Housing emergency

Sala: 'A national housing plan needs 100 billion'

At the conference on the housing emergency at Palazzo Marino in Milan, EU Housing Commissioner Dan Jorgensen said that Europe "can make a positive difference by also offering "new tools". For deputy minister Raffaele Fitto: "Double resources with the revision of cohesion funds".

16 September 2025

5' min read

Europe to the test of the housing challenge. From priority to emergency. In Milan, Raffaele Fitto, Executive Vice-President for Cohesion of the European Commission, and Irene Tinagli, President of the HOUS Committee of the European Parliament, met with the European Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jørgensen, who reminded local authorities, stakeholders and citizens of the public consultation open until 17 October to listen to ideas and experiences on housing, in order to contribute, concretely, from the territory, to build the European housing plan.

"The European Union," emphasised Dan Jørgensen, "should not replace national responsibilities, but it can provide support for connection and empowerment by unlocking more funding and investment, offering new policy tools to national governments, regions and cities, reducing bureaucracy and sharing best practices on how to provide decent services, sustainable and affordable housing.

Milan mayor Giuseppe Sala opened the proceedings (and closed them in a double interview with Lombardy regional governor Attilio Fontana, moderated by Tinagli herself), mentioning the "national housing plan also referred to by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni", and on several occasions the speakers invited to the discussion panels recalled the commitment announced in June by Minister Matteo Salvini in the order of 600 million euros against housing hardship. "I believe it is necessary and right to work on a Housing Plan," Sala said, "but it means investing a hundred billion, that is the measure. In Lombardy's capital alone, the Piano Casa is worth a couple of billion and envisages making municipal areas available to private individuals to build 10,000 affordable flats for the middle class. "For budgetary reasons," the mayor commented, "it is unthinkable that we can have these resources: we have to agree with the cities, with the government and with the EU to understand who does what and how this issue should be addressed.

At Palazzo Marino, Cdp and Bei, with Assoimmobiliare, Fondazione Cariplo, Ance, Federcasa, Housing Europe, Confcooperative, Fondazione Housing Sociale and Legacoop, met: they all shared the urgency and all asked to tackle the housing question 'together'.

"The issue is complex, the emergency is there but we have put tools, resources and planning in place to deal with it," Fitto explained to the Milan audience. "The minimum objective is to double the current resources allocated to housing.
Fitto drew attention to the commitment to approve the agenda for the cities by the end of the year, to direct resources in a targeted manner, also reviewing the current cohesion policy of the 2021-2027 budget and to define strategies and objectives for the 2028-2034 budget, the result of a broad public debate. The watchwords are 'simplification and flexibility' considering five priorities that on a voluntary basis can change the current programming (defence, competitiveness, energy, water and housing precisely). Fitto recalls that with the NRP, through the Integrated Plans and Pinqua, 5 billion euros have been allocated for housing, in addition to cohesion policies dedicated to metropolitan cities. Another driver remains energy efficiency, referred to by several stakeholders as an opportunity to renew public assets.

Housing emergency means many things. Keeping the public, private and social sectors together, balancing welfare and urban planning. We talk about rents in urban contexts that exceed 60-70% of wages, making access to housing prohibitive even for those who could pay, but not that much. Another issue is that of empty and vacant properties, when on the other hand the crisis of access to housing remains high.

Irene Tinagli coordinated the proceedings of the Italian leg of the European tour of the special housing commission - which she has chaired since January - after stops in Barcelona, Paris and Vienna. In the Austrian capital, the MEP from the Democratic Party recalled, "65% of people live in rented housing and only 30% are private market rents, the rest are rents from public or private non-profit social housing, with capped rents. We are talking about a housing stock of capped rents for the working middle class'. A concrete answer to a need that in most European urban areas remains unresolved, going so far as to expel workers who cannot pay a rent. It should be added that 'every year the government gives Vienna 250 million euros and the city adds as much, also being able to count on decisive contributions from the private social sector'. It is a laboratory that works: "where every year we know that there are certain resources" and where integrated governance makes the difference, with the conferral of land and property to dedicated companies, with an active role by non-profit cooperatives that reinvest profits in maintenance and new interventions, and also with the presence of developers and private investors that can operate with facilitated instruments.

Tinagli recounts the work that has been done in recent months, of collecting data, and contextually highlighting the lack of homogenous information and definitions, mapping problems and solutions. There have also been many hearings with mayors to strengthen the relationship with large cities. With the commitment to structure a dedicated line for housing and housing hardship, with multi-year investments that cannot be resolved with one-off measures.

Among the voices in the debate was that of Dario Scannapieco, CEO of Cdp, with a direct message on the need to attract private investors to rise to the challenge of the housing emergency, which now also involves workers. Focus on "patient investors" and attention to "housing for workers, citing the example of Fincantieri in Molfalcone, which cannot fail to take care of housing for workers". Scannapieco mentioned the partnerships already launched at European level (with the EIF, InvestEU and new funds) to support social housing (with a focus on student halls of residence and a first operation soon to be delivered in Naples) and shared his model with the EU in view of the Affordable Housing Plan 2026.

The appeal of the various stakeholders is for a mix of financial, fiscal and regulatory instruments, for an active presence of patient finance, with public guarantees to attract private savings. From Assoimmobiliare to Legacoop, many have been active in recent months to focus on working hypotheses. Proposals are made to Europe, but then resources and shared objectives are asked for. Innovation cannot ignore the causes of rising costs (areas, construction, financial burdens, 110% effects). For most, it is necessary to start from the use of vacant public and private property, also with the involvement of the banking system, and with sustainable rental solutions and home business benefits. Short-term rentals related to tourism and gentrification processes should be considered on the radar. The trump card? Governance.

Paola PierottiCollaboratrice
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