If you own or plan to buy an apartment in Alghero and are thinking about short term rentals, you are not alone: the city has hundreds of listings on Airbnb and similar platforms, especially along the Lido and in the historic centre. What most foreign owners underestimate is that behind each “holiday home” listing there is a specific legal framework: local notifications, regional registration, guest reporting and tourist tax obligations that you cannot ignore if you want to host safely.
The current framework for short term rentals in Alghero
In Sardinia – and specifically in Alghero – short term tourist rentals are subject to a set of formalities that all hosts must handle, regardless of whether they rent occasionally or as a business. Airbnb itself summarises these obligations in its “Responsible hosting in Alghero” section, which points owners towards the required notifications and portals.
First, you must notify the municipality that you are renting your property on a short term basis, using the local form and procedure for tourist rentals. This communication is linked to the management of the tourist tax through the StayTour portal used by the municipality of Alghero, for which you will receive specific access credentials.
Second, you must apply to the Region of Sardinia for the IUN code (Identificativo Univoco Numerico), which is a mandatory identification code for tourist properties and must appear in all adverts and online listings. Failure to display the IUN in your online communication can result in fines, even if everything else about your rental is fully compliant.
Third, you are required to request credentials for the Alloggiati Web portal and to register all guests with the police within the deadlines set by national law. This applies not only to professional hosts but also to private owners who rent out their apartment for short stays, and it is independent from what the platform does on your behalf.
Finally, tourist tax management in Alghero is handled via the StayTour system, where you must declare stays and, where applicable, pay or reconcile the tax depending on whether the platform collects it for you. Even if Airbnb collects tourist tax in some Italian municipalities, you remain responsible for understanding how this interacts with the local system and for ensuring that your StayTour position is in order.
Tourist letting vs hospitality structures: legal differences that matter
Italian and Sardinian law distinguishes between simple tourist rentals (locazioni turistiche) and hospitality structures such as holiday homes (CAV), B&Bs and guesthouses, each with its own additional requirements. From the outside they can look similar – a flat in Alghero with guests coming and going – but in legal terms they operate under different regimes and controls.
A pure tourist rental is a contract where you provide the property, basic equipment and utilities, without offering typical hotel‑style services such as daily cleaning, meals or reception. In this case you mainly deal with the municipal notification, IUN registration, guest reporting and tourist tax, and you remain within the legal framework of simple letting rather than running a hospitality business.
Structures like CAV (case e appartamenti per vacanze), B&Bs and guesthouses, by contrast, fall under hospitality regulations and may require additional licences, sanitary standards, signage and stricter controls. Problems arise when an owner presents their activity as a simple rental but in practice manages multiple units with services that look and feel like a CAV or guesthouse, without having obtained the necessary titles: this “de facto” structure can attract fines and orders to regularise the situation.
For a foreign owner, the key question is not only “can I rent my flat”, but “under which legal scheme am I operating” and “does my day‑to‑day practice match the model I have declared to the authorities”. This is precisely where legal advice can help you align your intended business model with the correct legal category, rather than sliding into a hospitality regime by accident.
Condominium rules and neighbours: apartments along the Lido and elsewhere
In Alghero a large part of the short term rental market is made up of apartments in condominiums along the Lido and in other residential areas. Here, the problem is not only public law (municipality and region) but also private law: condominium regulations and the relationship with your neighbours.
Some condominium rules expressly prohibit the opening of B&Bs, guesthouses or similar businesses within the building, or restrict certain uses that could encompass intensive short term renting. Others do not ban tourist rentals outright but contain clauses on noise, the use of common parts, signage, lifts and security that can be triggered when the number of guests and turnover becomes high.
In practice, many disputes between owners and short term hosts in Alghero do not start with the municipality but with complaints from neighbours about late‑night noise, uncontrolled use of parking or common areas, or concerns over security and access codes. If the condominium rules and past assembly resolutions are not clearly understood before you start hosting, you may find yourself facing objections, formal warnings and, in some cases, court actions demanding that certain activities stop.
For an apartment near the beach, this means that you must read the condominium regulation and minutes with the same care you apply to municipal and regional rules, especially if your business plan relies on a constant flow of guests in high season. A careful reading can reveal restrictions, long‑standing sensitivities or, conversely, a building that has already embraced tourism and has internal rules designed to manage it.
What a lawyer can do for foreign owners (and what they do not do)
For foreign owners, the key is to understand what an Alghero holiday rental lawyer adds compared to a property manager, accountant or co‑host. A lawyer does not manage bookings, pricing or turnovers, and does not replace your tax advisor; instead, they make sure that the legal ground under your rental business is solid.
On the regulatory side, a lawyer can map out the applicable national, regional and municipal rules, explain the difference between tourist rental and hospitality structures, and check that your planned activity and documentation are aligned. They can also review or draft your rental agreements, house rules and disclaimers so they are consistent with Italian law and with the way you actually operate your property.
On the private law side, a lawyer can examine condominium rules, past minutes and any individual agreements, identifying potential friction points with neighbours and suggesting ways to structure your hosting activity to reduce the risk of disputes. If controversies arise with the municipality, neighbours or guests – such as fines, complaints or damage claims – the lawyer can represent you in correspondence and, where necessary, in court.
What they do not do is run the everyday logistics of your holiday home: that remains the domain of property managers, co‑hosts and accountants, some of whom specialise in Alghero and North‑West Sardinia. The value of legal support lies in ensuring that when your listing goes live and bookings start arriving, your hosting activity rests on a clear, compliant structure rather than on assumptions and copied templates.