30/06/2024
Policies to Decommodify and Revive the Right to Housing in Italy
My new policy brief: silvia cafora, Jacopo Lareno Faccini, Tommaso Vitale for Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli
Italy faces significant challenges in ensuring the right to housing, as evidenced by its deeply entrenched housing culture that prioritizes home ownership. This policy brief examines the structural issues underlying Italy’s housing crisis and proposes innovative policies to decommodify housing and revive all citizens' right to housing. The document underscores the urgent need for comprehensive policy reform to address exclusionary dynamics and the commodification of housing.
# # # Context and Current
Challenges In Italy, housing policies have historically favored home ownership, contributing to a dual and polarized housing system. This system has led to a stark separation between private and public housing supplies, with public housing becoming increasingly marginal. This polarization has resulted in two contrasting scenarios: highly marginal territories characterized by depopulation and loss of property values, and densely populated urban areas experiencing rising property values and increased risk of exclusion from housing. Moreover, Italy’s public expenditure on housing is notably low, currently under 0.1% of GDP compared to the European average of 0.4%. This insufficient investment has led to a lack of affordable housing, particularly in attractive cities such as Milan, Florence, and Rome, which draw new populations but face severe housing shortages.
# # # Main Policy Proposals
The policy brief proposes a multifaceted approach to address these issues, focusing on increasing public investment, redefining social housing, enhancing inclusivity, and strengthening preventive measures.
The key proposals are:
# # # # 1. Increasing Public Investment
- **Restore and Increase Public Expenditure**
# # # # 2. Redefining Social Housing
- **Reform Social Housing Regulations**
# # # # 3. Enhancing Inclusivity
- **Support for Marginalized Groups**
# # # # 4. Strengthening Preventive Measures
- **Preventive Housing Arrangements**
# # # Additional Policy Directions
The policy brief also highlights the need for a more progressive and transparent approach to managing real estate and land assets, both public and private, to support the production of affordable housing. It emphasizes breaking down the false dichotomy between ecological transition and affordable housing.
# # # # Institutional Reorganization
- **Reorganize Municipal Housing Divisions**: Innovate internal municipal structures to better address housing issues.
In open access, please download it here:
ITA | ENG While the Charter of Fundamental European Rights declares that housing is a fundamental good for leading a dignified life (2002, Art. 34.3), in Italy, the right to housing is not enshrined in the Constitution. The only normative reference is the Constitution’s Article 47, co. 2, which at...
