Short-term rentals, new “anti-cheat” controls, the Municipal Dashboard arrives: what it is and how it works

The Ministry of Tourism has presented a new tool designed to help municipalities monitor short-term rentals and better control the accommodation facilities operating in the territory. It is called “Cruscotto Operatori Comunali” . The stated objective is clear: more transparency, more digitalization, and – above all – more weapons against the “smart guys” who rent illegally or without respecting the rules.

But what really changes with this new tool? And how does the Dashboard work?

What is the Municipal Dashboard and how does it work against short-term rental scammers?

The Dashboard for Municipal Operators is a digital tool that functions as an interactive map , allowing municipal operators to visualize the geographical distribution of accommodation facilities.

In practice, the system uses data from the National Database of Accommodation Facilities (BDSR), geolocalizing each registered short-term rental . In this way, professionals can obtain detailed information on each property, such as the state of compliance with the National Identification Code (CIN), the presence of any reports or anomalies and the history of checks already carried out. The ability to zoom in on a single building offers a high level of detail, facilitating targeted and precise checks.

The introduction of this Dashboard responds to a need for transparency and control in the short-term rental sector, in line with European regulations. The Minister of Tourism, Daniela Santanchè, highlighted how this innovation is fundamental for Italy in view of the adaptation to EU Regulation 2024/1028 . This regulation, which will come into force in May 2026 , requires all Member States of the European Union to collect and share data relating to short-term accommodation.

This is not, therefore, an isolated initiative: the Dashboard was also created to meet European standards , which require greater transparency and better coordination between local and central administrations.

The role of the Municipalities

The Dashboard offers Municipalities four main tools , such as:

• viewing and extraction of properties without CIN: operators can immediately see which properties are present in the area but do not yet have the National Identification Code, a mandatory requirement for short-term rentals;
• viewing and extracting reports of missing structures: allows you to collect and manage reports from citizens or other sources on any structures that operate “under the table” and are not included in the BDSR;
• visualization and extraction of structures with unverified CIN: identifies structures registered but with incomplete or still unverified data, helping the Municipality to focus on the most urgent cases;
• inspection log: a digital history where all inspections carried out for each facility are recorded, allowing you to know who checked what, when and with what outcome.

These four functions make the Dashboard a powerful tool for Municipalities, which until now could only cross-reference partial information or rely on occasional checks. In this way, municipal operators can directly record on the platform the date, operator and outcome of each check, as well as updates on the status of the structure.

The expected effects

From an economic point of view, the crackdown on short-term rentals will inevitably have an impact, because on the one hand it will reduce unfair competition for regular operators, who often find themselves penalised by those who rent illegally or at rock-bottom prices thanks to tax evasion, while on the other it could lead to a reorganisation of the offer , with a part of the non-compliant structures exiting the market.

For the Municipalities, the Cruscotto could also mean greater revenue , thanks to better control of the tourist tax and a more effective fight against tax evasion. Furthermore, a more accurate census of accommodation facilities will allow for better planning of tourist services and infrastructures, avoiding overcrowding or imbalances.