EU rules on tourist rentals could reshape Marche's coastal towns

The European Union is set to introduce rules helping cities across the bloc curb short-term tourist rentals such as Airbnb in a bid to address rising house prices, according to plans seen by AFP and reported by The Local Italy on Friday. The proposal would give local authorities new tools to regulate the booming holiday-letting market that has transformed housing in popular destinations from Lisbon to Dubrovnik.

For the Marche region, the measure arrives as the Adriatic coast contends with its own version of a familiar Italian tension: the pull of tourist income against the pressure on housing for permanent residents. While Marche's beach towns have not seen the extreme price inflation of Venice or Florence, the summer rental market has steadily reshaped the property landscape along the coast between Pesaro and San Benedetto del Tronto.