To revive the non-tourist rental market, property must be protected

Not to punish, fiscally, but to remove obstacles, such as the risk of not being able to regain possession, due to arrears, of one's rented flat. After all, 25.7% of the total number of dwellings in the name of individuals constitute dormant homes. This was revealed in the fourth Federproprietà-Censis Report "Dormant houses, a wealth submerged. Proposals for reawakening the non-tourist rental market in Italy', which was held this morning in the Sala Zuccari of the Senate. If by dormant we mean everything that is not a 'first home', we are talking about a total of 8.5 million homes, the sum total of 5.8 million non-primary homes used for short stays or not rented out, almost 1.4 million without even a connection to the energy and water networks, and almost 1.3 million with undefined uses and not present in tax returns.

For 80% of Italians putting dormant houses on the rental market today is a good solution to expand supply, for 14.2% it is not, 5.8% have no definite opinion on the matter. 80.1% of those who live in the North East, 82.6% in the North West, 75.2% in the Centre and 81.3% in the South and Islands share this solution.

However, for 66% of Italians, owners who leave properties unused should not be penalised fiscally, for 28.3% it would be appropriate, 5.7% do not know. 68% of those living in the North-West, 59.7% in the North-East, 66.5% in the Centre and 67.8% in the South and Islands are against hitting owners of empty houses.

For 82.9% of Italians, it is the fear of not being able to regain possession of their home in the event of tenant arrears that keeps landlords from renting out properties. For 86.4% of citizens, then, eviction procedures, in case of arrears, should be speeded up.

"In Italy," emphasised Maurizio Pezzetta, deputy vice-president of Fimaa Italia-Confcommercio, speaking at the presentation of the report, "it is not short-let accommodation that is the cause of the crisis in ordinary long-term rentals. Suffice it to recall that more than 8.5 million homes, 25.7% of homes owned by individuals, remain unused, in most cases because owners are afraid to rent them out for long periods. The survey confirms that, in order to revive the rental offer, it is necessary to protect ownership. Paradoxically, 80% of Italians believe that putting dormant homes back on the rental market is an adequate response to the housing emergency," continues Fimaa. "At the same time, however, a similar percentage of owners (82.9%) renounce renting out a home because they are afraid of not being able to return to it in the event of tenant arrears. This confirms that Italians care about real estate as a heritage to be valorised and preserved, but they need guarantees to reopen the doors of these empty houses, and how can you blame them?".