Rent subsidy: relief available only in the event of marriage
The Ministry of Infrastructure has clarified, in a series of FAQs, the cases of uncertainty relating to the new allowance for separated parents
Key points
This benefit is available only in the case of marriage. In other situations, even where there are children and arrangements relating to their maintenance, the benefit cannot be claimed. This is one of the most important clarifications contained in the FAQs recently published by the Ministry of Infrastructure, to assist those wishing to apply for the new rent allowance of up to 6,000 euros per year intended for separated parents. The deadline is 28 October.
Over 30,000 applications received
“In the space of a week, more than 30,000 applications have been received, split equally between mums and dads.” Meanwhile, the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Matteo Salvini, has just provided an initial update on the figures: “The region with the highest number of applications already verified and accepted is Lombardy.”
Criticism from the PD: the reference to income is misleading
However, as the scheme enters its operational phase, controversy over its structure is growing. In particular, the PD, through Maria Cecilia Guerra (head of labour affairs at the national secretariat), has criticised on the website ‘lavoce.info’ the use of income (which must be ‘no more than 35,000 euros’) as the sole criterion, rather than the ISEE. This is a decision which, according to her analysis, will lead to distortions, allowing those with a low income but a positive net worth to access the scheme.
Exclusion
Let’s move on, however, to the answers. Anyone who has never been married – even if they have obtained a court order regarding maintenance and child custody – will not be eligible for the bonus. According to the MIT, in fact, ‘the Fund is expressly intended for separated or divorced parents’. It is no coincidence that the decree governing it ‘requires the name of the relevant court, as well as the number and date of the court order for separation or divorce’. Orders that ‘regulate the custody, placement or maintenance of children where no marriage has ever taken place cannot be considered equivalent for the purposes of accessing the grant’.
An end to joint ownership
Anyone who, in addition to their family home, owns even a share in another property will not be eligible for the bonus. The decree stipulates, in fact, that ‘the applicant must not own one or more residential properties in the municipality where the family home is situated or in neighbouring municipalities within a 50-kilometre radius’. This also applies to shares of ownership resulting from inheritance. The decree, in fact, makes no provision for derogations or exceptions on this point.
