capital, Rome, as well as Bologna, Florence, and Venice. Milan echoed their reasons “of urban decorum, land use, and safety.”
Signing off on the new measure, Councillor Michele Albiani, Chairman of the Security Committee, said it “is designed to facilitate self-check-in by guests, which occurs without a permit to occupy public land and without compensation, thus resulting in the improper use of public space for the benefit of private individuals. In addition to the urban decorum issue, the uncontrolled proliferation of lockboxes poses security risks and may cause inconvenience to residents.”
As indicated by Albiani, the proliferation of short-term rentals and the sight of key boxes lining urban streets is not the only issue. Some have linked the use of key boxes to illegal practices such as drug dealing.
Homeowners who fail to remove such devices before the ban goes into effect risk incurring the cost not only of removal and of “administrative fines” ranging from €100 to €400. They may also find themselves responsible for reimbursing and compensating potential short-term rental bookings if their guests arrive and find they can no longer enter the property they’ve reserved. The City Council warned that “devices found in violation of this Article may be forcibly removed by the competent authorities, without prior notice. Removal will be at the expense of the responsible parties.”
