Yacht rental law in Italy

[SpinDreams]

I am a brit who owns a 42ft sailboat (Dutch flagged) moored in Sardinia, Italy. I have been told that it is okay to do occasional rentals of my boat with me as skipper for up to 45 days or so per year and I was thinking of spending the summer taking some people sailing by using sites like clickandboat.com and sailsquare.com which seem to cater for exactly my situation and hopefully pay for next years mooring fees at least.

I have however just read of the coastguard fining some tourist pleasure boats lots of money for taking tourists on excursions. see Multa da 7mila euro per 2 barche portavano turisti abusivamente

Now I am a little scared as I have two bookings for this august I was planning to take.

Can anyone advise?

[sailormed]

My Google translate mentions; "....abusively transported passengers following pre-established stops and itineraries."
Looks more like an illegal passenger ferry service.
This is a completely different animal for me.

[Kenomac]

If it's not legal to do, you will get stopped in Italy. There are plenty of patrol boats looking out for illegal charters being done and you will stick out like a sore thumb. Obey the laws, and the Italian authorities are great about leaving you alone.

[SpinDreams]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

If it's not legal to do, you will get stopped in Italy. There are plenty of patrol boats looking out for illegal charters being done and you will stick out like a sore thumb. Obey the laws, and the Italian authorities are great about leaving you alone.

This is the problem, I am trying to understand what is and isn't allowed, my italian is not good so finding it hard to get to the right info, hoping someone here has experience.

[FabioC]

This article explains the Italian law on the subject very well.

Noleggio occasionale: vi spieghiamo tutta la verità

The bottom line is that your sailboat qualifies, as long as you (the owner) are the one who is skippering the boat. The maximum number of days is 42, not 45.

Note however that you must communicate the charter to "Agenzia delle Entrate" (the Italian IRS - There is a form to file) e alla "Capitaneria di Porto" (I am sure you know what it is - this needs to be done in advance". Do not try to avoid these, you'll get in trouble.

[mwmsea]

I operated charters in Sardegna from 2005-2006. In those days they had a law that allowed a sailboat under 30 feet to operate without a permit.

Any yacht above 30 feet has to get a permit from the Capitaneria Di Porto in la Maddalena if you want to go to the Islands in The Maddalena Archipelago.

Laws might have changed since then but worth looking into. Boat must be an EU constructed and flagged vessel. Captain must also be an Italian citizen with the proper patente nautica. Nautical license. Limit is 12 passengers.

Hope this helps.

[Kenomac]

This is all good news, I’m glad the OP brought up this topic. A great way for us to make some cash while cruising.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

This is all good news, I’m glad the OP brought up this topic. A great way for us to make some cash while cruising.

Yeah, you could use the extra cash to buy a liferaft!!! 🤣

[FabioC]

Originally Posted by mwmsea

I operated charters in Sardegna from 2005-2006. In those days they had a law that allowed a sailboat under 30 feet to operate without a permit.

Any yacht above 30 feet has to get a permit from the Capitaneria Di Porto in la Maddalena if you want to go to the Islands in The Maddalena Archipelago.

Laws might have changed since then but worth looking into. Boat must be an EU constructed and flagged vessel. Captain must also be an Italian citizen with the proper patente nautica. Nautical license. Limit is 12 passengers.

Hope this helps.

Yes, laws have actually changed multiple times on this subject (read my previous reply to this thread), but in general the Italian government is trying to be friendly with boat owners and allow them to make a (taxable) buck.

[mwmsea]

Does the boat owner need to be an Italian citizen with an Italian Patente Nautico?

[yeloya]

I don't know if the laws have changed in the meantime but in 2011 , Guardia di Finanza boarded my boat in the marina south of Italy (Villaresmio) and checked all the papers to figure out if I was chartering or not. Even though we were just my wife and myself, they insisted that I was chartering !! As I speak fluent Italian, somehow I could get away after long discussions..
I personally won't try that in Italy or Croatia. Greece and Turkey is much easier in this respect


Cheers


Yeloya

[redneckrob]

Originally Posted by SpinDreams

I am a brit who owns a 42ft sailboat (Dutch flagged) moored in Sardinia, Italy. I have been told that it is okay to do occasional rentals of my boat with me as skipper for up to 45 days or so per year and I was thinking of spending the summer taking some people sailing by using sites like clickandboat.com and sailsquare.com which seem to cater for exactly my situation and hopefully pay for next years mooring fees at least.

I have however just read of the coastguard fining some tourist pleasure boats lots of money for taking tourists on excursions. see Multa da 7mila euro per 2 barche portavano turisti abusivamente

Now I am a little scared as I have two bookings for this august I was planning to take.

Can anyone advise?

You will also need to see if you need a work visa to do this if you don't already have one, independent of the boat charter specific rules. Unless specifically exempted you generally do, I would be interested to hear from those with experience in Italy if that is the case here?

[SpinDreams]

Guys, you are replying to an almost 4 year old thread, much of the world has changed in those years not least because of Covid and Brexit. In answer though, I am a Brit but I have lived for over 15 years and am resident in Italy so do not and did not need a work visa. In fact, I spent a year in 2018 doing charters, however what stopped me was that they decided that only Italian flagged boats would be allowed to offer charters and I have no intention of changing my flag to Italian (Now polish). It was a fun year though with many good memories until everything turned to **** with Covid and Brexit.

[CuMara]

I would like to repeat pretty same question to get updates for 2024. I am an Irish person who owns a 41ft sailboat (Greek flagged) moored in Sardinia, Italy. I have been informed that it is permissible to occasionally rent out my boat with me as the skipper for up to around 42 days per year. I am considering spending the summer taking people sailing, using websites like clickandboat.com and sailsquare.com, which seem to cater exactly to my situation. Hopefully, this can help cover at least next year's mooring fees. Please let me know how I can do this legally without changing the flag. Is there any legal way to obtain a permit?

[Selkie Sailing]

I would also be very careful to do this. Italy has many, many rules and regulations that foreigners are not aware off, but locals are. Next to this if you have the bad luck that 'someone' doesn't like it you (being a well doing foreigner) making money with renting out your boat yourselves directly could cause problems/many questions as well with Guardia Finanza.