Italy’s new war on Airbnb rentals: Key boxes to be outlawed across the country in clampdown on short…

Italy is to ban Airbnb metal key boxes in the country’s latest move to clampdown on over-tourism. 

Authorities ruled on Tuesday that tourists must now meet the property owner in person to  verify their identity. 

The ban, which will come into effect next year, has been introduced for ‘reasons of national security’. 

Vittorio Pisani, the national head of police, said the crackdown will help authorities keep tabs on ‘dangerous people’ or those ‘linked to terrorist organisations’.

Italian authorities are concerned that terrorists have started renting properties online using forged documents that are not being checked. 

‘The need has arisen to implement stringent measures aimed at preventing threats to public order and safety linked to the possible housing of dangerous persons involved in criminal or terrorist organisations,’ Pisani said.

The ban is also understood to be a direct response to the surge in the number of short-term rentals such as Airbnb across Italy. 

Metal key boxes…