From Bologna to Naples, local variables decide the appeal of agreed contracts
In Bologna, the presence of a cellar saves 10% on the agreed rent. The same reduction in Turin can be applied on the minimum rent in the case of degraded housing. In Milan the territorial agreement road map, indicating homogeneous zones, is 996 pages long. While in Naples tenants and owners can choose between two territorial agreements: signed, obviously, by different associations. These are some of the singularities of the discipline on agreed rents in large cities.
Given the continuing absence or weakness of the social rent fund funding, which is supposed to provide a monetary contribution to tenants, agreed rental contracts (3+2) remain the main channel to lower the burden of the rent on the household income; even for tenants in good economic condition. The agreed rent can today be considered, even if improperly, the main social policy on the rental market.
Contracting and Market
The extent of the aid that households with low incomes can receive depends exclusively on the rents defined by territorial agreements, negotiated between landlord associations and tenants' unions. The municipalities have no say in the matter. For landlords, they can make the rents set by the agreements cheaper, by lowering the Imu rate or providing other tax breaks. But landlords have no obligation to share this tax saving with their tenants.
The level of agreed rents depends on the bargaining strength of each of the parties (landlord and tenant representatives) signing the territorial agreement, and on market situations. Two factors that reflect local conditions and vary over time.
The Framework of Agreements
In principle, territorial agreements have in common the criteria for determining fees. Cities are always divided into zones considered homogeneous in terms of urban planning and construction; and the geography can become even more varied with the identification of micro-zones within each macro agglomeration. The rents depend, of course, on the location of the properties: they are higher in high-value areas and fall as one moves towards the suburbs. The size of the dwelling, measured by surface area and/or number of rooms, also has an impact.
