Emilia Romagna Economy Observatory

Dwellings

Emilia-Romagna launches a 300 million plan for the right to housing

The aim is to reduce to zero the amount of public housing currently vacant through the redevelopment of the Public Housing and Social Housing stock

24 June 2025

Old streets in Santarcangelo di Romagna town on sunny summer day, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

4' min read

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - The Emilia-Romagna Region is taking the field for the right to housing and is launching a 300 million euro plan for the redevelopment of public residential housing (Erp) and social residential housing (Ers). The aim is to clear the public housing stock currently vacant because it is in need of renovation, which can be quickly reallocated to low- and middle-income workers. Of the allocated funds, EUR 200 million will come from a soft loan with the European Investment Bank and EUR 100 million from regional finance.

An innovative measure

The measure will be divided into two lines of action. The first concerns the approximately 3500 dwellings that, according to an initial estimate taken from the regional observatory of the housing system, are currently unassigned because they are in need of renovation. These dwellings would require an average of EUR 30,000 worth of work that can be carried out quickly. The second line of action concerns energy efficiency works in Erp buildings, with the aim of reducing energy poverty as much as possible. In fact, in addition to the rents - which, according to Housing Policy councillor Giovanni Paglia, stated at the press conference are around 200-300 euro - they are often old and have a very low energy classification, with very high utility costs.

The financing disbursed by the EIB will be repaid through a 30-year amortisation plan that will be entirely sustained by the proceeds of the fees. It will be the municipalities that will contribute pro-rata to the instalments to be paid by the Region. In addition, part of the proceeds will go into a guarantee fund to cover any arrears. There will also be an extraprofit that the Region will re-inject into the public housing circuit part of the fees to strengthen the maintenance of Erp housing. The recovered dwellings will temporarily become part of the Social Residential Housing (Ers) patrimony and will be assigned to citizens and families with low and medium incomes who will pay a lowered rent.

The stages

The time horizon envisaged for the implementation of the works of the two programme lines is five years, but the objective is to start and finish the housing renovation works in two years. This is why Emilia-Romagna will undertake to take the first steps for the measure immediately. By the summer, the Region will publish an expression of interest to collect nominations from municipalities that have vacant Erp housing, which cannot be assigned for maintenance reasons, and buildings to be upgraded in terms of energy efficiency, on the basis of criteria - agreed between the Region itself and the local administrations - ranging from the needs of the territories, to the building conditions of the housing, to the possibility of being easily placed on the market.

At the same time, the Region will define the procedures, including those relating to the agreements that will have to be stipulated with the municipalities, and will amend Regional Law 24/2001, which regulates public intervention in the housing sector, thus passing through the Legislative Assembly. By the beginning of 2026, the call for applications addressed to municipalities will be published to collect the candidatures of dwellings and buildings that will be able to benefit from the renovation and energy efficiency interventions, as well as the calls for applications addressed to households interested in subsidised rental.

Saving a welfare model

The measure is "innovative, the first of its kind taken on by a Region, which envisages a path of broad sharing with the territories and social partners brought together in the Labour and Climate Pact. It is a first, concrete response to a fast-growing housing emergency, particularly with regard to rented flats, which are increasingly inaccessible to families, workers and students," say the president, Michele de Pascale, and the councillor for housing policies, Giovanni Paglia. The plan "will, on the one hand, make it possible toincrease the availability of housing for rent at controlled rents for the benefit of the many who are now excluded from the private market, and on the other to enhance the value of the public housing stock," they continue, "under the direction of the Region, but in close connection with the local administrations and the managing bodies.

"Emilia-Romagna is very attractive for study, work and increasingly also for tourism. A positive dynamic in itself, but one that must be governed. We cannot leave everything to the market, we want to and we must work to safeguard a model of welfare and social cohesion that has always represented the added value of this region," De Pascale and Paglia go on to say. "This first measure, which acts as a good example on public property, will be followed by others of an urban planning nature and in synergy with the regional production system. There remains the inescapable issue of a national housing plan supported by adequate resources," they conclude, "a measure that has been missing for too long and without which every measure adopted at the local level risks being non-exhaustive.