Confconstruction, the Senate stops EU restrictions on private property

The European regulation on affordable housing, the Affordable Housing Act, "exceeds the objective of improving the functioning of the internal market, effectively configuring a European regulation of housing policies and the conditions under which it is possible to limit the use of private property, in an area characterized by the competences of the Member States and their regional and local institutions". This can be read in the resolution approved today by the European Union Policies Committee of the Senate, with Roberto Rosso as rapporteur.

"The proposal - we read - demonstrates neither the need nor the added value of a uniform intervention at European level, given the predominantly local nature of real estate markets and the profound differences between member states and territories. The conditions of access to housing depend on factors such as the structure of real estate ownership, demographic dynamics, tourist pressure, the availability of housing, tax systems and urban planning policies".

These elements "require interventions calibrated on the actual territorial conditions, the identification of which is mainly the responsibility of national and local authorities. The European Commission itself recognizes that housing policy, urban planning and regulation of land use remain predominantly the responsibility of the Member States".

From the Commission, "which expressed a reasoned opinion of non-compliance of the proposal with the principle of subsidiarity", underlines Confedilizia, "a clear position emerges against the approach of the European regulation, which aims to introduce a common framework for restrictions on short-term rentals and the use of properties not intended for main residence".

"The document - highlights the association - calls into question the intervention of the European Union in a predominantly national and local area of competence, highlighting how the proposal ends up configuring 'a European regulation of housing policies and the conditions under which it is possible to limit the use of private property'.

Particularly significant is the passage in which the choice to provide binding rules for restrictions on private property is contested, instead leaving structural measures to increase the housing supply, considered more effective, to a simple recommendation. In fact, the Commission recalls the need to prioritize the recovery of unused properties, urban regeneration, investments in social housing, the simplification of procedures and incentives for residential rental".

"Of note", also, is the reference to 'guarantees against arrears and certainty of the timescales for returning properties', tools that Confedilizia has long indicated are indispensable - together with adequate fiscal policies - "to restore confidence in owners, encourage the placing of homes on the rental market and contribute to making rents more accessible".