Housing plan, from EU cities appeal to Brussels Sala: 100 billion needed

A European housing plan does not yet exist (nor EU resources dedicated to the sector), but European cities are calling for it. The request comes from the world of institutions and politics, but also from the Italian Bishops' Conference, and was reiterated yesterday during a visit to Milan by the Commission, the European Parliament and Regional Policy Commissioner Raffaele Fitto, on the occasion of a conference on the housing emergency.

Let us start with the objective fact: resources. Fitto spoke of 'doubling the current resources allocated to housing', but what figures we are talking about is unclear. In Europe there are no funds designed exclusively for this problem, rather structural and cohesion funds that can be used with co-financing by the State and the Regions.

On the other hand, the demand numbers in the major cities are clear. Take Rome and Milan. The Nomisma 2025 report highlights that in Milan there are 27,500 families who say they want to enter the rental market, but of these 3,000 are experiencing economic hardship because the rent exceeds 30% of their income. Meanwhile, there are 7 thousand families queuing up for council housing. In Rome, the numbers are growing: the number of families willing to rent has risen to 53,200; those in difficulty number 9,200, while there are 16,600 families waiting in the social housing lists. To this must be added the number of out-of-town students, 69,000, of whom only 16% find accommodation in student halls of residence.

Faced with this scenario, Milan mayor Giuseppe Sala has tried to give an indication of the resources needed: "A hundred billion euro would be needed. Together with a number of other centres,' Sala recalls, 'last 15 May we were in Brussels to present the Housing Action Plan, the extraordinary plan for housing.

In Milan, meanwhile, the Piano Casa (Housing Plan) has been launched, which envisages the construction over ten years of 10,000 housing units for moderate rents, built by private individuals thanks to the concession of areas by the public (an estimated investment of 2 billion). Expressions of interest have started and the first areas should soon be assigned. The private individuals (mostly cooperatives) will have to guarantee the municipality that prices will not exceed 80 euro per square metre per year of rent'.