There are over 100 thousand homes currently unused in the Italian public heritage. Out of a total of over 227 thousand unused or unusable public real estate units, for a total surface area of 40.2 million square metres. This is the picture that emerges from the research carried out by Nomisma for Cna Costruzioni. The emergency has many faces and is spreading like wildfire across Europe. This is also the focus of another report, that of ISPI which has just been published, with the evocative title "Addresing Europe's Urban Housing Crisis" and created by researchers Tobia Zevi - who is also a councilor of the Municipality of Rome - together with Andrè Sobczak. The numbers here are frightening: in Europe 650 thousand additional homes are needed every year, in addition to the 1.6 million already built, with an additional investment requirement of around 150 billion euros per year. But let's go in order starting from the Italian public heritage.
The analysis, developed on the basis of census data from the Ministry of Economy referring to 2022, identifies 227,262 real estate units. Over 141 thousand units, equal to 62.1% of the total, belong to the available assets. A significant basis on which to start recovery assessments. The Municipalities represent the main interlocutor: they hold 122,241 units, 53.8% of the total, and 56.7% of the registered area. Considering all local administrations, the share rises to 81.2% of the total surface area.
The research highlights a size distribution that also opens up spaces for micro and small businesses. Over 76% of the units fall into the classes up to 100 square meters, while properties larger than 2,000 square meters, just 1.3% of the total, concentrate 47.6% of the surface area. We therefore need differentiated projects and tools, capable of accompanying both smaller interventions and the recovery of large complexes.
The homes, as mentioned, are 117,553, more than half of the units registered. Alongside the residential assets, there are commercial premises, warehouses, offices, school buildings and sports facilities: assets to be assessed in relation to the actual needs of the communities and the possibilities of sustainable management. For Cna Costruzioni the priority is to transform this survey into a concrete regeneration path. The proposed guidelines are to make information on assets accessible and updated, identify priority interventions together with local authorities, build procedures and requirements proportionate to the characteristics of the projects and encourage the participation of small businesses, also through consortia and networks.
Broadening our gaze to the Twenty-Seven, the housing crisis is affecting us everywhere. According to the Zevi and Sobczak Report, 650 thousand more homes are needed every year, in addition to the 1.6 million already built, and around 150 billion euros of additional annual investments. In terms of needs, over 80 million people need affordable housing or social housing. Meanwhile, between 2010 and 2025, house prices in the European Union increased by 60.5% and rents by 28.8%. In cities, about four in ten residents would have to allocate more than 30% of their income to rent or buy an apartment of just 25 square meters. And in 2025, 12.4% of non-owners said they risked having to leave their home within three months because they could no longer afford it.
