Rent allowance for separated parents: applications now open
The MIT has published the call for applications governing the new grant: it will be capped at 6,000 euros per year
Applications for the rent subsidy for separated parents can be submitted from 12 noon on 7 October. The Ministry of Infrastructure has, in fact, launched the online platform through which it will be possible to apply for the new housing support grant intended for separated or divorced parents who do not hold title to the family home and who have dependent children up to the age of 21.
What does the measure entail?
The new allowance is worth 20 million euros and was introduced by the latest budget to benefit separated and divorced parents. More specifically, the allowance will be reserved for those separated parents who have declared an income of no more than 35,000 euros.
To obtain it – unusually for this type of scheme – the ISEE will not be taken into account.
The bonus will amount to 50 per cent of the rent paid, subject to a cap of 6,000 euros per year: that is, 500 euros per month. The funds will be allocated amongst the regions based on three criteria: the average number of separated or divorced parents (which is the main factor), the average regional income and the percentage of local authorities with a housing shortage. Taking these parameters into account, it appears that the first regions to receive funds will be Lombardy, Lazio and Campania.
The other hurdles
Income requirements will not be the only condition to be met. In addition to being legally separated or divorced, the parent must hold a tenancy agreement and must not own any property in the same municipality as the family home or in neighbouring municipalities, within a radius of 50 kilometres. They must also ‘be in compliance with their obligations regarding the care and maintenance of their children’.
