The 2026 Housing Plan takes a new step forward. The Environment Commission of the Chamber has concluded the examination of decree no. 66/2026, approving a series of changes affecting rents for off-site university students, public housing and projects intended to increase the supply of affordable housing.
Among the most significant innovations stands out the refinancing of the fund for rent support for university students. But the provision also contains measures that aim to strengthen the role of the Municipalities and encourage the creation of rent-controlled housing intended for specific categories of workers. The text is now awaited for final passage in the Chamber, which should pass it without further changes.
What does the new Housing Plan approved by the Commission provide?
In recent years, the sharp increase in property prices and rents has made it increasingly difficult for hundreds of thousands of citizens to find a home at affordable costs. Especially in university cities and large urban centers with a high employment density. The changes approved by the Parliamentary Commission intervene on several fronts:
- support for off-site students;
- public residential construction;
- subsidized construction;
- greater involvement of local authorities;
- development of rent-controlled housing programs.
The skeleton of the Housing Plan can be further summarized in an interconnected triangle: social housing, social housing and private investments. It follows that the first move will be to make approximately 60 thousand public housing units accessible, which at the moment are not, within a year of the final approval of the decree. In this regard, the executive has allocated 1.7 billion euros, which can be integrated with funds for urban regeneration up to a maximum of 4.8 billion.
As regards social housing, i.e. the creation of new housing at controlled prices, 3.6 billion euros are foreseen. On the private investment front, the new rules intend to lighten the system with bureaucratic simplifications and faster procedures. For investments exceeding one billion euros, the appointment of an extraordinary commissioner and the issuing of single authorization measures are envisaged.
Rentals for students, the fund for non-residents returns
One of the measures that has received the greatest consensus concerns the refinancing of the fund intended for off-site university students. For 2026, 8.5 million euros are allocated, which will contribute to supporting those enrolled in Italian state universities in paying their rent. To be able to access the measure, two fundamental requirements will be needed:
- Family ISEE not exceeding 20 thousand euros;
- do not benefit from other public subsidies for housing.
The measure is part of the fund established in 2021 and aims to provide concrete help at a time when the cost of rooms and apartments in university cities has more than exceeded the economic sustainability of an average family.
Calculated prices, who will receive the 100 thousand accommodations
Another pillar of the Housing Plan concerns the construction of homes at controlled prices. These are approximately one hundred thousand homes that will be assigned over the next 10 years and which already have more or less defined recipients. The decree confirmed the requirements for access to these properties, from income to the nationality of potential beneficiaries. Identified in the following general categories:
- young professionals at their first job;
- off-site workers;
- elderly people interested in cohabitation solutions;
- nurses;
- teachers;
- belonging to the police forces.
The first requirement “widens” the boundaries of nationality. The accommodation will be available not only to Italian citizens, but also to European citizens and even those coming from non-EU countries. Foreigners must obviously possess a valid valid residence permit granted for work in Italy.
As regards the economic requirements, anyone with a family ISEE of more than 20 thousand euros will be able to apply, i.e. above the limit established for access to public housing. At the same time, applicants will have to demonstrate that they are in difficulty in finding a property, based on the sums that regulate the free market.
As stated in the provision issued by the Commission, “the charges on an annual basis connected to the purchase of property or rental at a price or rent based on current market values” must be higher than at least “30% of the average disposable personal income or of the cohabiting family unit”.
Some changes foreseen in the first drafts are skipped
Let us now move on to the differences between the text approved by the Commission and being examined by the Chamber and the initial draft of the decree. Among the withdrawn amendments, the one that should have established a new financial instrument powered by approximately 1.2 billion euros from the remodulation of the Pnrr stands out. A “treasure” that would have been allocated to a fund managed by Cdp Real Asset.
The project was not permanently cancelled, but its implementation was postponed to a later stage. Furthermore, the amendment which provided for the direct involvement of the State Property Agency in the valorisation and disposal of local authorities’ properties was withdrawn.
