Affordable housing, local and government projects

The decline in purchasing power and the imbalance between supply and demand are making housing increasingly unaffordable in urban areas: according to Nomisma's Real Estate Observatory, rising rents are weighing on household budgets and reducing the territories' ability to attract and retain skilled workers.

Today in Italy housing hardship concerns about 1.5 million families, mostly renting. It is in this context that a phase of profound transition in housing policies is opening, calling for urban, administrative and fiscal simplifications. Cities are moving forward with dedicated initiatives and the Italian government has also put housing back at the centre of the agenda: Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has announced the imminent presentation of a Housing Plan for 100,000 new housing units at subsidised rents over ten years, to supplement social housing policies. An operation, directed by the Prime Minister's Office, that will involve several ministries, public bodies owning assets, Mef's subsidiaries, EIB, private operators and the Third Sector. With a strategy that aims to multiply public resources through private capital and dedicated financial instruments, including models that are still not widespread in Italy, such as thebuild to rent. And according to estimates, reported in a government document that Il Sole 24 Ore was able to view, an estimated 1.5 billion in national resources could activate up to 9 billion in investments, with benefits for about 3.5 million people. No comment so far from the government, operational details are expected soon from Palazzo Chigi.

A key role will be played by private individuals, including international capital, but one of the decisive drivers of the Home Plan is the link with the valorisation of public assets, addressed directly by a steering committee at the Mef, headed by Lucia Albano. According to data from Via XX Settembre, the public administration has about 53 thousand unused properties, amounting to over 9 million square metres that could potentially be converted for residential use. Of these, about 44 thousand require limited maintenance work, 9 thousand need more in-depth redevelopment. Still, in the 15 metropolitan cities there are about 6,700 units, covering over 2.1 million square metres, with sizes compatible with households of two to four persons.

Along these lines are also the experiences launched in South Tyrol and Trentino for the valorisation of public assets with dedicated financial instruments. In the Province of Bolzano, the Fondo Valore Alto Adige/Südtirol, managed by Euregio Plus sgr, was launched to convert public real estate that is no longer instrumental, including former military areas. The fund provides an initial endowment of 40 million euro, subscribed in equal parts by the Province and Invimit. In Trentino, on the other hand, the Provincial Council gave the go-ahead in recent months to the Ri-Val project, a 60 million euro fund with a 16-year horizon, developed with Cassa del Trentino and Cdp, for around 300 affordable housing units in disadvantaged areas or areas with high tourist pressure.

Even the Veneto accelerates on housing policies: the new governor Alberto Stefani started the year with the "Generation Housing" programme, aimed at a wide audience of workers, young people, families, caregivers and single-income households. The aim, Stefani explained to Il Sole 24 Ore, 'is to overcome the historical dichotomy between public housing and the market, building an integrated system that brings together Erp, social housing, rent by agreement and new tools for access to housing'. The first front of intervention concerns 'the recovery of about 8,800 Ater housing units that are currently unoccupied and blocked by maintenance and energy deficiencies'. The Region will start with a revision of the law on Erp and an initial allocation of 50 million euro, also through the remodulation of ERDF and ESF+ funds, "focusing on projects that can be implemented immediately and on a leverage effect capable of attracting operators and institutional investors".