Touring The Tuscan Hills In Italy – Episode #105

Welcome to Florence, Italy…commonly known as “the birthplace of the Renaissance”. Tourism is, by far, the most important of all industries and most of the Florentine economy relies on the money generated by international arrivals and students studying in the city. Manufacturing and commerce, however, still remain highly important.

Speaking to several local businesses and Real Estate Brokerages, I was able to realize that Florence also has a very “Tenant Friendly” law similar to Ontario (if not worse). Apparently, it is very difficult to evict a tenant in Florence…especially if the tenants include families with children. I met a business owner at a local meat shop who used to live in Canada and he moved to Italy for lifestyle reasons about 5 years ago. He told me that it takes a minimum of 6 months to evict a tenant and that you really need to be careful on who you choose as your tenants. If that is true, then if you think we have it bad with our Ontario Residential Tenancies Act then think again.

A relaxed lifestyle can be good in certain aspects, but Under the Tuscan Sun, it may be tough for a landlord to evict a tenant compared to Ontario’s laws. In the end, it is your due diligence that can save you, especially for a Landlord treating their real estate portfolio as a business.