Tvoi ConciergeLong-Term Apartment and House Rental in Florence
Off-market search, viewings packed into one or two days, negotiation, a contract we read before you sign, and the keys in your hand.
A long-term rental in Florence normally runs on one of three standard contracts: the 4+4 at free-market rent, the 3+2 canone concordato tied to the local territorial agreement, and the contratto transitorio of up to 18 months for a temporary stay. Every lease has to be registered with the Agenzia delle Entrate within 30 days of signing, or of the start date if that comes first, and the deposit cannot legally exceed three months' rent. As a foreign tenant you will be asked for a codice fiscale, ID and proof of income, and very often for a guarantor, a bank guarantee or several months paid up front. We run the whole search for you. We take a brief (area, budget, floor, lift, parking, garden, pets, distance to school), build a shortlist from the portals and from the homes that in Florence quietly change hands through local contacts and never get listed, pack the viewings into one or two days with a driver, negotiate the rent and the fixes, check the owner, the building and the condominium rules, prepare and register the contract, switch the utilities into your name and get you through the move-in. After that we handle the paperwork that depends on the lease: residenza at the anagrafe and the tessera sanitaria. If you move to Forte dei Marmi for the summer, we find the seasonal home there too.
What We Take Care Of
Brief and Neighbourhood Shortlist
First we decide where you should actually live. Centro storico: everything on foot, old buildings, often no lift and no parking, and the car limited by the ZTL. Oltrarno (San Frediano, Santo Spirito): the left bank, artisan workshops and real neighbourhood life. Campo di Marte: quiet residential east, post-war buildings with lifts and garages, schools nearby and parking that is far less of a fight. Fiesole: the hills above the city, villas with gardens and views, 20-25 minutes by car. Bagno a Ripoli: green south-east, houses with gardens and pools, popular with families. Settignano: a small hillside village north-east of the city, terraces, silence and a panorama over Florence.
Viewings in One or Two Days
We pre-screen the listings, deal with the agents and owners and then group every viewing into one or two consecutive days, with a driver and a route built around the appointment times. If you are still abroad we go instead of you and send honest video: rooms, light, street noise, the entrance, the courtyard, the meters and the state of the bathrooms.
Negotiation and Checks
We negotiate the rent, the term, the furniture and the repairs to be done before you move in. We verify that the person letting the flat is the owner or holds a proper power of attorney, look at the cadastral data and the energy certificate (APE), read the regolamento condominiale on pets, subletting, works and quiet hours, and find out what the condominium charges are and what they cover.
Contract Type and Registration
We match the contract to your situation: 4+4 at free-market rent, 3+2 canone concordato (in Florence the bands come from the local accordo territoriale, and the tax benefits as a rule require an attestation from one of the signatory associations), or a transitorio of up to 18 months for a temporary stay. The lease is then registered with the Agenzia delle Entrate within 30 days of signing, or of the start date if that comes first. Registration tax on a residential lease normally works out at roughly 2% of the annual rent, subject to a legal annual minimum, and we check the current figure and who pays what before you sign.
Deposit, Guarantees and Utilities
By law the deposit cannot exceed three months' rent and it earns statutory interest for the tenant. We work out the guarantee package owners ask foreigners for: proof of income, a bank guarantee (fideiussione), an Italian guarantor or rent paid in advance. Then we transfer electricity, gas, water and internet into your name, photograph the meter readings at handover and explain who pays TARI and the condominium fees.
Move-In, Furnishing and the Paperwork After
We organise the movers, a deep clean, a lock change, flat-pack assembly and a first shop for linen and appliances if the place comes empty. Once you are in, we file the residenza application at the anagrafe (which normally needs the registered lease), then the health service registration and tessera sanitaria your status entitles you to, a family doctor and a school near the new address.
Why It Goes Faster With Us
15+ Years in Florence
Olga has lived in Tuscany for over 15 years. We work directly with local agencies, building managers and owners, so we often see a home before it reaches a portal, if it ever does.
We View It For You
If you are still abroad, we go to the viewings ourselves and send you a straight video with the noise, the light and the stairwell, not wide-angle photos taken in the best hour of the day.
We Read the Contract First
Term, indexation, exit clauses, who pays for what: we go through all of it before you sign and get the awkward clauses fixed while there is still room to negotiate. Where a point needs a lawyer, we bring one in.
One Contact, Four Languages
Russian, Italian, English and German. After the move-in we stay reachable for the bills, the plumber, the condominium meeting and the contract renewal.
Renting in Florence: Common Questions
How much is a long-term rental in Florence?
It comes down to the individual home rather than to any city average: the area, the floor and whether there is a lift, a terrace or a garden, furnished or empty, how heavy the condominium charges are, and the season, because in Florence long lets compete for the same apartments as short-term tourist rentals. After a short brief we send you a current shortlist with the real asking rents for the homes that genuinely match what you need, so you are working with live figures and not with an average. Worth knowing: a canone concordato contract can come with a lower rent, because it has to stay inside the bands agreed in the local accordo territoriale.
What documents does a foreign tenant need?
As a rule: passport or residence permit, codice fiscale and proof of income (employment contract and payslips, a tax return, bank statements or pension documents). Owners frequently ask for something extra, such as a guarantor, a bank guarantee or a few months paid in advance, and when the tenant is a non-EU citizen the landlord also has to report the occupancy to the local public security authority, normally within 48 hours.
Can I rent without an Italian employment contract?
Yes, and it is the normal case for relocating families and remote workers. Instead of an Italian contract we evidence stable income another way: bank statements, a foreign employment or freelance contract, a tax return or funds on deposit, and where needed we put a bank guarantee or advance payment on the table.
How long does the search take?
Usually two to four weeks from brief to signature, if you can commit to viewing dates and decide quickly. We compress the viewings into one or two days, because a genuinely good Florence apartment is gone within days, so we get your documents ready before the first visit.
Furnished or unfurnished?
In Florence smaller apartments are more often let furnished, while larger family flats and houses in the hills frequently come empty. Furnished means you move in immediately; unfurnished usually rents for less and feels like your own home sooner, but budget three to four weeks and a real sum for furniture. We cost both options and can furnish the place turnkey.
Are pets and children accepted?
Children are never an issue. Pets can be: some owners refuse them and some condominium rules are strict, so we filter those homes out at the shortlist stage and write the permission for your animals into the contract itself.
Who registers the lease and what does it cost?
The lease is registered with the Agenzia delle Entrate within 30 days of signing or of the start date, usually by the landlord, and in practice the registration tax is split between the two sides. On a residential lease that tax normally comes to roughly 2% of the annual rent, subject to a legal annual minimum, unless the landlord opts for the cedolare secca regime, which replaces both the registration tax and the stamp duty on the contract.