One of the most significant items concerns the extension of deductions for works on properties. In the absence of new interventions, from 2027 the ecobonus, earthquake bonus and ordinary renovation bonus rates would drop from 50% to 36% for main homes and from 36% to 30% for other properties. The furniture bonus, which facilitates the purchase of furnishings and appliances connected to certain construction works, is also at risk. To maintain the current incentive system, including incentives for home purchases, approximately 500 million euros would be needed.
To support the redevelopment of buildings, the Thermal Account could also be strengthened, intended to finance both public administration and private interventions. The hypothesis on the table envisages a budget of between 700 and 800 million euros, to be covered through European flexibility linked to energy measures. The objective is to encourage the replacement of less efficient systems and reduce consumption in public and private buildings. Additional resources could also be included in the Budget to finance the interventions envisaged by the Housing Plan. Amounts and operating methods are yet to be defined.
Among the proposals of the majority there is the reduction from 10% to 5% of the dry tax on rents with agreed rent, supported by Noi Moderati. The measure aims to make long-term rental more convenient and to expand the availability of affordable housing, especially in large cities. The agreed rent is determined on the basis of territorial agreements between the owners' and tenants' organisations, which establish the price ranges based on the area and the characteristics of the property. The dry coupon allows, in the presence of the required requirements, to replace the Irpef and the related additional taxes with a substitute tax, also avoiding registration and stamp duties on the contract. According to the estimates considered, the 5% rate could concern approximately 257 thousand new contracts stipulated in 2027, with a cost to the treasury of approximately 100 million euros. For owners, the savings would be significant. On an annual rent of 8,400 euros, equal to 700 euros per month, the coupon would go from 840 to 420 euros, with a benefit of 420 euros. For a rent of 12 thousand euros per year, equivalent to one thousand euros per month, the tax would drop from 1,200 to 600 euros. These are examples referring only to the substitute tax, valid in the event of approval of the new rate and in compliance with the legal conditions.
The incentive could encourage the return to the residential market of properties currently intended for tourist rentals. The owners' associations welcomed the proposal, but asked for greater guarantees against default and quicker times to regain possession of the properties. Unioncasa also underlined the opportunity to reserve the relief for agreed contracts. The reduction to 5% was not approved: until new provisions come into force, the 10% rate remains applicable for contracts that comply with the established requirements.
Another hypothesis concerns the reintroduction of the flat rate tax rate of 21% for the rents of small shops, already tested with the 2019 budget measure. The measure could affect around 1.5 million commercial establishments, for total rents equal to 1.3 billion euros, with an estimated cost of 170 million. The relief aims to lighten the tax burden on commercial leases, supporting local activities in a phase in which the cost of spaces represents one of the difficulties for merchants. Adding this measure to the 100 million hypothesized for the agreed rent tax, the bill would reach 270 million. With the 550 million allocated to construction deductions, the cost of the main proposals would reach around 820 million euros.
The package could also include the reopening of the terms for concessions intended for buyers under 36 with an ISEE of less than 40 thousand euros. The incentives, introduced by legislative decree 73/2021, have not been renewed from 2025. The previous system provided for exemption from registration, mortgage and cadastral taxes, a tax credit equal to the VAT paid for the purchase of a new home and exemption from the substitute tax on financing to buy, build or renovate a home. Reintroducing the measures would cost at least 160 million euros. The intervention would make it possible to reduce the initial costs of the sale, but would not resolve the other obstacles to the purchase, from the need to have a down payment to the conditions required to obtain a mortgage.
Among the issues still open is the application of flat rate tax to residential rentals when the tenant is a company. The topic is at the center of a dispute that awaits clarification from the United Sections of the Court of Cassation. According to available estimates, a possible extension of the subsidized regime could cost up to 200 million euros per year. In recent weeks there has also been discussion of reducing the VAT on builder's rents from 10% to 5%, but this hypothesis also remains to be defined. The possible inclusion of further benefits could therefore bring the overall cost of the package beyond one billion. The Government must deal with limited budgetary margins and the need to find around 5 billion euros of coverage for the Budget. Forza Italia leader Antonio Tajani recalled the need to involve the financial world, also mentioning Cassa Depositi e Prestiti. The final decision will depend on the possibility of reconciling support for renovations, incentives for long-term rentals, young people's access to property and energy requalification with the balance of public finances.
